Here's to mud in your eye......
1 Samuel 16:1-13 • Psalm 23 • Ephesians 5:8-14 • John 9:1-41
“I once was lost, but now am found…. Was blind but now I see”.
Throughout history, there have been many great stories of conversions. One most famous is the person who wrote Amazing Grace, John Newton. The story goes that as a young boy of 7, John’s mother died and his father brought him into a life upon the sea. This life was a rough one and formed John into a reckless and self-centered individual who ended up in the company of a slave trader who treated him badly. This was not the turning point for John. After being rescued and resuming a career in slave trading, it was a storm at sea and the imminent sinking of his boat, that persuaded him to cry out to God for rescue. Miraculously, the boat was saved because the cargo moved to fill the hole, from which the boat was sinking. From that time, John began to read the Bible and pray, yet he still continued in the slave trade, and did not consider himself converted, but it was the start of a gradual and complete transformation.
Another person who God literally blinded so that he could truly see, was Saint Paul. Saint Paul was zealous for God and yet persecuted the Christians. It seems very fitting that our Letter to the Ephesians would have this theme of light and dark; “5:8 For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light.”
Paul and John Newton both had an encounter with the Amazing Grace of God. This grace will not reject a person because of the things they have done. This grace goes to extraordinary lengths to show the unconditional love and acceptance of God.
Our Gospel story shows us God’s people, like Paul and John Newton prior to their conversion, living in darkness – It is a darkness that cannot understand God’s love and grace, and therefore doesn’t understand or know God at all.
Our Gospel tells of a man born blind. Some background information on this man; he was obviously cared for by his parents and not a poor beggar. His parents were regulars at the synagogue, as we read that they avoided confrontation with the Jews because they wanted to retain their social position and freedom to attend the synagogue. The man was well acquainted with the word of God as he was able to quote to the Jews, “We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."
There are some other odd things about this story. Firstly, there is no request for healing. The disciples asked Jesus who sinned – this man or his parents. This tells us about how the people perceived those with physical ailments. It was common belief that physical ailments were a punishment of God. Jesus makes it clear that sin had nothing to do with it, and goes one step further by announcing that this man is God’s chosen vessel to show the glory of God. How appropriate that the Jews in confronting the man for the second time say, “give glory to God!”
Jesus made mud and put it on the man’s eyes. Kohl was used on eyelids in ancient times as a remedy for eyes. I don’t know if Jesus was making some connection with this when he made the mud, but it certainly irritated the Jews because, in so doing, he broke the Sabbath.
To the Jews, it looked like Jesus was breaking God’s law. They were looking at out-side appearances and from what they saw they made a judgment and rejected Jesus.
In our Old Testament reading, Samuel was called to anoint a king. Israel already had a King, Saul, but he didn’t fully obey God’s command. Saul began to follow God’s command but then decided to do things his own way, and in so doing he re-interpreted God’s command to benefit himself. This is much the same as the way that the Jews in our New Testament had re-interpreted the law of the Sabbath to benefit themselves. Therefore Samuel was called to visit Jesse of Bethlehem. Samuel was to anoint one of his sons as king.
The first of Jessie’s sons passed by Samuel and Samuel was impressed. From what he could see, this man would make a fine king, but God had another plan and a lesson for Samuel that would be a lesson for us all.
One by one each of Jessie’s very fine sons passed by Samuel and none was chosen as king. The youngest was all that was left. David happened to be very good looking and have many great qualities, but the one quality that we read mentioned in other chapters that put him above the rest, was that he was described as being a man after God’s own heart.
A google search tells me;( https://www.quora.com/Why-did-God-call-David-a-man-after-His-own-heart) “The Lord still called Him a man after His own heart. Because David longed and pursued justice and mercy for God's people. He longed to do works that were pleasing to God, even when his life was at risk. He showed many times that he loved and desired truth and integrity more than his own life.”
My own belief is that David understood God’s heart and his own desires reflected God’s priorities (most of the time). In other words, David’s heart and God’s heart were similar. David had a unique understanding of God that reflected an intimate relationship with God. David knew that he wasn’t always perfect, but he was quick to repent when he did wrong, and he knew and understood God’s redemption and unconditional love.
David was anointed as King, but he didn’t actually walk in that position until many years later. His anointing was a promise of a position to come, and while he waited and throughout his time as King, the spirit of the LORD was upon him, as we read; “the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward.”
One of my favourite things about David is that he gave us some incredible Psalms. In these we witness an honest out-pouring of the heart. We read of his struggles, his doubts, his grief and his joy, but throughout all, we witness a faith that knows God’s love even when he doesn’t understand and even when it feels like he is in the valley of death.
Recently I attended a workshop where we were invited to reflect on the 23rd Psalm. Looking at this Psalm with such familiarity we may forget that this was written by a very real person with some extreme circumstances and a very real understanding of suffering, betrayal and God’s love through it all. One element of the Psalm that I think is really precious is that part about the walking through the valley of death. Even though I walk through the valley of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me. Sounds like something we all need at the moment as the whole world is thrown into that dark valley of the Corona Virus. We will be walking it for some time yet as the physical and economic effects may be manifold and drawn out over a long time.
It seems as though the whole of our world has been drawn together into a time of darkness and we are only just entering that valley.
David was a shepherd and he understood his relationship with the sheep in his fold. He understood that God cares for us in the same way as a good shepherd cares for his sheep. We, like sheep, are blind about where we are going. We are blind when it comes to finding the right path. Think about how the shepherd uses his rod and staff and lead the sheep on the right path. I don’t know about you, but I tend to stress a fair bit over whether or not I’m going down the right way – the way God wants me to go, but according to this picture painted by David in the 23rd Psalm, I need not have any worry because God will make me go where the path is good….. even if it means passing through the valley of death.
Sheep and the blind both need someone to lead them. The blind man in our story had a strong personality. He was confident in speaking with the Jews and in his blindness I suspect he may have seen more than most as he most probably listened better than most. He heard about Jesus, he heard what the Jews were saying and he had heard the scriptures. Something else he heard – “who sinned, this man or his parents?” How many times before do you think he heard this?
David was the youngest and least important in his family. He was deemed so inconsequential that his family didn’t think it appropriate for him to attend the feast with the prophet Samuel.
He was not expecting to be taken from his sheep and anointed as king, chosen to show the glory of God. The blind man, likewise, did not expect to be anointed with mud, healed and chosen to show the glory of God.
It seems that God delights in choosing those that the world rejects, those the world has already condemned, and he anoints them, giving them a destiny, to show the glory of God.
As for the Jews in our Gospel story, these represented a whole nation chosen to show the glory of God, but they had fallen asleep in the light and become blind. It is an easy thing to do. They remind me of a song by Keith Green (the same person who co-wrote, There is a Redeemer). He wrote a song called Asleep in the Light. “"oh, bless me, lord! Bless me, lord!" You know, it's all I ever hear! No one aches, No one hurts, No one even sheds one tear But, he cries, He weeps, He bleeds, And he cares for your needs And you just lay back, And keep soaking it in
Oh, can't you see such sin?! 'cause he brings people to your door, And you turn them away, As you smile and say, "god bless you! Be at peace!" And all heaven just weeps, 'cause Jesus came to your door, You left him out on the streets……..
Oh, can't you see such sin?! The world is sleeping in the dark, That the church just can't fight, 'cause it's asleep in the light! How can you be so dead?! When you've been so well fed? Jesus rose from the grave, And you! You can't even get out of bed! Oh, Jesus rose from the dead! Come on, get out of your bed!
1 Samuel 16:1-13 • Psalm 23 • Ephesians 5:8-14 • John 9:1-41
“I once was lost, but now am found…. Was blind but now I see”.
Throughout history, there have been many great stories of conversions. One most famous is the person who wrote Amazing Grace, John Newton. The story goes that as a young boy of 7, John’s mother died and his father brought him into a life upon the sea. This life was a rough one and formed John into a reckless and self-centered individual who ended up in the company of a slave trader who treated him badly. This was not the turning point for John. After being rescued and resuming a career in slave trading, it was a storm at sea and the imminent sinking of his boat, that persuaded him to cry out to God for rescue. Miraculously, the boat was saved because the cargo moved to fill the hole, from which the boat was sinking. From that time, John began to read the Bible and pray, yet he still continued in the slave trade, and did not consider himself converted, but it was the start of a gradual and complete transformation.
Another person who God literally blinded so that he could truly see, was Saint Paul. Saint Paul was zealous for God and yet persecuted the Christians. It seems very fitting that our Letter to the Ephesians would have this theme of light and dark; “5:8 For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light.”
Paul and John Newton both had an encounter with the Amazing Grace of God. This grace will not reject a person because of the things they have done. This grace goes to extraordinary lengths to show the unconditional love and acceptance of God.
Our Gospel story shows us God’s people, like Paul and John Newton prior to their conversion, living in darkness – It is a darkness that cannot understand God’s love and grace, and therefore doesn’t understand or know God at all.
Our Gospel tells of a man born blind. Some background information on this man; he was obviously cared for by his parents and not a poor beggar. His parents were regulars at the synagogue, as we read that they avoided confrontation with the Jews because they wanted to retain their social position and freedom to attend the synagogue. The man was well acquainted with the word of God as he was able to quote to the Jews, “We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."
There are some other odd things about this story. Firstly, there is no request for healing. The disciples asked Jesus who sinned – this man or his parents. This tells us about how the people perceived those with physical ailments. It was common belief that physical ailments were a punishment of God. Jesus makes it clear that sin had nothing to do with it, and goes one step further by announcing that this man is God’s chosen vessel to show the glory of God. How appropriate that the Jews in confronting the man for the second time say, “give glory to God!”
Jesus made mud and put it on the man’s eyes. Kohl was used on eyelids in ancient times as a remedy for eyes. I don’t know if Jesus was making some connection with this when he made the mud, but it certainly irritated the Jews because, in so doing, he broke the Sabbath.
To the Jews, it looked like Jesus was breaking God’s law. They were looking at out-side appearances and from what they saw they made a judgment and rejected Jesus.
In our Old Testament reading, Samuel was called to anoint a king. Israel already had a King, Saul, but he didn’t fully obey God’s command. Saul began to follow God’s command but then decided to do things his own way, and in so doing he re-interpreted God’s command to benefit himself. This is much the same as the way that the Jews in our New Testament had re-interpreted the law of the Sabbath to benefit themselves. Therefore Samuel was called to visit Jesse of Bethlehem. Samuel was to anoint one of his sons as king.
The first of Jessie’s sons passed by Samuel and Samuel was impressed. From what he could see, this man would make a fine king, but God had another plan and a lesson for Samuel that would be a lesson for us all.
One by one each of Jessie’s very fine sons passed by Samuel and none was chosen as king. The youngest was all that was left. David happened to be very good looking and have many great qualities, but the one quality that we read mentioned in other chapters that put him above the rest, was that he was described as being a man after God’s own heart.
A google search tells me;( https://www.quora.com/Why-did-God-call-David-a-man-after-His-own-heart) “The Lord still called Him a man after His own heart. Because David longed and pursued justice and mercy for God's people. He longed to do works that were pleasing to God, even when his life was at risk. He showed many times that he loved and desired truth and integrity more than his own life.”
My own belief is that David understood God’s heart and his own desires reflected God’s priorities (most of the time). In other words, David’s heart and God’s heart were similar. David had a unique understanding of God that reflected an intimate relationship with God. David knew that he wasn’t always perfect, but he was quick to repent when he did wrong, and he knew and understood God’s redemption and unconditional love.
David was anointed as King, but he didn’t actually walk in that position until many years later. His anointing was a promise of a position to come, and while he waited and throughout his time as King, the spirit of the LORD was upon him, as we read; “the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward.”
One of my favourite things about David is that he gave us some incredible Psalms. In these we witness an honest out-pouring of the heart. We read of his struggles, his doubts, his grief and his joy, but throughout all, we witness a faith that knows God’s love even when he doesn’t understand and even when it feels like he is in the valley of death.
Recently I attended a workshop where we were invited to reflect on the 23rd Psalm. Looking at this Psalm with such familiarity we may forget that this was written by a very real person with some extreme circumstances and a very real understanding of suffering, betrayal and God’s love through it all. One element of the Psalm that I think is really precious is that part about the walking through the valley of death. Even though I walk through the valley of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me. Sounds like something we all need at the moment as the whole world is thrown into that dark valley of the Corona Virus. We will be walking it for some time yet as the physical and economic effects may be manifold and drawn out over a long time.
It seems as though the whole of our world has been drawn together into a time of darkness and we are only just entering that valley.
David was a shepherd and he understood his relationship with the sheep in his fold. He understood that God cares for us in the same way as a good shepherd cares for his sheep. We, like sheep, are blind about where we are going. We are blind when it comes to finding the right path. Think about how the shepherd uses his rod and staff and lead the sheep on the right path. I don’t know about you, but I tend to stress a fair bit over whether or not I’m going down the right way – the way God wants me to go, but according to this picture painted by David in the 23rd Psalm, I need not have any worry because God will make me go where the path is good….. even if it means passing through the valley of death.
Sheep and the blind both need someone to lead them. The blind man in our story had a strong personality. He was confident in speaking with the Jews and in his blindness I suspect he may have seen more than most as he most probably listened better than most. He heard about Jesus, he heard what the Jews were saying and he had heard the scriptures. Something else he heard – “who sinned, this man or his parents?” How many times before do you think he heard this?
David was the youngest and least important in his family. He was deemed so inconsequential that his family didn’t think it appropriate for him to attend the feast with the prophet Samuel.
He was not expecting to be taken from his sheep and anointed as king, chosen to show the glory of God. The blind man, likewise, did not expect to be anointed with mud, healed and chosen to show the glory of God.
It seems that God delights in choosing those that the world rejects, those the world has already condemned, and he anoints them, giving them a destiny, to show the glory of God.
As for the Jews in our Gospel story, these represented a whole nation chosen to show the glory of God, but they had fallen asleep in the light and become blind. It is an easy thing to do. They remind me of a song by Keith Green (the same person who co-wrote, There is a Redeemer). He wrote a song called Asleep in the Light. “"oh, bless me, lord! Bless me, lord!" You know, it's all I ever hear! No one aches, No one hurts, No one even sheds one tear But, he cries, He weeps, He bleeds, And he cares for your needs And you just lay back, And keep soaking it in
Oh, can't you see such sin?! 'cause he brings people to your door, And you turn them away, As you smile and say, "god bless you! Be at peace!" And all heaven just weeps, 'cause Jesus came to your door, You left him out on the streets……..
Oh, can't you see such sin?! The world is sleeping in the dark, That the church just can't fight, 'cause it's asleep in the light! How can you be so dead?! When you've been so well fed? Jesus rose from the grave, And you! You can't even get out of bed! Oh, Jesus rose from the dead! Come on, get out of your bed!
As for us, at this time of great darkness, how can we respond to the world around us as it struggles in fear and chaos? We are small and fragile. Many of us are vulnerable, but we have been anointed at our baptism to show the glory of God. We are chosen. We were anointed and set apart for God’s own purpose, to show the Glory of God.
And so, understanding that the origin of the common toast, here’s to mud in your eye, comes from this biblical passage, we figuratively raise our glass and proclaim it with new understanding and a prayer: May there be mud on our eyes anointed by Jesus so our eyes may be opened to truly see the way that God has called us to be his light in this dark time, for we have been asleep – we have been blind, but now we see.
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