Lent 4, year A

I.Theme –   The emphasis this week is on the themes of light, vision and insight. Samuel is given insight to anoint a shepherd boy to be king. Paul urges the church to be people of light. In the Gospel a blind  man is given sight to see Jesus the Messiah.

Healing the Blind Man - El Greco<

"The Miracle of Christ Healing the Blind" – El Greco (1560) . The man in the foreground with his wife may be the blind man’s parents

The lectionary readings are here  or individually: 

Old Testament – 1 Samuel 16:1-13
Psalm – Psalm 23
Epistle –Ephesians 5:8-14
Gospel – John 9:1-41 

In the Old Testament , The problem was, who shall succeed King Saul who was rejected by Yahweh The Lord sends Samuel to Jesse’s home where there were eight sons. One of them Yahweh wants as the new king. One by one seven sons are passed by. David is called home from caring for his father’s sheep. At once Samuel is given insight that David is God’s choice. Here is a case similar to the Gospel’s account of Jesus’ giving the healed man the insight that he was the Messiah 

Psalm 23 is the Psalm of the Day. It harmonizes with the miracle’s account of Jesus’ compassion for a blind person. He becomes one of Jesus sheep.  Like the sheep, the blind man hears Jesus’ voice. Like the shepherd, Jesus finds the blind man when he has been cast out (9:35). Jesus provides for the man born blind much more than sight–he provides for him what he, as the good shepherd, gives all of his sheep–the protection of his fold (10:16), the blessing of needed pasture (10:9), and the gift of abundant life (10:10).

In Ephesians, the Epistle reacing,  Christians are people of the light according to Paul. Before accepting Christ they lived in the darkness of sin. Christians are to shun the works of darkness and to live in the light of goodness and truth. In the Gospel miracle account Jesus, the light of the world, brings light to a blind man both physically and spiritually. 

 The Gospel account is one of not one but two miracles and is the story of the "Man Born Blind." The first miracle is told in the first seven verses. The rest of the chapter deals with human reactions to the miracle: the healed man, his parents, the Pharisees and Jesus. The second miracle is the insight the healed man was given enabling him to confess Jesus as the Son of man, Messiah. The chapter begins and ends with blindness. At the beginning a man was physically blind. At the end, the Pharisees were spiritually blind because of their sin. The healed man experienced a double miracle: sight and insight.

Confronted by the blindness of the world, a blindness encapsulated in the man born blind, Jesus said to his disciples, "we must work the works of him who sent me while it is day."  This scripture can be seen as a call to us to practice evangelism, providing light to others.   It is there, through faith, that they will find life eternal.  

II. Summary

Old Testament

We have here the beginning of dramatic story of the reign of King David… The people demanded a King from God, yet politically, the monarchy was needed to unite the diverse tribes of Israel after about 200 years of inhabiting Canaan.

The story of Samuel selecting a new King had deep significance for the House of David and the people of Israel, but came with great tragedy for Saul. Samuel is reluctant to bring that dynasty to an end – having had the choosing of Saul, seeing him grow into a great king, only for it all to end so badly, in madness, jealousy and defeat. The cloak and dagger activity suggested by Yawheh to circumvent Saul’s discovering that replacing him is afoot, really hides Samuel’s terror at having to bring about a coup. This is compounded by the suspicion and fear which met his mission to Bethlehem.

There is a certain amount of tribal reivaly -Saul was a Benjaminite from Gibeah, north of Jerusalem and David a Judean from Bethlehem, in the south

After his anointing by Samuel, David is mentioned as a lyre-player at the court of King Saul, ruler of an area north and east of Jerusalem (then called Jebus). David left his court to become a warlord to the south, in the Bethlehem area.

Saul has enjoyed God’s favor, but has lost it by disobeying the prophet Samuel’s instructions. God now orders Samuel, his agent, to anoint a new king, a son of “Jesse”.

Samuel’s route to Bethlehem is through Saul’s territory, so he asks God how he is to make the trip (v. 2). God tells him to say that he comes to “sacrifice to the Lord”: this is part of his purpose. “Eliab” (v. 6) is Jesse’s eldest son. Surely a tall first-born is God’s choice for king (vv. 6-7). But God’s choice is not humankind’s choice. (Jesse’s second and third sons are “Abinadab”, v. 8, and “Shammah”, v. 9).

David’s complexion is “ruddy” (v. 12); he is God’s choice. When Samuel anoints him (with olive oil), the “spirit of the Lord” (v. 13) comes upon him. His brothers are witnesses. Samuel returns to “Ramah”, his seat of judgment. Saul persecutes David relentlessly but upon Saul’s death in battle, David unifies the north and the south and ascends to the throne. 

Psalm  

This psalm has a long history of devotional use in Christian tradition. Many hymns have been based on it. There are two ways in which it has been understood, depending on how certain phrases have been interpreted.

The psalm is commonly chosen for funerals. This has been the case when the translation of v. 4 has been something like ‘though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death’ as in the KJV. This has been coupled with a translation of the end of v. 6 as ‘for ever’. Thus the psalm has been linked to the hope of resurrection and a steady presence through the frightening landscape of terminal illness.

However, the psalm also has to do with trust in the days of our lives rather than just through the passage of death. In short, it is more about what Christians would call ‘discipleship’ than it is about death. The image of the ‘darkest valley’ could thus encompass a wider range of human experiences than just the fear of death implied in ‘valley of the shadow of death’. The end of v. 6 is also translated in the NRSV as ‘my whole life long’ or literally from the Hebrew as ‘for length of days’.

In the psalm, the singer takes on the role of a sheep or goat, animals herded and cared for by shepherds. These are animals that, without the care of a shepherd, would be easy prey for other animals in the open grazing land.

In the ancient Near East, the king was seen as shepherd (vv. 1-4) and as host (vv. 5-6). Two images dominate the psalm: that of the shepherd with his/her sheep (vv. 1-4) and that of a banquet with military overtones (v. 5).

In the psalm, the shepherd provides green pastures for grazing where is ample food, still waters for drinking, and right paths for travel from one grazing place to another (verses 2-3).

The second clause of v. 1, ‘I shall not want’, speaks not about what I might desire, but the complete provision of the Lord’s shepherd-like care. The sense of the Hebrew is that there is nothing else that ‘I’ might need. . There is also water to assuage thirst, ‘waters of rest’ in the Hebrew, connoting both physical needs met and rest for the spirit.

He revives our very lives (“soul”, v. 3), and guides us in godly ways (“right paths”). In v. 3, the phrase ‘he restores my soul’ is literally in the Hebrew ‘my life’. The implication for the psalmist is that he has been given rest and safe provision after a time of threat and danger. The sheep is also led ‘in right paths’ by the shepherd, whose choice of safe pasture is central to the provision for the sheep.

In troubled areas, the protection of the shepherd provides safe passage for the flock (verse 4). The staff, for rescuing sheep in thickets also guides us And even when trouble is nearby, the shepherd makes sure that the flock can feed and water in safety and can lie down for a night’s rest (verse 5).

There is one other division in the psalm. While at the beginning and at the end, the psalmist speaks about the Lord, in vv. 4-5 the psalmist speaks directly to the Lord as ‘you’. This happens precisely at the point of greatest danger. Trust in the Lord’s protection and provision is thus not only something that the psalmist can speak about at a distance; they are part of his/her personal experience. They emanate from an intimate, personal relationship with the Lord. The surpassing peace and trust that the psalmist knows stand against the threats implied behind the scenes of shepherd care. There is here a trust that allows the psalmist not to fear.

The feast (v. 5) is even more impressive, for it is in the presence of his foes. Kings were plenteously anointed with oil (a symbol of power and dedication to a holy purpose). There are overtones of the Eucharistic meal.

Therefore, the flock can count on continued existence because of the faithfulness of the shepherd (verse 6). May God’s “goodness and mercy” (v. 6, steadfast love) follow (or pursue) him (as do his enemies) throughout his life. He will continue to worship (“dwell …”) in the Temple as long as he lives. The trust of the psalmist throughout their life is more than matched by the persistence of the Lord in his sustenance and care of his people.

Epistle

Paul is prescriptive about the way we live our lives and the type of behaviour and moral code we are expected to live by.

The writer draws a stark contrast between Christian and non-Christian behaviour expressed in terms of light and darkness.

The author has exhorted his readers to conduct themselves ethically as befits those who have adopted the way of Christ. Prior to this passage, Having “put away your former way of life” (4:22) and being clothed with the new self (4:24) when they were “marked with a seal” (4:30) in baptism, they are now to lead moral lives for, being members of a body in which the Holy Spirit dwells, an offence against a member is an offence against God. They are to “share with the needy” (4:28), emphasize the good in others (4:29) and imitate “God” (5:1) and Christ.

They must obey God (5:6). Now, in terminology also found n Matthew, the author contrasts unbelievers (who live in “darkness”, 5:8, and disobey God) with those who are in “light” (5:8), “in the Lord”. Find out what is pleasing to the Lord Christians should “expose” (5:11) deviations from God’s ways. Evil deeds are known to God (5:13). 5:14b may be a quote from an early baptismal hymn. Seek the “light”, what God would have you do (5:10). 

Gospel

Jesus is in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. This was one of the most popular feasts celebrating the memory of their wilderness sojourn

There are several layers of this extended Gospel, the second longest Gospel lectionary reading. It is about sight and light with the "Man Born Blind." Jesus is revealed as the light of the world, a light that brings life. He is not just a miraculous healer. Underlying the discussion of light and sight and blindness is a question about who Jesus is.

Alongside this is the question of who is sinful and what constitutes sin. Jesus challenges the common perception of sin. First of all, he challenges the thinking that suffering was the direct result of sin. Secondly, he challenges the thinking that sinfulness is directly related to obeying the Sabbath laws. Thirdly, he challenges the thinking that neither God nor the righteous (Pharisees) should listen to sinners. Jesus is replacing these laws with himself.

In John’s Gospel, "sin" at its most basic is not recognizing Jesus as God’s messiah, the person through whom God is at work to save the world. When the Pharisees assume that knowledge of the law automatically grants righteousness, Jesus counters by saying that precisely because they deny their sin and claim to "see" they are in fact sinning.

In the end, this is fundamentally a story about grace, and the blind man sums it up for all of us: "One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."

The Gospel moves forward in seven stages, during which we witness a blind man, not only seeing, but growing in his understanding of the one who gave him sight, growing in faith while on the other hand, we witness the confirmation of the state of loss for those who reject the light, the Pharisees.

The conflict with the Pharisees shapes the entire central section of the passage, first as they encounter the man born blind, then as they interrogate his parents, and finally as they interrogate the man born blind a second time and then drive him out.

The evolution of the beggar is profound in contrast. The man moves from identifying his healer only as "the man called Jesus" to replying when pressed by the Pharisees that Jesus is a prophet and then, when further pressed, that he must be from God. He eventually worship him. The blind man, unlike his parents, has the courage again and again to say what he knows, to speak truth to power, to tell what he can about the amazing grace by which he has been touched. The blind man also becomes an evangelist extending an invitation. "Do you want to become his disciples?" (v. 27)

On a literal level the blind man started out blind – he couldn’t see. The Pharisees started out and remained blind on a figurative level – not understanding or being open to the revelation of God in Jesus Christ

Story in 7 parts – Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem and stumbled upon a man born blind, a beggar

1. Jesus walks along and his disciples ask him about the origins of blindness.

He didn’t sin nor did his parents. Jesus interprets his condition instead as an opening for the glory of God to be revealed while it is day and the light of the world is active

What motivated the miracle was not the man’s blindness, not his needs, not his prayers (he didn’t even ask for the healing,) but the need to make God’s work manifest. God’s work may be manifested in divine healing; but it can also be manifested in living faithfully without healings or with handicapping conditions

2. Jesus makes mud and restores the man’s sight. The mixing of spit and dirt occurs only in this story. It probably was deliberate to evoke the ire and blindness of the Pharisees. Kneading was one of the 39 forbidden tasks on the Sabbath. The fact that Jesus and performed such work on the Sabbath led the Pharisees to conclude that he could not have come from God (v. 16) and that he was a sinner (v. 24). The formerly blind man simply counters these arguments with his personal experience

3. The man washes in the pool as Jesus told him to.

The blind man washed in the Pool of Siloam or the "sent" pool. As part of an aqueduct system build over the centuries for Jerusalem, this pool was the "receiving tank" for the water. Hence, its name; the aqueduct "sent" water to the pool. Similarly, it is not water that makes baptism important, but the fact that Jesus, himself, is present in, with, and under the water. Jesus can be seen as the “One who has been sent" Secondly, as Jesus was sent as the Word to reveal the Father, so the blind man will seek to reveal Jesus to the Pharisees.

The man born blind is questioned by his neighbors. The blind man’s neighbors have seen him begging, probably at the same spot for a very long time. Now that he sees, they are unsure if this is the same man. The questioning serves to identify the source of the miracle, namely, "the man called Jesus."

In such a closed society, deception, secrecy and lying were common to protect their reputation so he was cast into doubt.

4. Because of the controversy, the neighbors brought the cured man before the Pharisees for a judgment.  The neighbors obviously feel that the religious authorities should witness this amazing event, but the Pharisees are divided on whether this is an evil, or good omem Was the beggar a fraud? However, many asked another question: Was the Healer a sinner? By answering this second question, they could answer the first question 

The Pharisees call him in for questioning. They doubt Jesus’ identity.

The group within the Pharisees began their attack with a point of the Law. Since Jesus cured on the Sabbath, this group charged, he violated the Third Commandment. As a violator, he sinned. Others contended that a sinner could not perform such a miracle

he cured man could plainly see his reputation hinged on that of Jesus, so the cured man had no choice but to associate Jesus with God. Hence, he declared Jesus was a prophet

5. The Pharisees then question the man’s parents. The parents recognize that the miracle is causing some agitation among the religious authorities and so affirm nothing more than that the man is their son and that he was born blind.

6. The Pharisees call the formerly blind man in for questioning a second time. They claim that Jesus is a sinner. The man says he doesn’t know that but knows he has been healed.

Given that the Pharisees are unsure of Jesus’ religious qualifications and believe he is a sinner performing the healing on the Sabbath they demand that the man born blind tell them the secret in “Jesus’ tricks”. He refused and even questioned their reason for asking the question – “Do you also want to become his disciples?"”

Then they reviled him, saying, "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 responds, “You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes”. He observes that only a man who does God’s will could undertake the healing of a person born blind. He questions their questions, their wisdom and their authority to judge Jesus.

For providing the “wrong answer” he is excommunicated, claiming he was born in sin, and, so, unfit to question their authority

The Pharisees implicitly equated the man’s blindness to his own immorality or that of his parents. (In 9:2-3, Jesus rejected this notion.) In doing so, they implicitly acknowledged Jesus’ power to cure the blind man and to forgive sin. For, the logic goes, if one truly cured the illness (blindness), then he must have eliminated the cause of the illness (sin).

When the Pharisees excommunicated him, he was alone. Without membership in the synagogue, he was no longer a Jew; he would be stunned by his friends and neighbors alike. For his defense of Jesus, all he had left was Jesus

7 Jesus sought him out and asked him the question of faith: "Do you believe in the Son of Man (i.e., Messiah)?" The man’s answered with a question: "Who is he, Lord, so I might trust…him." Jesus then seemed to say: "Open your eyes. The Messiah is talking to you now." With this revelation, the man professed his trust in Jesus and worshiped him

Jesus reveals himself as the divine revelation from God; he is the Son of Man, the one who gives the light of life to those who seek it, but confirms a state of loss upon those who don’t. In response, the man born blind believes and bows before his Lord.

At the end, some of the Pharisee over heard all of this and ask “Surely we are not blind, are we?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, `We see,’ your sin remains."

The story thus ends with Jesus’ condemnation of the Pharisees, whose sin remains because unlike the blind man, who recognizes the grace of God in Jesus’ bestowal of sight and light in his blindness, the Pharisees insist that they see and know everything already. They are closed to the gift of Jesus, the judge, who can only give sight to those who know they are blind. Yes, there is a moment of self-doubt at the end.

The purpose of Jesus’ coming is not to bring division, but the consequence is indeed division- those in authority and Jesus, those that understand Jesus and those who do not. Ironically, Jesus will be the judge and not the Pharisees.

Many scholars see in this story the historical experience of the community to which the Gospel of John is addressed. That is, John’s community in the 90’s, 60 years after Christ, may very well have been expelled from the synagogue for confessing Jesus as the Messiah and this narrative tells their powerful story

III. Articles for this week in WorkingPreacher:

Old Testament1 Samuel 16:1-13

PsalmPsalm 23

RomansEphesians 5:8-14 

JohnJohn 9:1-41 

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