Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of the 5th Week in Lent: Year 1
Morning, Psalms 121, 122 and 123; Evening, Psalms 124, 125 and 126;
Jeremiah 25:8 to 17; Romans 10:1 to13; John 9:18 to 41
“The man answered, ‘Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.” (John 9: 30)
As you can see, I want to continue with our John Gospel readings. This Gospel story of the man born blind fascinates me. He stands up to the Pharisees knowing that he could be thrown out of the synagogue. His parents had the same fear. The difference is, he has never experienced the sights of the synagogue. You can’t miss what you have never had.
This once blind man mocks the Pharisees by asking them if they too want to become disciples of Jesus. He is eventually thrown out of the synagogue. Jesus finds him and explains to him who Jesus is, the one who is speaking to him in the moment. At this point in his life, he has never seen nor heard more clearly in his life. The same is true for us when we first come to believe.
This truly is Amazing Grace. We too were blind but now we see. We were lost but now we are found. No one is beyond the reach of our Lord Jesus. It is especially sad when the people responsible for giving others hope, the clergy, be they Pharisee, Rabbi, Imam, priests or any kind of faith leader, refuses to see what is happening right in front of their eyes. We need to realize that God will act through whom God will act. We can’t pick for God, God picks for God and God picks for us.
There are still know-it-all religious leaders who resist the wondrous works of God. Think about this man, Jesus didn’t “restore” his sight. Our Lord Jesus gave him sight for the first time! Many of us today are in need of a first-time sight when it comes to having unconditional love for our neighbors, all of our neighbors.
As I write this our nation is grieving over the loss of life in horrific murders in Nashville, Tennessee, my home town. There is much concern about why this happens. We should be heartbroken about any persons murdered, anywhere. I consider myself a Christian, American cowboy, who walks the Anglican Episcopal, path. I only realized this about myself when my Lord Jesus opened my eyes about myself some forty years ago. And yes, for me, this is an astonishing thing! Work with our Lord Jesus as did this man born blind. Jesus will open your eyes to the life that best suits you. You will then have real vision for the first time. Thank You Lord Jesus.
Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia.
As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John
onewhoponders 