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Dear Friends,

Here are my notes from last Sunday:

One Thing I Know, John 9:1-41
Pastor Dan Damon, Richmond 1st UMC, 3-30-14

Introduction:

One of the great German systematic theologians, Karl Barth, was once asked
to express the most important theological truth. Instead of giving the
expected complex philosophical answer, he quoted William Bradbury¹s 19th
century hymn:

Jesus loves me, this I know,
for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong,
they are weak, but he is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
The Bible tells me so.

One thing I knowŠ Jesus loves me.

Retell the Scripture Story

As Jesus passed by, he saw a man who had been blind since birth. He had
never seen the light of the sun, moon, and stars. The disciples asked, ³Who
sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?²
That is how they thought of things in those days. Do remember the story of
Job? It was the same then. But Jesus answered that it was not sin that
caused the blindness, but that the works of God would be shown in him. Then
Jesus said, ³I am the light of the world.²

Having said this, he spat on the ground, made some mud, and anointed the
eyes of the blind man with it. Jesus told him to go and wash in the pool of
Siloam. The blind man did as he was told, and he returned seeing the earth,
the sky, and the people for the very first time in his life.

The neighbors said, ³Isn¹t this the blind beggar?² Some said, ³No,² but the
man said, ³I am he.² Then the people asked the natural question, ³How were
your eyes opened?² He told them what Jesus had said and done. They asked
where is Jesus, but the man didn¹t know.
The people then brought the Pharisees to the man who had been born blind,
and the teachers of the law questioned him. The Pharisees said, ³This man,
Jesus, is not of God because he healed on the Sabbath day. Others said, ³How
can a sinner do such miracles?² So there was a division among the experts.

They asked the man born blind what he thought about Jesus, and he said, ³He
is a prophet.² The authorities called his parents to see if he had, in fact,
been born blind. The parents confirmed this detail. Then they distanced
themselves from the debate saying, ³He is of age. Ask him how he received
his sight.² His parents were afraid that if they confessed faith in Christ,
they would be put out of the synagogue.

So they called again the man who had been blind and said, ³Give God the
praise: we know that this man is a sinner.² But the man answered very simply
and powerfully from his experience: ³Whether he is a sinner or not, I don¹t
know. One thing I know: Once I was blind, but now I see.²

One thing I know: Once I was blind, but now I see.

Application

One thing I knowŠ God is with us in our times of deepest grief. When the
storms of life are raging, Jesus stands with us. When the sound of
conflicting voices is in us, and all around us, the Spirit of Peace can find
a way to come and to comfort, to give light for the next step.

One thing I know: Jesus loves me. [Barth/Bradbury]

One thing I know: Once I was blind, but now I see. [the man born blind]

One thing I know: God is with us always.

Christine Manderfeld, OSB has written a short SATB chant that will be coming
out this summer in the ³At Your Altars² collection. We will start using it
now, because we need it. Here are the words:
            Risen Christ, let us walk in your presence.
            Let us live in the light of your shining. [repeat]
                  
© 2014 Hope Publishing Company