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"Learn To Examine Your Beliefs” Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – March
30, 2014 Centenary United
Psalm 23; John 9:1-34 This morning we are going to discuss how our beliefs can become a window through which to experience the Kingdom of God or a window to view one of the sources that has been isolating us from the rest of the world -- our negative attitudes, our need to blame others, our challenging moods, etc. Lent is an excellent time to place our beliefs under our individual microscopes. Beliefs are determining the direction and quality of our lives. Our lengthy story in John’s Gospel this morning is a prime
example of religious authorities allowing their beliefs to shield them
from experiencing a miracle.
Their powerful beliefs were so engrained in their minds and in
their daily practices that there was no leeway for being open to another
possibility. Jesus healed a man who had been born blind.
This healing was so remarkable that even the blind man’s
neighbors doubted that he was the same man.
(John 9:9) His
friends asked him, “How is it that you can see?”
He told them, “The man Jesus made some mud and rubbed it on my
eyes. Then he told me to
wash my face and after I did that, I could see.”
(John 9:11) The news of this healing spread throughout the village and
eventually found its way to the Pharisees.
They doubted that this miracle was of God because the person who
reportedly healed the blind man was
a sinner.
Jesus had broken the Sabbath law by healing on Saturday.
This was a major crime. Some of us may recall the time recorded in the Book of Numbers
when a man was caught gathering firewood on the Saturday.
Listen to how this drama unfolded:
“The Lord told Moses ‘the man must be put to death; the entire
community is to stone him to death outside the camp.’
They took the man outside the camp and killed him as God had
commanded.” (Numbers
15:32f) Religious beliefs that outcrop in this fashion can give people attitudes and behaviors that are as insane as are those that are practiced today by the Taliban. Many of these laws came from the inspiration of priests. The Priestly Law Code provided rigid guidance to the Jews for maintaining their community. Jesus frequently set aside many of these laws. For example, He once taught, “You have heard it said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’ but I say, ‘Do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you.’” (Matthew 5:38f) The Jewish authorities went on a fact-finding mission and decided
to question the blind man’s parents. His parents said, “Yes, he is our
son and he was born blind.
We have no idea how he came to see or who cured him.”
The religious leaders brought the man back before them and made
him swear before God to tell them the truth. He did just that and then
said, “I don’t know if Jesus is a sinner or not.
What I do know is that I was blind but now I see.” (John 9:25) The man began to tell them that no one could restore the sight of
someone that had been born blind unless the healer was a man of God.
These leaders had no desire to be flexible in interpreting the law.
Their response was classic.
They said to the man, “You were born and brought up in
sin and you are trying to teach us?” They expelled him from the
synagogue. (John 9:34) Reviewing this remarkable story during our Lenten journey gives
us the opportunity to study a number of our own beliefs.
Are they a rock upon which we can build our lives or are they
ideas that proclaim a message that is void of compassion, patience and
understanding? All of us
have a number of unrecognized
beliefs that govern our responses.
I have performed a number of marriage ceremonies for Roman
Catholics where one or both have been divorced.
They could not tolerate the inconvenience and trouble that their
parish priest wanted to impose on them.
They did not care about the laws of the church.
During my premarital session with one couple, their attitude was,
“Who cares if our priest refuses to give us Holy Communion for the rest
of our lives? We can live
with that. Their rules,
however, speak louder than their respect for people that believe
differently.” When I officiated at a marriage between a Roman Catholic and Jew,
both of their families were so opposed to the marriage that they refused
to attend the ceremony.
Their wedding took place with just the three of us.
The bride and groom said, “We love our families very much, but
their refusal to approve of our love is their problem not ours.”
What does it mean when our beliefs prevent us from accepting the
decisions and beliefs of others? When
we feel badly about anything, the chances are good that lurking behind
our being upset are beliefs that we have not examined.
Jesus’ teachings offer
guidance for those that wish to grow spiritually. If people want to beat
up on themselves with attitudes that help no one, that is their choice.
However, they need to recognize that they are holding onto
something that they cannot control.
Even the father of the Prodigal Son had to let go so that the
young man could experience life for himself.
Oliver Wendell
Holmes, Jr. once offered the following guidance, “The great thing in
this world is not so much where we are or what we are experiencing, but
in what direction we are moving.”
We know from Jesus’ parable that the son returned home
because the world was not as exciting as he once imagined. When the blind man featured in our lesson received his sight,
that healing put Jesus at odds with the religious leaders that had spent
the better part of their lives being students of their heritage, laws,
customs and traditions.
Their beliefs would not allow them to see
the miracle.
They chose instead to dwell on Jesus breaking the Sabbath.
We can hardly imagine such
thinking, but it happens all the time in some of
the best
religious circles. The Jews, for example, have always known that they were and are
God’s chosen people.
We can think to ourselves, “How arrogant of the Jews to think
this way? What about the rest of us? Are we all
lost because we did not enter
this world through the body of a Jewish mother?”
And yet, consider the thinking of Christians that have preached
that people must accept the Lord, Jesus Christ as their personal savior
in order to be saved.
For millions of believers, this teaching is one of
the cornerstones of Christian
thinking. When we put this
belief under our microscopes,
this belief is as exclusive as the belief of the Jews.
What about the rest of the world’s people, i.e., the Buddhists
and Hindus? We also have to
remember that when Judaism and Christianity were flourishing in the
Middle East, neither religion had any knowledge of the Aztecs or Mayans
in South America, or the Chinese and Japanese in the Jesus taught what was far more universal, “Love God with all your
heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor the way you love
yourself. Do this,” he
said, “and you will live.” (Luke 10:27-28)
What
saves
us from being tangled in the numerous issues found in our world does not
come from just our beliefs.
Beliefs change.
Our
salvation comes solely from God’s love.
(John 6:63)
There are countless Christians, however, that are not open to anything
other than what they have been taught. This reality is precisely what
caused the Pharisees and the religious authorities to remain blind to
understanding that a miracle had just happened in their community.
Some beliefs
empower us and enable us to live without fear.
Others beliefs communicate the most unloving responses
imaginable. Jesus was not afraid to resist
the righteous authorities
because he knew his message was for all humanity.
He taught that when we love others unconditionally, we have
fulfilled the truth contained in the Laws of Moses and the Prophets.
(Matthew 22:40)
Doing this willingly allows
the Christ in us to become
visible. Having compassion for everyone is the only rock upon which to build our lives. Expressing love, compassion and our freedom of spirit is different from merely believing in the value of those qualities. The first one describes our desire to let our spirits show up in all circumstances. The other describes a life that only believes in the value of having these virtues. One of my Ethics
professors said, “I am not sure what I believe, but give me a set of
circumstances, and I will tell you how I will likely respond.”
God knows each of us and God knows that we cannot give away what
we have not discovered and nurtured within ourselves through our years
here. God must use
creation as a teaching device for all of us.
Just look at how much the human drama has been occupying our
minds recently. For
example, in the United States, we have had earthquakes in California, a
massive mud-slide that buried people, tornadoes, a deep freeze in the
northeast, the struggles over a medical insurance plan nicknamed
Obamacare and we would be
remiss if we left out March
Madness for the basketball fans.
The world’s attention has been focused on what happened to
Malaysian flight 370. Dozens of
experts have bathed us with
their opinions without any resolution.
In addition to this drama, the world eagerly waits for the
decision by In Will such drama ever end?
No. This is the way
the world is today. It’s a
wonderful opera for the observer and even better for those of us who
participate. We have the
opportunity to be among the masses of humanity with
the compass with which Jesus
equipped us so we can lead others to find peace and happiness. God remains quiet and
invisible, but God never stops creating.
Maybe it would do well for all of us to do the same. When our
beliefs produce frustration, anger, sadness or even self-righteousness,
God gives us the power to change them and create new ones that better
serve ourselves and others.
The 13th Century Sufi
poet Rumi once wrote, “If you are irritated and become unsettled by
every rub, how will you ever become polished?” Knowing that life will never be experienced the same way by any
two people, perhaps this is why Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are
many mansions.” Even though
there is so much uncertainty in our lives, each of us has the power to
live the truth that we have
found. We can trust God,
enjoy what we have accomplished and never stop sowing
the seeds of our smiles, our
open spirits and our desire to encourage others.
This is who we are and this is what we do. |