Reuben's Sermon for 4th Sunday in Lent:
Reuben's Theme: "See The Light"
(Lent 4) - MORNING & EVENING MASS
0800hrs. and 1800hrs at Holy Saviour, Tynemouth.
Sunday, 6th. March 2005 Anno Domini.
Mass: 1Samuel: 16.1-13 Ps: 23 Ephesians 5.8­14 John: 9.1-41

March 6, 2005 Cycle A Lent 4

COLLECT

Merciful Lord, absolve your people from their offences, that through your bountiful goodness - we may all be delivered from the chains of those sins which by our frailty we have committed; grant this, heavenly Father, for Jesus Christ's sake, our blessèd Lord and Saviour, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

FIRST READING 1 Samuel 16.1­13

A reading from the first book of Samuel.
The LORD said to Samuel, 'How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.'
Samuel said, 'How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.'
And the LORD said, 'Take a heifer with you, and say, "I have come to sacrifice to the LORD." Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.'
Samuel did what the LORD commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, 'Do you come peaceably?'
He said, 'Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.'
And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, 'Surely the Lord's anointed is now before the LORD.'
But the LORD said to Samuel, 'Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.'
Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel.
He said, 'Neither has the LORD chosen this one.'
Then Jesse made Shammah pass by.
And he said, 'Neither has the LORD chosen this one.'
Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, 'The LORD has not chosen any of these.'
Samuel said to Jesse, 'Are all your sons here?'
And he said, 'There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.'
And Samuel said to Jesse, 'Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.' He sent and brought David in.
Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome.
The LORD said, 'Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.'
Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

PSALM Psalm 23

RR The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. RR
3 He revives my soul and guides me along right pathways for his name's sake.
4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. RR
5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over.
6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. RR

SECOND READING Ephesians 5.8­14

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Ephesians.
Once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light ­ for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true.
Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light.
Therefore it says, 'Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.'

GOSPEL John 9.1­41

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
As Jesus walked along, he saw a man blind from birth.
His disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?'
Jesus answered, 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.'
When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes, saying to him, 'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam' (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.
The neighbours and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, 'Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?'
Some were saying, 'It is he.' Others were saying, 'No, but it is someone like him.' He kept saying, 'I am the man.'
But they kept asking him, 'Then how were your eyes opened?'
He answered, 'The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, "Go to Siloam and wash." Then I went and washed and received my sight.'
They said to him, 'Where is he?'
He said, 'I do not know.'
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight.
He said to them, 'He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.'
Some of the Pharisees said, 'This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.' But others said, 'How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?' And they were divided.
So they said again to the blind man, 'What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.'
He said, 'He is a prophet.'
The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, 'Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?'
His parents answered, 'We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.' His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue.
Therefore his parents said, 'He is of age; ask him.'
So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, 'Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.'
He answered, 'I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.'
They said to him, 'What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?'
He answered them, 'I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?'
Then they reviled him, saying, 'You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.'
The man answered, 'Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.'
They answered him, 'You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?' And they drove him out.
Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, 'Do you believe in the Son of Man?'
He answered, 'And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.'
Jesus said to him, 'You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.'
He said, 'Lord, I believe.' And he worshipped him.
Jesus said, 'I came into this world for judgement 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.'

POST COMMUNION

Lord God, whose blessèd Son our Saviour gave his back to the smiters and did not hide his face from shame: give us grace to endure the sufferings of this present time with sure confidence in the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Reuben's Theme: "See the Light"

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Our first reading, set for the Holy Communion services today, is from the first book of Samuel.
God has plans for the future of Israel...
...for the of the line of Jesse.
The establishment of the 'House of David'.
We heard the story of how David, the youngest son of Jesse of Bethlehem, is anointed to be King.
Anointed by Samuel...
...but chosen be God!
Saul has been rejected - David has been chosen.
The old ways of Israel are past...
A new way for the future has been chosen...
...by God... ...for his people.

In our second reading Paul tells us, in his letter to the Ephesians, how the old selfish ways must be rejected, letting the new way of life change our thinking and remould the pattern of our behaviour. Calling for truth and honesty, harbouring no grudges, spite or bitterness, and learning the ways of kindness and a new readiness to forgive. In a word we are to copy God's character taking us from the ways of darkness into the ways of light.
The old ways of darkness are past...
A new way for the future has been chosen...
...by God... ...for his people.

In our gospel reading today we see how Jesus really is the light of the world - the blind man sees and the sighted shut their eyes.
The blind man is brought out of darkness into light.
The old ways of Israel are past...
A new way for the future has been chosen...
...by God... ...for his people.

Hang on! Do I detect a pattern here?
There's not much gets past me you know!
And that is what the liturgy of the day...
...for today... ...is all about.
Our journey...
from darkness to light with God.
from ignorance to understanding with God.
from rejection to acceptance with God.
from lies to honesty with God.
cruelty to kindness with God.
from sin to redemption with God.

We have to be very careful when listening to the word of God from any part of the Bible...
...but we must tread with even more care when we venture into the world of... 'The Gospel according to John'.
I keep telling everyone that I feel John is one of the greatest wordsmiths the world has ever known. His use of language and metaphor is what makes his Gospel so compelling to me.
His use of symbols and mind pictures is overwhelmingly powerful...
...but we must be very careful not to get so wrapped up in his words that we lose his message to us.
With John; blindness is darkness - which can mean several things... ...all very negative.
With John; one's eyes being opened is becoming aware of light - which can also mean several things... ...all very positive.
In this case, the blind man is living a life, since the day he was born, without God...
...without understanding...
...without honesty...
...without kindness...
...he is living a life of sin...
...he is in darkness... ...he is blind.
Through Jesus, the blind man's eyes are opened,
Jesus brings him to God...
Jesus saves him from a life of ignorance...
Jesus saves him from a life of lies...
Jesus saves him from a life of cruelty...
Jesus saves him from a life of sin.
The blind man has seen the light!
...the light of the world... ...the light of salvation.
And that is today's message on this, the fourth, Sunday in Lent.

As we journey through Lent...
...as we journey through life...
when we repent of our sins - and we all do sin...
when we repent of all our sins through Jesus Christ we turn from darkness to light with God.
...from ignorance to understanding with God.
...from sin to salvation... ...with God.

That! is the formula for a truly happy Easter.

So, our homework for this week:
Find a priest... ...and make our confessions.
Because...
Absolved from our offences...
...through God's bountiful goodness...
...we will be delivered...
...from the chains of those sins...
...which by our frailty...

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.