John 9 (2026)
Light of the world, your Word brings new vision and hope. Shine your Spirit
on us as we listen to the Scriptures, to open our eyes on your Word at work
in the world and show us the path we can follow. Amen.
Your word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you is the verse
I have been bringing forward during this Lenten season
Most of us have verse of scripture that are hidden in our hearts
The verse in today’s gospel that especially speaks to me is this one
“while I am in the world I am the light for the world”
What a comforting reminder in the midst of all we have to sort and figure
out, Jesus is the light
Light can bring hope, it can encourage us to keep going ahead, light pushes
the darkness of confusion away from us
One way light was shown to me was with the help that a friend gave me
when I was preparing to go to Knox College
There were a lot of things for me to consider at that time
I would be a mature student, I had a family to care for, and a job
There were expenses for supplies and travel to be considered
I told my friend Elaine that one of the things I would need to get would be a
new Bible, as the NRSV, which was the version we would use in class, was
not one that I owned
Elaine was a solid supporter of my attending Knox, and she immediately
told me that she had an extra copy of the NRSV, and I could have it
It saw a lot of use from me, and it is a reminder of the way Elaine was used
to be the light for my path
Jesus reminds us in today’s gospel that he is the light for the world
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Jesus being the light is the reason for today’s story and Jesus being light is
what he is trying to communicate with both his disciples and the crowd
It is clear as we read this gospel story that people are not getting the point
that Jesus is making
Have you ever told had that happen to you?
You may wonder how people can stray so far from the point you are making
when it is clear to you where you are going
A number of years ago something happened in our family that showed me
the importance of being clear in communicating
It happened when I was the minister at First Sackville Presbyterian Church
in Lower Sackville
The boys were all school age then, and they were lively
On this particular Sunday Ken had to work, so the boys were solely in my
charge
I had arranged for the boys to sit with one of the elders and his wife at the
beginning of the service until it was time for the kids to go downstairs to
Sunday School
About 15 minutes before the service was to begin one of the boys was being
particularly active
At that point I turned to him and used a tone that most mothers will identify
with when I said “young man, you better settle down or you’ll find yourself
walking home!”
Home was about a mile and a half away, so I didn’t think that it was in realm
of possibility
I was quite sure that this would make it clear to him that he needed to
simmer down and behave for 10 minutes, and until there would be things for
him to do
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Just before the service was to begin someone came and said they couldn’t
find this one of the boys
I led worship with an anxious mind, thinking that surely he would not have
understood my ultimatum as an actual choice
(I hasten to point out here that he was about 12 years old, not 5)
A quick trip home after the final Amen proved that he had indeed
understood my ultimatum as a presentation of two options and he took
choice b
It seemed clear to me that in the future I would have to be more clear in my
instructions
That is the point I took from the story, and I did learn my lesson
It surprised me though how many people would get caught up in what
consequence Cameron received as a result of what happened, or wanting to
know how far the house was from the church, or how heavy the traffic was
To an even greater degree the story in our gospel lesson has us dealing with
people who just don’t get it
We have the story of a man born blind being healed and the reactions to that
miracle
There is no rejoicing but much questioning of the details surrounding the
miracle
In fact the discussion changes focus from the miraculous to the mundane
And so we come to our gospel lesson for today
The blind man sat by the road
And when Jesus healed the man
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The Pharisees upon discovering that the man could now see, set out to
discover how this came to be!
Some went to the man’s parents to discover if indeed this man had been born
blind
The parents distanced themselves from what was going on
“Ask him,” they said
Finally the man was driven out of town
You’d think the people would be rejoicing and celebrating
That they would congratulate the man, and call Jesus to speak to them
Maybe there would even be a holiday as people celebrated that this man
could now see
Instead, there is a scrambling to find out who is to blame
Even before the man is healed
The question is asked
Whose fault is his blindness?
Such a question in the face of bad things is typical of people
It seems if we can assign fault or blame, it somehow seems to make those of
us not afflicted feel better
When there is a tragedy that makes no sense we have a hard time adjusting
And so we ask “How can this be?”
There is a need in people to understand why bad things happen
And sometimes we simply are not told why
Sometimes we simply can pray through what is happening
Looking to God for strength
Still the nagging question will not go away
Why did this person suffer?
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Why did that child get sick?
Why?
The renowned Christian writer C.S. Lewis had this to say
CS Lewis was the author of the widely read children's books,
The Narnia Chronicles,
as well as many novels for grown-ups and books on issues surrounding the
Christian faith.
The movie Shadowlands (directed by Richard Attenborough and produced in
1993) tells Lewis' story,
focusing in particular on his relationship with his wife, Joy Gresham.
Gresham and Lewis meet while Lewis is a don at Oxford University.
After Joy is diagnosed with cancer the couple marry.
The movie invites us to witness their love, their pain, their grief, their
struggles with faith and God.
Eventually Joy dies.
At one point in the story a friend says to Lewis,
"Christopher can scoff, Jack, but I know how hard you've been praying; and
now God is answering your prayers."
Lewis replies "That's not why I pray, Harry.
I pray because I can't help myself.
I pray because I'm helpless.
I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping.
It doesn't change God, it changes me."
The truth the Lewis learned is there for us too, that God will walk with us in
our times of questioning
But the answer to the question
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Why is this happening? is not always given
The disciples asked
“Who sinned that this man was born blind”
Jesus said “no one”
To the people who lived in Jesus’ time the explanation for disease was sin
It you were sick it was because you had brought it on yourself
You or your parents had committed a wrong
And this was the consequence
Simple
Jesus sets this theory on its ear
He says that neither the blind man nor his parents sinned
This happened that God’s works might be revealed in him
What if we were to take that attitude to troubles in our lives?
Not that we accuse God of sending troubles to make himself look good
But what if we see troubles as a way of showing God’s works
Not to look for the why of what happened
But to look at what I can do with this
The great American civil rights leader Martin Luther King learned this truth
He was a person with tremendous courage.
He endured vilification, beatings, imprisonments, death threats, his house
was firebombed, and as we all know, he eventually was assassinated.
So what kept him going?
It was his strong sense of God's call upon his life.
King was just 26 years old when he was appointed leader of the civil rights
campaign in Montgomery, Alabama.
Apart from terrifying threats from the Ku Klux Klan,
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King was harassed by police.
Arrested for driving 5 miles per hour over the speed limit he was given his
first stint in jail.
The night after his release he was at home when the phone rang.
"Nigger", said a menacing voice on the other end, “we are tired of you and
your mess now.
And if you aren't out of this town in three days, we're going to blow your
brains out and blow up your house."
King was unnerved and very afraid – for himself, for his wife and for his
little children.
Shortly after the phone call he sat at his kitchen table drinking a cup of
coffee.
"And I sat at that table" he said, "thinking about that little girl and thinking
about the fact that she could be taken away from me at any minute.
And I started thinking about a dedicated, devoted and loyal wife, who was
over there asleep…
And I got to the point where I couldn't take it anymore. I was weak…
And I discovered then that religion had to become real to me,
and I had to know God for myself.
And I bowed down over that cup of coffee.
I will never forget it…I said, 'Lord, I'm down here trying to do what's right.
I think I'm right.
I think the cause we represent is right.
But Lord, I must confess that I'm weak now.
I'm faltering.
I'm losing my courage…
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And it seemed to me at that moment that I could hear an inner voice saying
to me,
'Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness.
Stand up for justice.
Stand up for truth.
And lo, I will be with you, even until the end of the world.'…
I heard the voice of Jesus saying still to fight on.
He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone.
No never alone.
No never alone.
He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone."
Three nights later the menacing threat made in the phone call came true:
a bomb exploded on the front verandah of the King home.
Thankfully no one was hurt.
But King was able to get through it:
"My religious experience a few nights before had given me strength to face
it."
Time and again throughout his ministry Martin Luther King returned to that
experience to strengthen him as he faced terrible difficulties.
King believed in non-violent means to gain justice
And because he focused on God, who God is and what God wanted
King was a man known to stand for the truth
He didn’t focus on the wrong
So he didn’t become like his persecutors
The man Jesus healed in our story was physically blind
He could not see the beauties of nature
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Or the faces of his friends and family
He was in a world alone
Jesus made his eyes well
And the man could see
And in response the man worshipped
And while all around him
People were trying to find out what had happened and why
The man simply came to Jesus and worshipped
He gave his loyalty and life to Jesus
The temptation is there for us to be like those around the man
To try to figure out why things are as they are
Such activity can blind us to what God is calling us to do
We need rather to look to Jesus
Like Martin Luther King become like Jesus
Like the blind man worship Jesus
And leave God to figure out the whys of the world
Prayer
God, Shepherd of our Lives,
we give you thanks for all the things you provide that make life good and
full:
For the rhythms of nature which water thirsty lands, producing food for all
creatures; for energy to work and for community to share in the produce of
work.
Yet we are still thirsty in this land of plenty:
thirsty for hope when work fails;
thirsty for love when friends fail;
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thirsty for justice when sharing fails.
Shepherd God, fill us with your love, lead us on your paths.
God, Shepherd of our lives,
we thank you for the light you shine in a world filled with complexity,
to bring hope and increase understanding:
understanding to address human need and improve daily life;
understanding to deepen relationships and mutual respect;
understanding to tackle problems and seek solutions.
We seek your light to lead us:
the light of wisdom to bring people of different perspectives together;
the light of courage to work for change in desperate situations;
the light of hope to persevere when change is difficult.
Shepherd God, fill us with your love,
lead us on your paths.
God, Shepherd of our lives,
we thank you for the purpose and potential you create for us in Christ:
for creating friendships and neighbourhoods that support us,
for creating co-operation to accomplish goals that seem impossible,
for creating gratitude for the gifts we discover in each other.
We seek the gifts of the Spirit we need in these challenging days:
the gift of confidence to renew our ministries in humility and hope,
the gift of generosity to renew lives in need around us,
the gift of faith to trust you for a future we cannot yet see ourselves.
Shepherd God,
Lead us on your paths.
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God, Good Shepherd of our Lives,
we give you thanks that Jesus walks beside us
and leads us on the paths you set before us into the future,
and so we pray in Jesus name Amen
COMMISSIONING AND BENEDICTION
As we continue our Lenten journey, remember the words from Ephesians:
“Live as children of light.”
So may the light of God’s love surround you,
The light of Christ’s mercy renew you,
And the light of the Spirit guide you this day and every day to come.