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Well, it happened again last week with the weather. The first few days were overcast, cloudy, even with a little snow. Then Thursday dawned – cold, yet bright and sunny. The previous days had been so dreary that I couldn’t help but notice the contrast. I stepped out to get the morning paper, and almost had to shield my eyes. I drove to the girls to school and put on my sunglasses. As I walked into the back door and through the house, There was that luminous quality brought by the sun spreading into all the rooms. As I sat in a chair by the window to read the morning paper, I closed my eyes for a minute to feel the warmth of the sun’s light. Ah! I thought, that feels good. I could feel my spirits begin to lift in hope and new life. I opened my eyes, And I could see – The dust on the top of the television, The crumbs underneath the dining room table, The finger prints on the piano, The smudges on the refrigerator door, And the speckles on the bathroom mirror. Now, maybe you don’t have this situation in your house, But I’ve confessed to you before, And Ill confess again this morning, That, for me, cleanliness is not next to godliness! So while the light on Thursday lifted my spirits and warmed my heart, it also revealed the places where there is still some work to do. Our gospel lesson this morning is about light, About the light that is Jesus. The light of the world brings the miracle of sight and the hope of new life. The light of world brings warmth and love, as well as hope and joy, And just as true, I think, Jesus exposes some of the dust and dirt that crowds our life that keeps us from living into the fullness of God’s dream of wholeness and healing for ourselves and for the world. Friends, Jesus brings everything into the clear light of day, and calls us to take an honest assessment of our lives. And that’s the task, the privilege - and sometimes the struggle – of the Lenten journey. So what’s the dust and dirt that’s living in our personal houses? Where’s the grime that clutters and clings to our hearts and mind? Maybe some of us came to church this morning grasping a little too tightly to a grudge or have let busy-ness overwhelm our lives and detract us from prayer and other ways of connecting with God. Maybe the dust is our desire to seek to control every situation instead of trusting in God’s will and way, Or a good dose of self-righteousness on any number of causes. And in the gospel text this morning, Jesus reveals a dusty perception to his disciples. They ask about the blind man’s condition. Who sinned, they want to know: him or his parents? Jesus’ response is clear: Physical imperfection is not a sign of God’s disfavor, Nor is perfection a sign of God’s favor. Friends, we may be thinking, we’re not like those folks in Biblical times. But maybe it’s true, friends, That - more than we might like to admit - we want to be able to distinguish good from bad by means of simple categories. Think of the language we use: Us, Them… Red Sox, Yankees. . . Arab, Jew. . . Protestant, Catholic. . . Republicans, Democrats…. Friends, enemies….. Jesus came to remind his disciples and the people of his day – and the people of our day – the boundaries we make, the lines in the sand we draw, are merely distortions of a truth a truth that proclaims that we are all members of God’s family, called to love and serve God and each other. Friends, Our discipleship invites us to let the light of Jesus shine on our personal lives – into our hearts, and minds, and spirits – so that we might know the truth of who we are, so that we can live into the truth of who we can become. But the light of Jesus doesn’t permeate only our personal lives and the Lenten journey and task is not a private conversation between me or you and Jesus. Jesus’ light shines outside these doors, around this community and around the region. The dust is in front of us, if we open our eyes: We live in a state where one in ten children grows up in poverty, Right here in this town, and ever more so a few miles north in Hartford, children live in families whose parents work yet struggle to make ends met or pay for a trip to the doctor or medicine when an ear ache or sore throat can’t be ignored. They struggle to learn in school, and to live with the uncertainty of where their next meal or bed is going to come from. We have failed, friends, We have failed to adequately care for the most vulnerable among us, And our sense of hopelessness may be at its highest. Yet, it is that same light that reveals the dust that will enable us to see and seek out those places where positive changes are being made. This morning, the light is streaming into the windows of this beautiful sanctuary, leaving us with that luminous glow. We can proclaim with great truth and joy that as a church we have seen, declared, and followed the light of Christ. And yet, if we are to look carefully, There are a few smudges and crumbs, a little dirt and dust. And it’s not the kind that Dick and Frank work so hard at cleaning up! Our Lenten series has invited us to let the light shine in our community. We’ve explored the areas of pastoral care and stewardship/ We’ve asked ourselves: How do we care for one another? What needs are among us now and how can we respond? Why is it so hard to talk about money? What keeps us from living out our Biblical mandate to give back to God a portion of all that is gift to us? And this week the CE Board is going to lead us at looking the ways children and families are welcomed and included in our liturgical, spiritual, and communal life together. Let me say that there’s a little dust in the house, friends, and there’s also great possibility and energy for welcoming children just as Jesus did. Sisters and brothers, in our Scripture, it’s the dirt and the dust, the mud of the earth that Jesus uses to heal the blind man. Spitting on the ground, He makes a paste and puts it on his eyes, and sends the man off to the pool of Siloam. Is it possible that Jesus can take the dirt and the dust that is in our houses and lead us to a new place of healing and wholeness? Just as he did in the days of public ministry, I believe it is precisely in this place that Jesus meets us – With our eyes opened and in the fullness of who we are. Today Jesus meets us inthe sacrament of communion. Here, at this table, we are offered his presence, his strength, his love and his life. It is the grace from this holy meal that can transform our grit and our grime, and our faults and our failings. Here is where the boundary lines we have drawn are reshaped into a circle of hope. Here is where fear can be deepened into trust, and where the need for control can become a commitment to justice and righteousness for all God’s people. Here at the table of the Lord, the distractions of life slow down and we focus once again on God’s power and Jesus’ promise of new life and strength. Here, friends, here with Jesus, is where the light shines – not just around us, but within us, too. Just like the blind man, we are sent back into the world. From this table, We are sent out: to school, to work, to family life, to offices and classrooms and grocery stores and all the other places our daily living takes us. We, too, are called to share what Jesus has done for us. This is our good news and our grace to share with the world: We have met Christ are transformed, healed, and renewed! Amen. |