A
sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 22 March,
2020,
Fourth Sunday in Lent, by the Rev. Phyllis Wong.
The scripture readings that day were Psalm 23; John 9:1-41.
Prayer:
Dear God, may Your Word guide us to reflect on our
own blindness. Holy Spirit, come to open our eyes to see Christ, the light of
the world. May we be transformed and live a life like Christ. May the words of
my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, our healer and redeemer.
Amen.
In my social work training, I learnt a theory
called ‘Johari window’ which is talking about communication and relationship
with others. There are four zones in this window. The first zone is called
‘arena’ in which both I myself and others know; the second zone is called
‘hidden’ in which I myself know but other people do not know; the third zone is
called ‘blind spot’ in which other people know but I don’t know or I don’t see
it. The fourth zone is called ‘unknown’ in which both I myself and others do
not know. In this zone, I think only God know.
We all have our own blind spot. The only difference
is whether if we are aware of it and how much we wish to change. If we are
honest, we would admit it. If we are reflective, we will understand it. If we
are courageous and faithful,
we will change it for the sake of love, for the sake of God.
The gospel story about Jesus’ healing of a man
who was born blind and several conversations between the blind man and the Pharisees,
between Jesus and the Pharisees, between the blind man and Jesus, between the Pharisees
themselves, between the parents of the blind man and the Pharisees, are all
interesting and rich for our reflection in life and faith. The texts are all worth
taking more time to read and reflect for this week.
Encountering our blindness.
Today I have prepared four points to reflect
together.
1st reflection:
Jesus saw and came to the blind man. Jesus took the
initiative to heal. God is always the first one to act. When the blind man was
kicked
out from the community
by the Pharisees, again it was Jesus who come to him and make him see God face to
face.
Take some time to reflect on these questions: do we
see God coming to us or we too are absorbed in our own darkness and problem
that we miss Jesus Christ, the Son of Man sent by God? Are we blind to God’s
presence in our life?
2nd reflection:
Jesus restored the sight of this man who was born
blind. The healing process of this man was ‘he listened to Jesus’ instruction
by going to the Siloam and washed his eyes.’ The healing was a mystery to this
man. He experienced this miracle and yet he did not fully understand why and
how it happened. What he did was to
obey the words of Jesus and took action accordingly.
The blind man did not give up on himself after a long
time of suffering – being blind and poor. He took
part in the healing process. He did what he can.
Now take
some time to reflect on these questions:
Are we
blind to our own strength and not able to see we can make a difference
in our life?
Would our broken life and broken world make us
blind to the gift and strength in us? Are we blind to the grace
of God when we are overwhelmed
by the pain and suffering in life?
3rd reflection:
When the blind man was questioned again and again
about his healing, he was not blind to his conscience. He spoke the truth to
the Pharisees
that he was healed by the man called Jesus. He was even so brave to respond to
the authorities in a sarcastic way - “why do you want to hear it again? Do you
also want to become his disciples?” He further discussed faith and theology with the
religious leaders about sin and defended Jesus Christ was not a sinner. The Pharisees condemned Jesus for not abiding to Law as
he healed the blind man on Sabbath day. The response of the blind man really
led him into
trouble as he was removed
from his community.
Let us spend time to reflect on the below:
Are we blind to our honesty and to the truth when
we are challenged and threatened by people who are in higher position and
power? Do I have the courage to speak
the truth for the
sake of justice and human dignity when it is needed?
4th reflection
In the healing story toward the end (9:39-41),
Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not
see may see, and those who do see may become blind." Some
of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not
blind, are we?" Jesus said to them, "If you were
blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, 'We see,' your sin
remains.
The statement Jesus said to the Pharisees is in a way to
challenge and to enlighten
them to reflect. The
Pharisees were
self-righteous and not reflective at all of themselves and the situation.
The Pharisees were more concerned about human
traditions and religious rules. They cared about their status and religious
authority. They had
no compassion to the people
who were
suffering from illness and live in poverty. In this regard, they were blind at
their heart but they were
not aware at all. Jesus said their sin remains because they have missed the
point, a very important point - that is
God, that is Love and Compassion to others. According to the Greatest Commandment, it is to
love God and our neighbours as ourselves that matter.
The Pharisees were blind to their self-righteousness
and arrogance. As religious leaders, they were blind spiritually. As Christians
we have to be aware of our
blindness in faith.
Let us reflect:
Is there any area in our life we are blind to see
the needs of others but only our own judgement?
Is there any encounter with family and friends we
wish to prove ourselves right and they are wrong, and we end up to be
self-righteous and spiritually blind?
In Lent, as we are encountering our inner struggles
and darkness, and reminded
to turn to the love of God, we need to honestly encounter with our own blindness
within. We need to seek Christ of his light to open our eyes to see and guide
us to a new vision to live and serve.
Christ, the light of the World and the Lord our Shepherd offers to us great promise in the
confrontation of our blindness and lead us to see the new vision. In our
very unsettled
world now as we are facing tremendous threat and fear from the global crisis of
Covid – 19 , the message shared by Pope Francis on St Patrick’s Day on 17 March, is a
great inspiration
enfolded to us for a
new vision we have to work out in our life, in our church and in our world. I
would conclude my sermon by reading it to you.
“Rivers do not drink their own water;
trees do not eat their own fruit;
the sun does not shine on itself and
flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves.
Living for others is a rule of nature.
We are all born to help each other.
No matter how difficult it is…
Life is good when you are happy;
but much better when others are happy because of you.
Let us all remember then that
every changing colour of a leaf is beautiful
and every changing situation of life is meaningful,
both need very clear vision.
So do not grumble or complain,
let us instead remember that
Pain is a sign that we are alive,
Problems are a sign that we are strong and
Prayer is a sign we are not alone!!
If we can acknowledge these truths and
condition our hearts and minds,
our lives will be more meaningful, different and
worthwhile!!”
Amen!
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, March 22, 2020
