Sermon - 3-19-23

<p>“I once was lost, but now am found, ‘twas blind, but now I see.” “’Twas blind, but now I see.” These are the words that come from the lips of the blind man who was healed in today’s gospel reading. However, most of you know them best as part of the hymn, “Amazing Grace,” written by John Newton. In his first career John Newton was a sea captain, and a slave trader. During a violent storm he cried out for Christ’s mercy. He was “saved” from the violent storm and his life was transformed. He eventually became a minister of the gospel, and he played an important role in the abolitionist movement in England. It was after that transformational experience that he wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace.”</p> <p>“’Twas blind, but now I see.” All of today’s readings connect in some way to blindness and sight.  In the First Reading we have the prophet Samuel who is able to see what David’s father, Jesse, <strong>cannot</strong> see – that this youngest son of less lofty stature, forgotten and out in the fields, is the chosen one. Jesse’s youngest son, David, is the one God has chosen to be king of Israel. And Samuel essentially communicates this message, “Humans see only appearances, but God sees the heart.”</p> <p>“’Twas blind, but now I see.” In today’s Second Reading from Ephesians, we hear words encouraging us to do our own “shadow work” as Richard Rohr would say, our own work on self.  That is where we look to discover <strong>our</strong> blind spots.  We are encouraged to bring our self-deceptions into the light. At the time when Ephesians was written, those who were preparing to be baptized were being encouraged to do what was called a  moral inventory and look at their own self. Psychologists will tell you that we must bring our shames and our denials into the light, or they kill us from within. In essence, this is what repentance is about, and it brings not only newness of life, but also a new way of seeing.</p> <p>“’Twas blind, but now I see.” Finally, we come to today’s gospel reading. This passage from John’s gospel