March 22, 2020 Text: John 9:1-41
Dear Friends in Christ,
Are you a spotlight person? Do you crave attention? When the pressure is on do you perform at your best? In my observation of the many humans here at Good Shepherd most of you are non-spotlight people. You do your job and move on. In the church we are not applauding for the work of the altar guild and ushers. We don’t give medals to the acolytes and financial counters. We don’t shower Mary Anne with roses for her beautiful work on the organ. And we don’t pat the elder on the back just because he got that tricky Old Testament person or town pronunciation right.
In today’s gospel the spotlight is going to shine on many people. But what does it reveal?
“IN THE SPOTLIGHT”
In the spotlight to begin our text is the man blind from birth. He has no light in his eyes. We know light, so we can see. This man had no concept of light. Whether he wanted it or not this man is thrust into the spotlight because of the miracle of Jesus. His neighbors saw him and he told the story of Jesus’ healing.
Being in the spotlight sometimes brings things that make us uncomfortable and this happens here. The Pharisees are brought in. Interrogation time from these know-it-alls. Was this healing from God? This man who knew no light has the spotlight of investigation put on him.
The Pharisees are now in the spotlight, and as they put the man in the spotlight, they are blind to the divinity of Jesus. The man claims that Jesus is a prophet. The Pharisees now turn the spotlight from the man born blind to Jesus. They claimed that since Jesus healed on the Sabbath, he was not from God. But the man in the spotlight in verses 35-38 comes to see Jesus in the true light – “Lord, I believe.”
The spotlight shines on you and I. It can be uncomfortable as are sin is revealed. We are born spiritually blind. We are enemies of God. God is light but we turn away – “get me out of this spotlight.”
Like the Pharisees, we put the spotlight on Jesus to examine him. We do it according to our terms. We listen to his words but only listen to the words that support our opinions. We do not want to be enlightened by Him. We are lost in the darkness of death.
In the spotlight is Jesus. But you see He is always in the spotlight even in this story. He is the eternal spotlight because we know that God is light. The light of Jesus is what we need to see. It shines brightest on Him when He goes to the cross. Jesus obeyed His Father perfectly. He did not shy away from the task that put Him in front of the world. In His Words they enlighten us and let us know that the sins of the whole world and our individual sins are forgiven. Darkness wiped away – light has come.
The brightest of lights was shone on Easter morning. The light of the resurrection was casting out the darkness of death. His resurrection light can now shine on the darkness and uncertainty of our world.
Through baptism, Jesus’ light shines in you. Jesus says in verse 5, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Jesus is still in the world administering baptism through his called Shepherds so that those born in darkness can see the light. The Holy Spirit has enlightened you with Baptism, so that Christ’s light now shines through you.
This will come as no surprise to most of you, but I am a spotlight person. When I competed in sports I always had my best games in front of the biggest crowds. The Lord has blessed me to not shrink when the big moment comes. We are living in a big moment. Some see fear and anxiety. I see opportunity. Some see darkness and drear. I see light and Jesus. What do you see? The Lord has put a sinful world in the spotlight with a sickness that can scare us. As His people we live in the light of Christ. It is a prime opportunity to put Jesus in the spotlight. His Word can calm anxiety. He listens to our prayers and gives our heart peace. The Holy Spirit leads us to help our neighbor, not be pushy or hoard products that we all need and for the world to see the light of Christ in us when we look outside ourselves. Step into the spotlight because the eternal spotlight of Jesus Christ our Savior shines in you.
Amen.