Psalm 23; 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9 (sermon shared in the UNMISS camp in Juba)
Our readings today speak to us about seeing. We consider how God sees people and how we see ourselves and others.
Many people are quick to judge based on the outward appearance – the colour of our skin, the way we dress, how we speak, the tribal markings that we have, our wealth and status. But God looks at us differently. God looks at our heart.
It is an important message for those who have suffered, who have been displaced, who have been forgotten by others. God has not forgotten you, He will not forget you. He knows your situation and He can and will use you, in this place, to further His Kingdom.
In our reading from 1 Samuel we find Samuel sent to look for a new king of Israel. The Lord tells Samuel that the new king will be one of the sons of Jesse. When he arrives he first sees Eliab, surely this is the Lord’s anointed he thought. But the Lord said “do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him”. It is here that we see the important truth – “men will look at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Jesse calls his next son – Abinadab – Samuel sees him and says, the Lord has not chosen this one either… Then Jesse calls Shammah to pass by but he isn’t the one; seven of Jesse’s sons passed Samuel and he said “the Lord has not chosen these”. Then Samuel asks Jesse – are these all the sons you have? There’s the youngest son, who is out tending sheep says Jesse. Samuel asks him to call him. When he arrived the Lord said to Samuel “rise and anoint him, this is the one”. The son was David and when Samuel had taken oil and anointed him the Holy Spirit came powerfully upon him.
We don’t have to be old to be chosen for a task by God – David was the youngest son; we don’t have to be well educated, David was a shepherd tending his sheep. When God calls us He gives us the Holy Spirit who enables us to do all that He has for us to do.
God chose the one that others didn’t expect. He often chooses those the world forgets. That is one of the reasons why it is important to me to come and pray with you here in the POC. Here in the POC you may feel forgotten by those around but God has not forgotten you. He loves you in just the same way that he loves those worshipping at All Saints Cathedral and those worshipping in western churches – we are all equally important to Him.
It was the now King David who later wrote Psalm 23 – it’s a well known Psalm – it was sung at my wedding, it will be sung at my funeral! It is one of the shorter Psalms and it draws on David’s own experience of being a shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. He knows what it means to be a shepherd. A shepherd walks with the sheep, a shepherd leads the sheep to water. A shepherd protects the sheep from danger. A shepherd searches when one sheep is lost. It’s a beautiful picture of how God walks with, leads, protects and searches for us. He knows us all by name and He calls us.
You have been through difficult times, dark valleys of war, displacement, fear, hunger and uncertainty – yet God has been, and continues to be, with you in it all – “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” The Bible doesn’t say we won’t walk through dark places, but it promises that God walks there with us. “your rod and your staff they comfort me” – the shepherd is close enough to guide and protect each one of us.
As we turn to the New Testament, Ephesians gives us another image – that of light and darkness. When we commit to follow Jesus we move from darkness – often referring to confusion, sin, fear and hopelessness in the Bible – to light, which signifies truth, life and the presence of God.
As Christians we are called to live as children of light. How do we do that? We need to learn to live lives shaped by goodness, truth and righteousness. It means turning away from hatred, bitterness and revenge – however much we have been hurt. It means allowing Jesus to guide our actions and relationships, not being limited to only being friends with those of our tribe to the exclusion of others. It’s not easy – especially for those of us who have suffered – we are often tempted to live with anger or despair rather than the love of Jesus that brings healing, reconciliation and hope.
In 2017 I was on a mission in Bor. One of the team was a Nuer lady called Rebecca. In 2016 Rebecca’s husband had been killed in Juba, a few days before we travelled Bishop Thomas gave Rebecca the news that her brother had been killed. Rebecca stood in front of the Dinka participants at our conference and said to them “you killed my husband, you killed my brother, but I forgive you. I am here because this is where God wants me to be.” It was powerful – we all learned more about forgiveness and living as God’s children that day. We all need to be more like Rebecca – open to forgive as God forgives us.
Our Gospel reading draws all these themes together. Jesus meets a man who has been blind since birth. Society at the time assumed that suffering was a punishment for sin, so the disciples asked Jesus – who sinned – this man or his parents? Jesus says the man’s suffering is not about blame, instead it is to enable God’s work to be seen by those around. Jesus challenges the way society thinks about things. He is saying that the man’s suffering isn’t because he, or his parents, did something wrong; rather that through his suffering people will see God’s work of healing and restoration.
The way that Jesus healed was different to other healings the people had seen – he put mud on the man’s eyes and told him to go and wash it off. As the man obeys he sees for the first time.
Rather than being pleased for him the people start to argue – some refusing to believe, others saying it should not have happened on the Sabbath. As the man responds to the people he begins to understand who Jesus is – he changes his response when asked from “a man named Jesus”, to “He must be a prophet” and then, when he sees Jesus again, he says “Lord, I believe.” Jesus didn’t just give him physical sight to see the world around him, He gave him spiritual sight too – so that he could understand who Jesus is. We all need more of that.
Sometimes God asks us to take an action so that we can receive our healing, so that we can receive relief from suffering – just as, after he’d put the mud on the man’s eyes he told him to go and wash it off.
There may be times that you feel like the blind man, people pass you each day but don’t see you, they see you as Nuer but not as individuals. They may even blame you for the situation you are in. Jesus sees everyone. Just as when he saw the blind man Jesus stopped, Jesus noticed him, Jesus spoke to him, Jesus restored him, Jesus sees you too. He sees families who have fled violence, He sees families that have been split up when fleeing, He sees children growing up in challenging conditions, He sees parents carrying heavy burdens. God does not overlook you.
God saw David in the field tending his sheep; Jesus saw the blind man by the road; the Lord sees you too.
The gospel reading also challenges us to think about how we see other people. Do we just see people by their tribe, their background, their weakness, their differences; or do we see them – as God does – as human beings made in His image, just as we are.
The invitation from Jesus is to move out of darkness, into the light; to move from blindness and become people who can see – people who offer forgiveness when there has been pain – that’s not easy but God is there to help us with it; people who support one another through difficult times; people who refuse to engage in hatred between tribes and communities; people who see others as equal. When we allow Jesus to lead us we see people differently.
We’re in the season of Lent, preparing for Easter. It’s a time of reflection as we remember the path that Jesus took through darkness, through the suffering of the cross. Jesus’ story doesn’t end in the suffering. The cross leads to resurrection; darkness leads to light; death leads to life.
Is God asking you to forgive somebody today, is He asking you to change the way you see others?
In your suffering be encouraged, suffering, living through challenges is not the end of your story.
The Lord is our shepherd.
God sees our heart.
Jesus brings light into darkness.
Those who were blind can see.
When life feels difficult we remember the promise of Psalm 23 – Even though I will through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and you staff, they comfort me.
God is with us. He leads us as a shepherd leads his sheep and He comforts us, His goodness and love follow us and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen