“Lord, I believe!”

Meditation on John 9

Fourth Sunday in Lent

March 30, 2014

***

    “As Jesus walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’  When Jesus had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.’ Then the man did what Jesus told him to do—and came back able to see! 

    The neighbors who had known him before as a blind beggar started asking, ‘Is this the man who used to sit and beg?’ Some were saying, ‘It’s him!’ Others were saying, ‘No, it can’t be. It’s just someone who looks like him.’  But the man who had been healed kept saying, ‘I am the same man—the one who couldn’t see.’ But the neighbors didn’t understand –or maybe they just didn’t want to believe in the miracle, so they kept asking him how he received his sight.

     Finally, the man told them what happened, including the part about Jesus putting the mud on his eyes. And it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had healed him. So the man who was formerly blind was brought to the Pharisees, the religious experts and leaders of the time. The Pharisees asked him how he had received his sight. And the man told him what happened. The Pharisees responded by ignoring the miracle and attacking, saying, ‘This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.’ But other people were saying, ‘How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs—do these miracles?’

     And they were divided. So, again, they asked the man who had been blind, ‘What do you say about him—the one who did this? It was your eyes he opened.’ The man said, ‘He is a prophet.’  So then the Jews began to question that the man was really blind to begin with. They called in his parents and asked, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?’ 

       His parents were frightened because they heard that if they confessed Jesus to be the Messiah they would be put out of the synagogue. So they admitted that he was their son, and he was born blind, but they didn’t know how he came to have his sight. They told the Pharisees to ask their son. After all, he was an adult and could speak for himself. So the religious leaders again questioned the man who had been blind, saying to him, ‘Give glory to God! We know that this man (Jesus) is a sinner.’    

    The man answered, ‘I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’ The Pharisees didn’t like his answer and fired more questions at him, till finally the man, exasperated, said, ‘I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?’ And by saying that, he had admitted that he was one of Jesus’ followers.

     Then the religious leaders attacked him verbally, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’ 

     The man answered, ‘Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.’ His answer enraged the Pharisees, who then drove him out of the community.

      Jesus heard what happened to the man he had healed, and he went and found the man and asked, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ The man answered, ‘And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.’ And the man said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshiped him. 

      Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.’ Some of the Pharisees heard this and said , ‘Surely we are not blind, are we?’ Jesus answered, ‘If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, “We see,” your sin remains. (Paraphrase of John 9)

***

     During Lent last year I shared with you my struggle with perfectionism. I felt convicted that my sometimes over-anxious concern for every detail and my self-criticism was not God’s will for me. And yet, here I am today, confessing that I am struggling with it again. I think that it comes up in Lent and spring more than at other times of the year because I am so busy.

    The busier I am, the more I push myself. And I am never quite able to keep up with my own expectations of what I think the Lord requires of me. I share this because I know that all people with hearts to follow Christ, to be His faithful servants, often struggle with self-doubt and unrealistic expectations for themselves.  This message is for all you that love the Lord and want to please Him—because I don’t want you to become discouraged.

     After another week of struggling to do all that I had purposed to do to the highest standards that I keep for myself, I began to feel like a rug starting to fray at the edges. Finally, on Friday night, when I was sorting through the Tupperware order in my office—and there were plastic containers and bags everywhere—I had to laugh at the chaos. Then I thought, the way the room looked was how I felt on the inside! And I realized what I had been doing to myself. I confessed my sin to the Lord. Immediately, I felt Him lift the burden from my shoulders. That’s what happens when we confess-we feel relief in letting go of something that is bad for us and accepting God’s healing grace, mercy, and love.

    What is perfectionism? Expecting things of ourselves that God doesn’t expect. It’s willful disobedience, plain and simple. It’s wasting time and energy that could be spent doing what the Lord wants us to be doing—loving and serving Him and loving and serving people.

    I felt the Lord whispering, “Don’t you trust me? Isn’t my grace enough? Stop judging yourself! Just have faith—and let my Spirit do its gentle work in you.”

      And to the One who had opened my eyes to see myself as I truly am, I answered, “Lord, “I believe.”

***

    Today we hear the story of Jesus healing the blind beggar with mud and saliva—and what happens afterward. How, instead of responding by praising and worshiping God, the Pharisees pounce on the poor man and bully him and his parents. They demand to know how a blind man has come to see.   And the truth is staring them in the face! It is a miracle from God! Jesus Christ is the Messiah, God’s anointed.

       God looks beyond the outward appearance of this man, this poor unnamed beggar, and knows his heart, while others, even Christ’s own disciples, look down on him, believing that his blindness is God’s judgment for his or his parents’ sin!

      The most moving part of the story, to me, is after the Pharisees have driven the blind man out of town, Jesus goes and finds him. He reaches out to him with love. And he’s just a beggar! An outcast—hurt by the people who believe themselves religious when they are arrogant, judgmental, and cruel.

       Christ says they are the ones who are blind!!  Just as we are blind if we hold to a legalistic form of religion, but fail to worship and love the Lord. We are blind if we think ourselves to be religious, but are unkind to other people.

      Jesus tells the beggar he has seen the Son of Man. 

      Jesus says, I am He!

     And the man, whose eyes were opened to the truth, replies, “Lord, I believe!”

***

      After his profession of faith, the man worships the Lord. As we are called to do. If we believe, then we will show it through our lives of worship. We can’t make ourselves perfect by doing all the holy things right. We must only accept that a perfect God loves us beyond our understanding. And He has made us right with Him through the sacrifice of His Son.

    Friends, don’t be discouraged if you can’t meet your own expectations for yourself.  Trust in the One who has promised to accomplish His work in and through you. 

     God worked a miracle through the life of a nameless, poor blind man. What mattered was his heart!  

     God will work miracles in and through our lives, too! If we learn to trust the “Son of Man.”

      If we seek Him and seek to be like Him.

      If we ask Him to open our eyes so that we see ourselves and the world as He looks upon us—with an everlasting love.

      And if we say with all our heart, “Lord, I believe.”

Let us pray.

Loving Lord, thank you for your Spirit that turned our hearts toward you, that led us to say, “We believe.” Empower us to live lives of worship and grace, without relying on our own abilities to do all the holy things right. Teach us not to be judgmental and help us to let go of any unrealistic expectations we may have of ourselves or other people. Open our eyes so that we see ourselves and others as you see us through the work of Christ on the cross. Help us to see all people as your precious children, loved with an everlasting love. Give us your vision for your Church and your compassion for the world. Lead us to do your will. In Christ we pray. Amen.     

    

The Peacemaking Church: Lesson Three for Lenten Series for March 26, 2014

LESSON THREE: “Is This Really Worth Fighting Over?”

A gracious, gentle attitude can prevent most conflicts.

Outline and notes for Bible lesson 3/26/14

***

      During this peacemaking series, I often talk about relationships and conflicts in a family—and then we relate those experiences to conflicts and relationships in a church family.  Because where is the first place that we learn about and experience conflict? In our own homes and families. This is also where we develop our patterns of dealing with conflict.

    When I was kid, my brother and I were always fighting. He was always teasing me and playing mean jokes on me. Both of my parents worked during the day, so my brother, sister and I were on our own after school. I remember one time my brother got into the house ahead of me—and then he locked me out and made faces at me through the window in the door.

    I became more and more angry and frustrated.  First I pounded on the door.  And then I think I started to cry.  Eventually, my older sister opened the door for me. And when my parents got home and I told them what happened, their response was to tell me that my brother was just teasing me and I was too sensitive.  My parents’ response to my brother’s teasing and mean jokes made me even more frustrated. He wasn’t punished and I was the one who received the lecture.

    My response to my brother’s teasing was to get angry at him and to try to figure out how I could get even. If he called me names, I came up with some creative names for him! If he insulted me, I insulted him back. But these responses brought me no pleasure. Getting angry and getting even never brought me any peace with myself. 

       Remember in the first lesson we talked about the 3 dimensions of peace? Peace with God through Jesus Christ, peace with human beings and peace with self. If any of these dimensions are missing—then we have no real peace. But if we have peace with God through Jesus Christ, then we have the Spirit’s power to help us with all three dimensions—peace with God, peace with other people, and peace with ourselves.

    Let’s talk about how we can respond to conflict—the godly ways verses the ways of the world. If you look at The Slippery Slope, which comes from a book by Ken Sande and Kevin Johnson called, “The Peacemaker: Student Edition,” you will see 3 different categories of responses to conflict. On the left side of the slope, you see the “peace faking or escape responses.” These include denial, blaming, flight, or, even suicide, if escape is taken to the extreme. On the right side of the slope, we have the all-too-common in our society “peacebreaking” or “attack” responses. These include insults, gossip, fighting, and taking peacebreaking to the extreme—murder. On the top of the slope are the peacemaking responses that are supported by scripture and commanded by God. These are overlooking an offense, talking it over, getting help from another person, and accountability— when a Christian or a congregation, as in the example of Matthew 18:17-- holds a believer that will not listen to godly teaching accountable to scripture and lead them to repentance, justice and forgiveness.

    If we use Ken Sande’s slippery slope model, where would my response fall on the slope—peacefaking, peacebreaking, or peacemaking? Yes, my responses were in the peacebreaking or attack category.

     Christ has called us to bring the message of God’s love, grace, and mercy to a world that is filled with conflict, sin, and broken relationships. We look to Jesus as our model of one who made the ultimate sacrifice for peace as he hung dying on the cross. Jesus did not get angry and seek revenge on his persecutors. In Luke 23:24, Jesus says, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” God, forgive them! They don’t know what they are doing!

     Because of the Father’s great love for us—and because of Jesus, whose sacrifice has made the way for our reconciliation with God and one another—we may be tempted, but we do not have to resort to peacefaking or peacebreaking in response to the conflict in our lives.

      Let’s look now at what the Bible teaches about godly responses to conflict.

1. We can overlook minor offenses. It is the wise person who has patience to overlook the personal offenses of others. (Prov. 19:11; 12:16; 15:18; 20:3) Prov. 19:11 says, “Those with good sense are slow to anger, and it is their glory to overlook an offence.” Prov. 12:16 says, “Fools show their anger at once, but the prudent ignore an insult.” Prov. 15:18 says, Those who are hot-tempered stir up strife, but those who are slow to anger calm contention. And Prov. 20:3 says, It is honorable to refrain from strife,but every fool is quick to quarrel.

2.   If we don’t overlook the minor offenses, things can get even worse. Prov. 17:14 says, “The beginning of strife is like letting out water; so stop before the quarrel breaks out.

3. We are called to love and forgive. I Peter 4:8 says, “Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. Prov. 10:12 and 17:9 say, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offences. One who forgives an affront fosters friendship, but one who dwells on disputes will alienate a friend.

4. We are called to humilty and patience (gifts of the Spirit), bearing with one another in love, as God is ever patient with us. Eph. 4:2 and 4:32 tell us, “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.”

And … we should get the log out of our own eye—first address our own sin before we are concerned about the sin in someone else. Matt. 7:1-5 says ‘Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, “Let me take the speck out of your eye”, while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.”

5.  For it takes 2 to have a conflict! And conflict starts in the heart. James 4:1 says, “Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you?”

6. When you come face to face with your own sin and weaknesses, remember that confession to our loving and gracious Heavenly Father brings freedom, not condemnation! Proverbs 28:13 assures us, “No one who conceals transgressions will prosper, but one who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

7. And when you are tempted to use your words to hurt another, remember the power of words—the power to lift up and the power to tear down. James 3:5-6 and 8b says, “So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. But no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”

Think before you speak. Use your words for healing & building up. In Proverbs, we read (12:18, 13:3; 17:28; 21:23): “Rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Those who guard their mouths preserve their lives; those who open wide their lips come to ruin. Even fools who keep silent are considered wise; when they close their lips, they are deemed intelligent. To watch over mouth and tongue is to keep out of trouble.”

8.Don’t grumble and complain; it discourages other people and encourages conflict to break out. Phil. 2:14 exhorts us, “Do all things without murmuring and arguing.” James 5:9 says, “Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors!”

9. Don’t practice deceit, which also encourages conflict and imitates Satan, the “father of lies.” Prov. 24:28 says, “Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.” 2 Cor. 4:2 says, “We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.” John 8:44 says,“You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

10. Don’t gossip – and stay clear of people who do. Gently correct a friend who engages in it, or just change the subject (overlook the minor offense!) Gossip is both the spark & the fuel for conflict. (Prov. 16:28 says, “A perverse person spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.”

11. Remember the Golden Rule: Matt. 7:12 says, “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.”

12. And finally, remember the Narrow Gate. Matt. 7:13 says, ‘Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it.”

     Friends, looking back at my childhood conflicts with my brother, I can honestly say that, yes, he did some pretty cruel things. But I also was too sensitive and perhaps even fun for my brother to tease—because he would always get a reaction out of me. I would have done better to have responded to some of his naughty behavior with peacemaking responses, such as seeking to talk it over and overlooking minor offenses. When I reacted with anger and a desire to get even—I made the conflict even worse and kept it going. The saddest thing of all, perhaps, is I needlessly carried hurt from those years of conflict with him—instead of seeking my peace with God in Christ and allowing the Spirit to help me reconcile with my brother.

   By the time my brother and I were in our mid 20s, we each were married with children and we no longer lived in the same town or even the same state. We saw each other less and less, but when we did see each other, neither one of us seemed to have the energy to keep up our quarreling. Perhaps we were just growing up. I loved his wife upon our first meeting—she was and is a real sweetheart. And I love his children, who have always gotten along with my children.

   I don’t know exactly when it happened, but somewhere in my young adulthood, my brother and I became friends. Not the closest buddies, perhaps, but friends. We started laughing more when we did get together. His jokes—and maybe my jokes, too—seemed to be a lot funnier than they were when we were kids. I began to see that we had more in common than I thought we did. After all, he’s only 18 months older than I!

    And then 2 years ago, when my father called me on a Sunday night to tell me my brother was in a serious accident with his motorcycle, it didn’t take me but a day or 2 to decide I needed to drop everything and just drive to Topeka, KS, to see him. He was in critical care, on a respirator and unable to speak. But I  knew for sure that I would be able to comfort his wife—and my mother, who had driven from out East when my sister in law told her the news.

    Seeing my big brother look so helpless and in pain, broken ribs, hands and shoulder and punctured lung, his face swollen and bruised black and blue almost beyond recognition, I was SO glad that we had laid down our swords years ago – and had become what we were supposed to be—brother and sister. And I thanked God for doing the work of tranformation in my heart. Because I needed to change!

     I watched my brother through a glass window in the CCU before I got up the courage to go into his room. They had just removed him from the breathing tube. He looked up and saw me looking at him. Gave me a big smile.

    And I thought—it’s going to be OK.

    Friends, life is too short for quarrels between family members, friends, and brothers and sisters in the Lord. Ask God to restore your broken relationships. Allow the Spirit to change your heart!

     And seek Christ, who IS our peace.

     

      Will you pray with me?  Lord, thank you for your word to us today—your encouragement that we can handle conflict in a loving way, in ways that give glory to you. I pray for anyone here who might be struggling with a broken relationship. Give them wisdom, patience, and courage to be a peacemaker and reveal the glory of God through this conflict. Heal what is broken. Humble us all so that we see our own flaws and weaknesses—and are eager to overlook the flaws of other people—and minor offenses. Help us to forgive quickly and not to hold onto hurts. Not to lash out in anger or try to get even. Lift up our eyes, Lord, so we see the perfect example of Jesus and His self-giving love for us as he hung on the cross, dying for our sins. Help us to be more like Him. In Him we pray. Amen.