Sermon preached by the Rector on 9 October 2005Bible Readings: 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 and John 9:1-5
During this term we're looking together at some of the wonderful things Jesus said about himself in the famous 'I am' sayings from John's Gospel. Today's it's the statement that comes in John 8:12: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." In the way John's gospel is set out, he talks about this for a bit and then 'walks the talk', so to speak, with the incident we've just heard read to us from the beginning of chapter 9 about the healing of a man born blind.
St Nicolas is, first and foremost, a Christian Church. We exist primarily to know Christ and to make him known. We do this because we have made the discovery - or are on the way to making the discovery - that Jesus Christ is the key to living a fulfilled, effective and useful human life. The thing is that this is no less than Jesus himself claimed. This is what he said about himself. In statements like the one before us today: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
I want to draw out two or three ways in which this story shows the way this is true - not just for those whom Jesus met back then, but also for us today.
1. POWER TO DEAL WITH A HOPELESS CASE
The first thing to notice about the man we meet in this chapter is that he was blind from birth. He has never been able to see. We're not told why. Just that, as his parents point out later in the chapter (verse 20), he was born blind.
The point is that he is a completely hopeless case. He would have been a hopeless case then. And he would be a hopeless case now. People who are born blind have no hope of sight.
In other words, here is a man who stands for everyone who is a hopeless case. For everyone who is overcome by an impossible problem of one sort or another. You may be such a person here in church today. It may be something that only you know about. Something about yourself that you keep hidden and away from everyone else. Or it may be something that, like this man's blindness, stands out and is perfectly obvious. Whatever it is, here we have someone meeting Jesus who represents hopeless cases.
Here in John 9 is a story which brings hope to all those who feel that their problem is one they were born with. Here is a man born blind. And yet, even so, Jesus is still able to heal him. And in just the same way, the thing about Jesus is that there is nothing that might affect us which he is unable to deal with and put right. Even if it has been with us right from birth. Here then is strong encouragement at least to ask. One of way of doing that - you could do it today! - is to take advantage of the opportunity we have, week by week, to be prayed with by a member of the prayer support team during communion. The details are set out on the front of the newsletter. In addition to that, we're having a special service of prayer for healing at 6.00 pm this evening.
The Conservative leadership contender David Davis described himself this week as "Mr Heineken" – "because what I want to do is have a Tory party that reaches the parts of Britain it never reached before." But we know someone who is even more qualified to reach where others can't. We focus on Jesus because of the special ability he has to deal with hopeless cases.
2. ABILITY TO BRING GOOD FROM BAD
Secondly, please notice the way his blindness was viewed by everyone else. The assumption was that it must have been someone's fault. That it was due, either to his sin (which was a bit difficult since he had been blind right from the word 'go', before he had much chance to commit sin) or perhaps the sin of his parents. That's what lies behind the disciples' question in verse 2: '[Jesus'] disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"'
It's a common enough outlook, isn't it? We almost instinctively feel that there's a link between the bad things we do and the bad things that happen to us. That's why people so often complain 'What have I done to deserve this?' As if it's OK for something unfortunate to happen to us if we've done something wrong but that it's unfair to suffer without having done anything wrong.
The problem is that this is a half-truth. For yes, some of the bad things that happen to us are a direct result of the wrong we have done. There's an example of this a few chapters earlier in John 5. There, a paralysed man is healed by Jesus and told a little later, '...Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you' (John 5:14).
So that yes, illness or other misfortune can be a direct result of sin. But they aren't always. And it's a big mistake to think that it is. Bad things happen to us for all sorts of reasons. Bad things happen because we live in a sinful world, not just because we are sinful people. Bad things happen and we simply can't always work out why.
So how does Jesus react? The answer is that he refuses to speculate on the precise cause of this man's blindness. It's got nothing to do with his or his parents' sin. The past is neither here nor there. What matters is the future. The important thing is that, whatever caused it, this is a situation in which glory can be brought to God. Look again at verse 3: '"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.'
Here is a very helpful way of thinking about the things that happen which we would rather had not happened. To see them as opportunities for God to step in. As ways through which the work of God can be displayed in our lives.
So that, yes, blindness is a terrible thing. But, like every other terrible thing, it does at least have this redeeming feature. It gives an opportunity for the work of God to be displayed, for the reality of who God is to be revealed.
Here in John 9 the work of God takes the form of a dramatic healing. So dramatic, in fact, that the man's neighbours can't quite believe it's the same man. John 9:8-9: 'His neighbours and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?" Some claimed that he was. Others said, "No, he only looks like him." But he himself insisted, "I am the man."'
We focus on Jesus because of the special ability he has to deal with hopeless cases. And we focus on Jesus because of the special ability he has to bring good from bad.
3. COMFORT FOR A WITNESS UNDER PRESSURE
Later in the chapter, this man's simple and straightforward account of what has happened to him gets him into trouble. While he was a blind beggar, no-one took much notice of him. But now that his life has been transformed by an encounter with Jesus, he is very much in the enemy's firing line.
His friends bring him along to the religious leaders. He tells his amazing story. But they don't believe him. As far as they are concerned, this Jesus the man talks about is a charlatan. They've made up their minds and don't want to be confused by the facts!
So they conclude that the man hadn't really been born blind at all. All those years of begging with dark glasses and a white stick - and he could see all the time! What a fraud! They send for Mum and Dad to check his story out. John 9:19-21: '"Is this your son?" they asked. "Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?" "We know he is our son," the parents answered, "and we know he was born blind. But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don't know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself."' So they do. They bring the man back. And because he remains firm in his simple testimony to what Jesus has done for him, they subject him to abuse and, as we're told in verse 30, they throw him out.
Here he is then as a representative of those who come under pressure for telling people about what God has done for them. For this is what happens. Yes, there are many people who want to hear the good news about the difference Jesus makes to our lives. But there are also those who do not and who will go to great lengths to avoid having to face up to him. In our witness as Christians, we are to expect opposition.
But then, as the story makes clear, Jesus takes special care of those who suffer for his name's sake. Look at verse 35: 'Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said...'
This is so encouraging, don't you think? Jesus takes the trouble to seek him out and find him. He comes close and to affirm him in what he has been doing in standing firm for the truth. Just as he does for us too. Sharing our faith with others is bound, at times, to lead to opposition. But the other side of the coin is the special closeness that Jesus reserves for those who stand up to be counted for him. Jesus isn't a dead hero who we admire simply for what he did years ago. He is our living Lord, the one who makes himself known to us now as we worship and serve him. We focus on Jesus because of the special ability he has to deal with hopeless cases. We focus on Jesus because of the special ability he has to bring good from bad. And we focus on Jesus because of the special ability he has to draw alongside us here and now.
Just three of the many reasons we have for wanting to know Jesus better for ourselves and become more effective in making him known to others...
Well now, today I have a bit of a postcript to the main sermon. To follow on from what Dave mentioned earlier, there has been quite a bit of discussion in response to the paper I produced last month on some suggested changes to our pattern of Sunday morning worship. I want to thank all those who have been in touch with me, both those who are in favour of what I proposed and also those who have some understandable and major concerns.
The proposals are based on the conviction that when Jesus said 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life' he meant it! The light of the world. There is no other. As Peter and John proclaimed in the early days of the Christian church, 'Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved' (Acts 4:12). Which is one of the mandates for the continued growth of the church. We can't stop now! There are still thousands of men and women out there who are walking around in darkness because they have yet to meet Jesus, the light of the world.
The particular challenge for us here at St Nicolas is that we're in danger of grinding to a halt because this 9:45 service is close to its ceiling. We aren't jam-packed to the doors but we are getting to be as full as we can be for newcomers to feel comfortable and welcome. I sent a copy of my paper to Bishop Stephen just to keep him in touch with what we're up to. Here's what he says in reply. "I think you are absolutely right in your thinking: for there to be continued growth there needs to be structures in place that can have the capacity to grow. Your present arrangement is probably already close to its ceiling. The pattern you are describing is what is happening effectively in many churches and I believe presents an appropriate way forward for you."
This is why I am proposing to divide the church. Which sounds awful, at least to begin with. But when you think about it, the right sort of division is essential for the health and growth of the body. Unless you are something like an amoeba, your cells have been dividing in order to grow you right from the very beginning. We will need to work on ways to make sure that we hang on to our common DNA, as it were, and maintain our unity with one another, and I shall be exploring that a bit more in the weeks to come. But if we are to continue to grow we have no option but to divide and have, not one main morning service, but two.
Now, as you probably know, my proposals go a stage further than simply running two identical services. I'm also suggesting that we take the opportunity not only to divide but also to differentiate. This is what the cells in the body do. To start with, the little ball of cells that each of us started out as were all alike. But then, as we began to develop, they gradually became different from one another. Some became nerve cells. Some became muscle cells. Some became skin cells. And so on. All part of the one body. All having the essentials in common. All sharing the same DNA. But with changes that reflect the different functions they have.
What's that got to do with us? Well, the thing about knowing Jesus and making him known is that, in our culture, people come at it from different directions. Some people find it easier to make the journey to Jesus by following a more traditional and formal route. They get thrown off course by too much of this modern stuff. But for others, the journey to Jesus is along a more contemporary and informal path. They get distracted by too much of the more traditional stuff. That's why my proposal is a) that we have two main Sunday morning services and b) that they're different from one another, not so much in content but in style, one having a more traditional flavour, the other having a more contemporary flavour. On my paper I set out one way we might do it. But there may well be better ways - indeed, someone has already suggested what I think is a better way of doing it! I'm going to be passing all the comments I've had to Dave and the support and development team for worship (without naming who sent them, by the way) and I know that the team would welcome other contributions as they work out options for the PCC to consider in November.
To go in the direction I've indicated will mean big changes - changes which I don't think will be easy for any of us. Personally, I have to say that I'd much rather stay as we are: I love the way we do what we do at the moment! But, as I said a few weeks ago, following Jesus is about priorities rather than preferences, it's a matter of cost not convenience. In a world where people stagger around in darkness and are haunted by the shadows, we mustn't keep the light to ourselves. We exist not only to enjoy the light of life for ourselves but also to share it with as many others as possible.
© 2005 David Stone |
