John 9:1-3 As (Jesus) walked along, he saw a man blind from
birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents
sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. 4 We
must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no
one can work.
Every time she
starts to lovin' she brings eyesight to the blind. “Tommy” by The Who.
The wealth of
thought which could be unpacked from these three verses could fill several
pages. Among other things, verse 3a is one answer to a key question in the book
of Job. Verse 3b signals that Jesus’ cure is one of the “signs” so
characteristic of the Gospel of John. The notion of sight invites a big segue
to the film Avatar. I am mightily resisting the urge to go in that
direction.
Verse 4 is the money shot for today. One can go in
several directions with this, but I choose on this day to point out that if one
pledges one’s faith to Jesus, and Jesus tells you to love God and love your
neighbor as yourself, it implies that God’s work should have a certain priority
in your life. Lots of other things are important too. Raising a family and
improving one’s skills and even rest (remember the third commandment) are all
totally fair. As long as you don’t leave out those things which raise the name
of Jesus to the heavens, and work to amplify that message, rather than sing
along with the congregation. Money is necessary. Money is needed! But busy
hands and active talents employed in his service carry much weight. And your time
is limited. That book is closed when this life is over.
No comments:
Post a Comment