March 2, 2008

Communion Meditation

The Rev. A. Thomas Carlson

Scriptures: Psalm 23

John 9:1-41

Sight is a precious commodity in our lives. We are urged to care for our eyes. In that spirit I had my first exam in about 20+ years a few months ago. And it was the very first time my eyes were examined by an ophthalmologist! The results of the exam were not what I expected. The doctor said, "You do not need prescription eye glasses. If I prescribe them, you won't wear them. Stick with your drugstore glasses. It's all you need."

Some folks would gladly exchange their eyes for mine. But I think I'll keep them.

This morning I am going to give you all an eye exam. It's not like the one the eye doctor gives. I can't even take credit for coming up with it. Anyway, it is an exam that every follower of Jesus needs to take at least annually! Since physical sight is not the issue here (I couldn't administer that kind of exam to all of you at once anyway), what kind of sight are we talking about here? It must mean spiritual vision. The best way to find out is to take the exam itself.

I. Here's the first question on the exam. How do you see other people? Go to the Gospel for today. Jesus came upon a man blind from birth. Probably hundreds of people passed by this man each day. They probably didn't even notice him. Or maybe they tried to avoid him. After all, he was different. He was blind. Many people avoid people who are different from them whatever the difference might be.

How about you? What is your reaction when you encounter someone with a disability? Do you shy away from them? Patronize them? Or do you treat them simply as you would another person.

How do you see other people?

A motivational speaker, Dr. Larry Baker, became blind because of a viral infection when he was 25. Instead of simply sinking into despair over a lifetime of blindness, Dr. Baker used that experience to grow and finally become a time-management expert.

Baker believes everyone has some disability, some lack of ability, to do something they need to do. "The most severe disability I have ever encountered," he says, "are people who are paralyzed from the neck up—people who are not coping with change in ideas and concepts. We make progress by our willingness to make changes."

Don't put certain people in a box—don't give people a label that will hold them back—instead can you see that person just as a human being, a child of God, a person for whom Christ died. That's the first question on our "eye" exam. How do you see other people? Can you see them with Jesus' eyes?

II. Here's the second question: How do you see God? Too many people in today's Gospel reading see God primarily as a dispenser of justice. The disciples, at this point, were doing this. They asked Jesus, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

If that is how we see God, eventually we are going to ask in frustration, "What did I do to deserve this?" Yes, there are lots of things in life—heartaches in life—that are derived from cause-and-effect. One phrase captures this idea: "Don't try sowing wild oats and praying for a crop failure." At the same time, it just isn't right thinking that God would punish a child for the sins of his or her parents. Jesus said, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned—but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."

This is important. God is not interested in punishing us for our past; God's focus is on our future. God wants to take away our hurts and bring healing, so that we may glorify God. God wants to wash away our past so that we will be free to serve God in the present and future!

We don't need to go into the details, but this is what happened in today's Gospel. The blind man experienced first hand the touch of God upon his life. And he gave God the glory!

III. This brings us to the third question in our "spiritual" eye exam: How do you see the good things that happen in your life? Do you see them as accidental? Do you see them as something you deserve because of your hard work? Or do you see them as a gift from God?

You and I have so many blessings in our lives. What a difference it would make in our attitude if we started each day thanking God for those blessings. The man blind from birth was thankful to Christ for his sight. If this man was thankful to receive his sight after a lifetime of darkness, should we not that much more thank God for a lifetime of seeing? That is, if we do see.

How did you do on our spiritual vision exam? A follower of Jesus ought to be able to see. Not with physical eyes, perhaps, but certainly with spiritual ones.

How do you see other people?

How do you see God?

How do you see the good things that happen in your life?

Questions to bring with you to the Lord's Table this morning. Amen.