Can You See?
03 Apr 2011 4 Comments
in 1Samuel, Ephesians, God, Holy Spirit, John, Lent, Sin Tags: children of light, God, Lent, sin, spiritual growth
Today’s Gospel reading is chapter 9 of John: the cure of the man born blind. This, so typical of John is a meaty story, filled with fruitful teaching. There are layers and circles of wisdom to be gleaned from it.
At the beginning, the issue is framed: Who sinned, the man or his parents? For in that society, one who is deformed or physically at odds with the norm, is by definition a sinner. God causes such affliction and it is only to be determined who is at fault, the parents or the man himself.
Jesus, of course, sets them all straight at the outset. Neither have sinned, God has created him thus for a purpose and of course the purpose is now coming forth.
As a “defined sinner” the blind man was reduced to begging for alms. He was barred from the Temple, there was no way he could be ritually cleansed. He was therefore, probably largely untaught, illiterate, and without any standing whatsoever in his community. He depended on the charity of passersby.
Yet, after his sight is returned through the actions of Jesus, a phenomenal thing happens. He is brought before the Pharisees and questioned. When he relates Jesus’ actions, they refuse to believe it, summoning his parents, who can only corroborate that he is indeed their formerly blind from birth son.
They question the man again. And he realizes that they are being stubborn as they begin to abuse him when he will not retract his explanations. The blind man discourses:
That is just what is so amazing! You don’t know where he comes from and he has opened my eyes! We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but God does listen to people who are devout and do his will. Ever since the world began it is unheard of for anyone to open the eyes of someone born blind; if this man were not from God, he wouldn’t have been able to do anything.
And they retort in anger:
“Are you trying to teach us, and you a sinner through and through ever since you were born!” And they ejected him.
Indeed. The illiterate, shunned man teaches the great students of the Torah! Indeed God chooses who will speak for him, and he chooses the most unlikely of people.
This makes it clear why the reading from Samuel is included in this day’s scriptural array. [1Samuel 16:6-13] Samuel goes in search of the one whom God has chosen to rule over Israel. When Samuel thinks that Eliab would be a fine ruler, God says:
“Take no notice of his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him; God does not see as human beings see; they look at appearances but Yahweh looks at the heart.” [1Sam 16: 6-7]
And Paul informs the congregation in Ephesus that they too, through the power of the Holy Spirit, are “children of light”, for like the man born blind, they are now capable of goodness and uprightness and truth. [Eph 5:8-9]
The grace of the Spirit, offered graciously by our God, enables us to speak with truth. We need not be of great estate, of great learning. We need only be willing to open our hearts and minds to the indwelling God and allow him to use us as the instruments of his love.
Can you see?
Amen.
Related Articles
- Fourth Sunday of Lent (prepareformass.wordpress.com)
- Jesus Healed A Blind Man (restinginhisgrace.wordpress.com)
- Jesus Cures My Blindness (bibletweets.wordpress.com)
- April 3rd, 2011 – 4th Sunday of Lent (catholicjules.net)
- I am the light of the world – Fourth Sunday in Lent 2011 (dewildox.wordpress.com)
Inner Being in Christ
15 Mar 2011 2 Comments
in Bible Essays, Ephesians, God, Jesus, Lent, Spiritual Growth Tags: Christ, God, Lent, Love
“I pray that out of his glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled with the very nature of God.” ~~ Eph 3:16-19
We learn from this passage that the Spirit of God dwells within us in our inner most being. Not the superficial place our ego arises from, that place of pain, desire, fear, and self-importance.
No, the Spirit dwells in our inner being, and that is where Christ comes to us.
And what is Christ? Christ is love, a love so deep and wide that we cannot even understand it. It is a love that through the weakness of the cross proved God’s strength and power. It is indescribable, without example in our world.
And when we turn toward the Christ, and accept this love, our inner being filled Spirit grows in love. If we allow this gracious gift to come to us, and then to grow in us, we may approach the very nature of God.
Thus we learn that God is this love, so perfected, so beyond our human understanding. Such a gift!
During this Lenten time, we meditate on the freely given gift of Christ, His complete kenosis of love poured out for all. Can we even contemplate such love? No, truthfully we cannot, but we can offer our meagre love, as much as we can conceive of it, uniting in our inner-being selves, in a knowing way, with that love of which we cannot fully grasp.
We can cling to that which is mystery to us still, confident that in the effort alone, God works within us to perfect us and bring us more fully within his embrace.
Amen.-
