"Open your eyes and Journey with Christ" - 4th Sunday of Lent, Year A

This sermon, preached on the Gospel According to John, Chapter 9, was delivered at my field education site. All went well and I received great feedback, continuing to learn and improve my preaching skills...a never ending journey itself.

No name, no face, no brain. When I entered the US Naval Academy, one of the very first challenges I encountered was learning everyone’s name in a matter of just a few days. As difficult as this challenge might seem, the process of learning names was assisted by the requirement to wear name badges on your uniform…that is, of course, unless you forget to put your name badge on your uniform, in which case, you now had a new challenge. This new problem generally attracted immediate attention and disapproval. I know this to be true because one day I forgot to put on my name badge and was instructed to spend the following day yelling, “no name, no face, no brain” as I traveled through the hallways. As you might imagine, this instruction is not good for one’s general well-being. I was stopped several times and questioned about my bizarre chanting. On one occasion, after several questions my inquisitor leaned in close to my face and asked, “Why are you here?” I quickly responded, “To become a Naval Officer, sir.” “Really?” he continued, “what exactly does a Naval Officer do…I mean specifically, every day; do you even know?” That’s when the reality of my situation hit me. I was 18 years old; had just signed up for 9 years of Naval service (of which I had proudly served 72 hours); and I really had no idea what a Naval Officer did, but I was on that journey anyway. This morning’s Gospel lesson is a story about journeys: the journey of the blind man; the journey of his parents, the journey of the Pharisees, and our journey with Christ.
As we all have just heard, John’s account of the healing of the blind man is significantly longer than similar versions found in the Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark or Luke. I am, however, especially fascinated by John’s account of the healing of the blind man because he differs from the healing stories found in the three synoptic Gospel accounts in two significant ways: first, Jesus initiates the healing without the blind man’s request; and second, John invites us to join the journey after the miracle of healing. If we take a closer look at these aspects of the story and reflect on their meaning, John presents us with some insightful lessons.
The Gospel lesson begins with the disciples asking Jesus why this man has been born blind…and the form of their question, “who sinned, the man or his parents,” reveals the apparent “blindness” of the disciples themselves. Jesus’ response both corrects the disciples’ misconception of the reason behind the man’s blindness and teaches them about the nature of God’s work. Here, we should stop and remember that this story is about both physical and spiritual blindness. The story then continues with Jesus saying, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world,” and then he proceeds to place a healing solution of mud on the man’s eyes, instructing the blind man to “go and wash in the pool of Siloam.” Imagine this scene: the blind beggar, perhaps asking for alms of some type and suddenly he experiences a healing mud pack spread across his dead eyes…and his eyes are still blind, even with the healing solution applied. He is told to go forth and wash in a pool of water. John’s account of this story has particular power, because the blind man must now choose: go forth and wash – or – take the edge of his garment and wipe away Jesus’ invitation to see; to be healed; to be a follower of Christ. Jesus has acted first, offering healing through his grace, but now the blind man must choose before he is able to see. The choice the blind man must consider is described by Dietrich Bonhoeffer when he says: “the first step places the disciple in the situation where faith is possible. If he refuses to follow and stays behind, he does not learn how to believe.”[i] The blind man does take this first step and returns with the ability to see; he returns with the ability to believe; he returns to begin a life long journey, in Christ. The blind man’s life will forever be changed and, again, the power of John’s gospel account is that we are allowed to follow the blind man as he starts his courageous journey.
The man begins a journey with which he has absolutely no understanding or experience because he has been blind since birth. But the man’s journey does start with enough faith in Jesus to walk to the pool and return to testify to this miracle. C.S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity, highlights the type of faith and understanding that the man begins his journey with, as he writes, “After the first few steps in the Christian life we realize that everything which really needs to be done in our souls can be done only by God.”[ii] The remainder of the Gospel lesson is an intriguing comparison of the blind man’s journey and his growing awareness of Jesus; contrasted against the journey of the Pharisees and their growing blindness of Jesus. The man, no longer blind, begins an enlightening journey of spiritual growth: progressing from not knowing where Jesus had gone to finally worshiping Jesus as the Son of Man. Throughout the story we can see the man’s vision becoming clearer and his belief in Jesus becoming stronger. What can we learn from his journey and how can it help us as we travel through our Lenten journey?
First, we notice that throughout the story, the man grows in understanding and draws closer to Jesus by asking and answering questions about his experience. We can also grow in understanding and develop a closer relationship with Jesus through the practice of prayer. Prayer is an opportunity to both express our desires to God and to examine our relationships with God and others. Our Lenten series of Benedictine spirituality is one example of how we might develop a new discipline of prayer and draw closer to God.
We also notice as we listen to the Gospel story, that the man’s faith provides him with increasing strength and courage. Frank Wade’s advice to us at Sam’s Installation service, “do not be afraid to offend or to fail,”[iii] seemed to resonate with me as I reflected on this Gospel passage. The man is courageously taking risks as he travels on his new journey and is not afraid to engage the Pharisees in open and honest conversation. In this way, the man has successfully lived his Christian witness, as compared to his parents, who hide in fear. We, too, can grow in strength by boldly stretching ourselves in new ways, gaining new experiences and bearing witness to our Christian faith. Our Mission team to the Dominican Republic and Barney’s trip to distant parts of the Anglican Communion are examples of new experiences that we may all learn from as they share their insights with us and help us to expand our understanding of the body of Christ.
No name; no face; no brain. If our eyes are open as we travel along our Lenten journey on the road to Easter morning, we realize these words are false. Each of us has a name; a name given to us in Baptism. Each of us has a face; a face known by God and marked as Christ’s own for ever. Each of us has a brain; a mind given to us by God so that we may know that in Him, we live and move and have our being; and we may remember that we are ever walking in his sight.
Amen

[i] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, translated by R.H. Fuller, (New York: Touchstone Publishing, 1959), p. 62.
[ii] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1952). P. 165.
[iii] The Rev. Dr. Frank Wade, from his sermon delivered at the installation of The Rev. Dr. M.A. Faeth, Rector, Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill, Alexandria, VA, 02-17-2008.