31st March – Born this way
Audio
Prepare
Welcome to Monday, the second day of the week, the 31st of March, and the twenty-seventh day of Lent.
Psalm Reading
We begin by listening to verses 1, 5, and then 9 to 10 from today’s appointed psalm, Psalm 27.
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?5 For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.9 Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my salvation!
10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will take me in.
Scripture Reading
We continue with our reading today from the New Testament, John 9:18-41. This is actually the second half of a story that began from verse 1 of John 9. Here we read verses 18a, 24-25, 31-38.
18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight …
24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see. … 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
Reflection
Friends, when was the last time you met a differently-abled person in your church? How did you react to him or her? Did you feel “compelled” to pray for her healing?
Were you annoyed, embarrassed, repulsed even, by her “strange-ness”? Did you try to walk the other way, or on the other side of the road, so you can avoid bumping into this person altogether? If an encounter was unavoidable, did you wish in your heart for her to go somewhere else, any other church, just don’t stay in yours? Were you worried that she will come to know, and remember, your name, and so keep coming to you for help? Perhaps you tried to give money, or material goods, to alleviate a nagging sense of guilt for not actually spending time to care for this person?
Disability is complex, isn’t it? Our Scripture reading today invites us into a story about disability with Jesus.
In this story, the man was blind from birth (v.1), and he was begging (v.8-9) in Jerusalem, apparently not far from the Temple (v.1 read with the last verse of John 8). We know his parents are alive, and potentially afraid of losing their membership in the synagogue (v.22).
The Pharisees were adamant that the man was “born in utter sin” (v.34) and unworthy to “teach” them.
The disciples also thought the blindness was a consequence of sin and they went straight to the question of who sinned – the man or his parents (v. 2).
Unlike in other accounts elsewhere in the Gospels, the man did not ask Jesus to heal him of his blindness. Jesus initiated the healing after he declared “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day…” (v.3-4) Three times, the man was asked about the mechanics of his healing, and twice the man recounted the ‘how’ – “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” (v. 11)
And with the restoration of the man’s sight came also the restoration of his confidence – enough to debate the Pharisees! (v.25-33) And he won, else the Pharisees would not have bothered with casting him out.
Finally, Jesus restored the man’s dignity by seeking him out, after the Jews rejected him. Jesus opened the door for friendship by revealing His identity to the man (v.37). Jesus honoured the man as a person to know and be known, to love and be loved.
Collect/Prayer
Friends, how does Jesus’ approach to disability change yours? What else is the Lord saying to you through this passage?
We close this time with a prayer on the diversity of abilities, adapted from the Prayer for the Diversity of Races and Cultures[i]:-
O God, who created all peoples in your image: Show us your presence in those who differ from us, and enrich our lives with their fellowship, until our knowledge of your love is made perfect in our love for one another who are all your children; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
[i] Adapted from A Prayer for the Diversity of Races and Cultures available at https://www.dailyoffice2019.com/collects
Song for the Sabbath is a song written by Hilary Lim. She said: “The Sabbath wasn’t about sitting back and doing nothing. It involved spending ourselves to serve those around us, and being part of restoring the hungry, poor, oppressed. It is a challenge still relevant for our times, especially as needs are brought to light – will we choose to give of ourselves, our resources, our time, to serve the vulnerable among us?”
More info here.
Song for the Sabbath
written by Hilary Lim
performed by Calvin Gan
Can we lay our burdens down
Lose our striving to be found
By the One who bears our load
Can we let our plans fall through
Walk another mile or two
With a stranger on the road
Our Father feeds the sparrows
The hours and times are His
We can leave the land to rest
For He gives what we need today
We can live with open hands
To bless the ones who come our way
Come our way
Can we give until it hurts
Love our neighbour in the dirt
Of the brokenness we share
Can we turn the other cheek
Be gentle with the weak
Live more humbly than we dare
We’re seeds that live by dying
Our Father makes us grow
We can leave the land to rest
For He gives what we need today
We can live with open hands
To bless the ones who come our way
Come our way
Daily Devotion 
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