The LORD said to
Samuel:
“Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way.
I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem,
for I have chosen my king from among his sons.”
As Jesse and his
sons came to the sacrifice,
Samuel looked at Eliab and thought,
“Surely the LORD’s anointed is here before him.”
But the LORD said to Samuel:
“Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature,
because I have rejected him.
Not as man sees does God see,
because man sees the appearance
but the LORD looks into the heart.”
In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel,
but Samuel said to Jesse,
“The LORD has not chosen any one of these.”
Then Samuel asked Jesse,
“Are these all the sons you have?”
Jesse replied,
“There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said to Jesse,
“Send for him;
we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.”
Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them.
He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold
and making a splendid appearance.
The LORD said,
“There—anoint him, for this is the one!”
Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand,
anointed David in the presence of his brothers;
and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.
(1) The Lord is my
shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures
he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
He guides me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Brothers and
sisters:
You were once darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light,
for light produces every kind of goodness
and righteousness and truth.
Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness;
rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention
the things done by them in secret;
but everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
for everything that becomes visible is light.
Therefore, it says:
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.”
John 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38
As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth. He spat on the ground and
made clay with the salvia, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him,
“Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” – which means Sent - . So he went and washed,
and came back able to see. His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as
a beggar said, “No, he just looks like him.” He said, “I am.”
They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees. Now Jesus had made
clay and opened his eyes on a Sabbath. So then the Pharisees also asked him how
he was able to see. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and
now I can see.” So some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God,
because he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said “How can a sinful man so
such signs?” And there was a division among them. So they said to the blind
man again, “What do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?” He
said, “He is a prophet.” They answered and said to him, “You were born blind
totally in sin, and are you are string to teach us?” Then they threw him out.
When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, “Do you
believe in the Son of Man?” He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may
believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking
with you is he.” He said, “I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him.
The Lord
said to Samuel: “Not as man does God see.” Our vision is often limited.
Perhaps we see with our head too much. God wants us to see with our hearts.
Seeing with our hearts is risky business. We have to tear down barriers that
usually keep us locked out, but most often keeps us locked in. Seeing with our
hearts frees us from those barriers. Seeing with our hearts allows us to see
wonderful things that sometimes are kept in the dark, as Paul tells us today:
things like compassion, forgiveness, love, change, acceptance, patience, peace,
and giving. That’s what the man born blind saw when Jesus smeared that mud on
his eyes and sent him to Siloam to wash them out. He was no longer a prisoner
of darkness. In contrast, so often, although we are in the light, although the
light of Christ shines on us, sometimes we still remain in darkness. But out of
darkness he came, filled with light, light to see not just people and animals,
but so much more; the wonder of God’s love and forgiveness, of God’s continuing
grace, of God’s comforting love. He was excited about being able to see, he was
rejoicing, he was happy. He was in the light seeing with the eyes of faith and
his heart. The Pharisees couldn’t see beyond their noses because they chose to
see with their heads and not their hearts, the same heads that was stuck to the
letter of the law, their darkness, and their downfall. Remember, it was the
Sabbath and the blind man was healed.
With our hearts we can see so far, so wide, so deep, so much – that we would
never stop wanting to see with our hearts. Seeing with our hearts opens doors
never before opened. To be graced with the wonder of God’s love, to be able to
experience that love every day of our lives. There is not a day that goes by
that we do not have the opportunity to be involved in that love. Lent frees us
to make that decision to love as we continue the journey toward the death and
resurrection of our Savior, who gives himself totally for us. With open hearts
we can see the needs of others around us: the poor, the homeless, the
unemployed, and the mentally challenged, the single parent, the lonely, the sick
and shut-ins, the widows and widowers, and so much more. But is it possible
that just seeing is not enough. It wasn’t enough for that blind man. he went
back and became a disciple of Jesus. Being a disciple of Jesus means that the
road is not always going to be straight and wide. Most often it will be a
struggle, because sinful people cannot save the world; only Jesus could and
did. We sinful people will have to deal with a lot of baggage in our lives.
That’s why seeing is never enough. Doing something about what we see is the
challenge. For as his disciples, we too are called to be a light to the world.
It is only through us, and I don’t mean just us Christians. Believing that is
wrong. Jesus said that whoever is not against us is for us. All people who
believe in God and the goodness and the forgiveness that comes from God, are all
called to be a light in this world. We must remember that Jesus died on that
cross and took upon himself the sins of humanity. That means all of humanity.
And we must also remember that the message of the CROSS isn’t just about what
happened on that CROSS. The most important message for us is why the CROSS ever
happened. It happened because God chose to LOVE us unconditionally that he had
his only Son give his life for us, so that we could all be a light in this
world. Nothing is ever going to change until we let the light of Christ in us
shine, unless we share that light with others, in however we are blessed to do
that. That light encompasses both the CROSS and the RESURRECTION! They cannot
be separated. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and we are called to
be His light in this world.
It
is my hope that this message was meaningful to you. Thank you and God bless
each of you, and have a great weekend ahead. Yours in Christ –
My precious and awesome God from above,
Thanks for your mercy and everlasting love.
Lord, I am so thankful for your beautiful creation,
You are my joy and my greatest inspiration.
It’s easy to express what’s deep in my heart,
For they just reflect what you gave from the start.
Those feelings I felt were locked deep inside,
So scared to be known, with no choice but to hide.
To you be the honor, the glory, and the praise,
And though it may rain, your sun fills my days.
Never have I been so free to rejoice,
Giving you praise, I’ll lift up my voice.
Holy is the precious and sweetest Lamb of God,
For Him I shall prepare and protect my feet with shod.
To the world I will make known that the words I speak are true,
and declare my inspiration clearly comes from loving you.
by
Olga Rivera
(C)
March 8th, 2010
“There Is One
Who Is Holy” by Krissy Nordhoff – made by Coolram52
