HEART SIGHT

March 19, 2023
4^th Sunday in Lent
1 Sam. 16:1-13; Ps.23; Eph. 5:8-14; John 9:1-41
Rev. Denise Clark-Jones

It’s a tale as old as… well as old as the bible. You fervently wish for something and when you get it, it turns out not to be what you wanted at all. I can think of many times that has happened to me, I’m sure you could too. When our tunnel vision locks on to a desire, we can become blind to the potential problems that might arise. In our Old Testament reading for today, with its very first king, Israel was already experiencing a crisis in leadership. God had warned Israel that having a king, with unchecked political, judicial, and economic power, would be a big mistake. Yet, the people insisted they wanted a change from the system of judges God had sanctioned for them. They wanted to be a “great nation” in the mold of great nations that had a king, who was a powerful military leader. They wanted to be feared and admired. Griping like the Israelites Moses led to freedom through the wilderness we read about last week, God gave the Israelites the kind of leader they thought they wanted. Saul was the tallest and most handsome man in Israel; he projected an image of strength and confidence. But it seems as if God was teaching Israel a lesson by selecting the man whose outward appearance projected the image of their desires, but whose inner character was lacking. The old adage, “be careful what you wish for,” proved true. As soon as he started wielding his newly acquired power, he became addicted to it. He became more concerned with threats to his absolute power than his faithfulness to God and the well-being of his people. This is an ancient story that has been repeated many times at the highest and lowest levels of power.

Today we read that God has in mind a new king for Israel, based ‘not on his outward appearance, but on his heart.’ In the ancient world, the heart was more than the organ that pumps blood through our circulatory system. The heart controlled emotions, desires, intellect, ethics, and character. The biblical phrase, “a clean heart” meant one’s desires, intentions, and behavior were aligned with God’s. Saul’s heart had not met the divine standard, so God planned to end Saul’s kingship, as well as his right to a line of succession.

Samuel, a judge, and a prophet, had carried out Saul’s anointing and had served as a mentor for the young king in his early years on the throne. When God instructed Samuel to initiate a “do-over,” understandably, Samuel was concerned about the consequences for himself. Samuel knew there would be fallout. He was afraid of Saul’s anger and retribution if he were to anoint a new king while Saul still occupied the throne. With an unexpected endorsement of “white lies,” God gave Samuel a “cover story” to explain to anyone who questioned his trip to Bethlehem. God told Samuel to bring a heifer with him and coached him to say he was going to bring a sacrifice to share with Jesse in a worship service. However, the real purpose was to select one of Jesse’s sons to replace Saul on Israel’s throne.

Lined up for inspection, Samuel looked at the tall, eldest son and thought: ‘This must be the one.’ “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.” (1 Sam. 16:7)  Here is the first clue we have of why the Lord selected David, the youngest and smallest of Jesse’s sons. One’s heart cannot be hidden from God. After Samuel walked past all the tall, strapping young men from Jesse’s household, one by one, with God telling him: “No, not him,” each time. Samuel asked Jesse if he had any more sons. Only then was David called for and God revealed to Samuel this one was to be anointed.

God’s selection of the young shepherd boy to become the new king of Israel was as much of a surprise to Samuel as it was to Jesse and his other sons. We have some more clues though. The Bible tells us that a good king was to be a shepherd for his people, protecting, guiding, and caring for their well-being. A godly king needs a good heart. David was already a shepherd; now he was to become a shepherd for his people. The only description we have of David’s outer appearance is that he had beautiful eyes and was handsome. “Beautiful eyes” can also be translated from Hebrew as “eyes that see beauty.” You’ve heard the phrase, “The eyes are the windows to the soul,” it’s an ancient Aramaic expression. God looked into David’s eyes and saw his heart. The Hebrew word for seeing appears six times in this passage. As two themes that join our scripture texts, the eyes join the heart as significant images.

Our gospel reading is another healing miracle story in John. Jesus restores the sight of a man born blind. Here, seeing is paired with believing.  There is a man who is physically blind, for whom Jesus restores sight, and a group of Pharisees who see that the man is no longer blind, but refuse to believe what they see. This belief was a major issue for the author of John and the Jewish-Christian community in which he lived. To understand the antagonistic portrayal the author of John presented when using the term, “the Jews,” one must understand the conflict of the Johannine community with leaders in the Jewish community.

For the first 40 years or so after Jesus’ death and resurrection, most Jewish Christ followers continued to observe Jewish worship practices and religious festivals. They continued to worship at the Temple or synagogues right alongside all the other Jews. They respected the authority of Jewish religious leaders – the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Chief Priests, and the Scribes. But, in addition to their Sabbath worship, they also gathered every Sunday with their fellowship of Christ-followers to share a meal, to be taught by apostles, and to pray. (Acts 2:42)

Gradually, however, Jesus’ Jewish followers came to be seen as a divisive group in the Jewish community. They weren’t being proper Jews, with their devotion to that unorthodox itinerant rabbi who got himself crucified. The “peace and purity” of the temple were being threatened. John’s gospel spoke to these Jews on the outs with their faith family. John was like Christians today whose congregations have split, forcing one side out of the church family over issues of faith and practice.

For example, the Southern Baptist Convention recently ousted the Saddleback Church, which is associated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The famous pastor of the mega-church, Rick Warren, named a clergy couple to succeed him when he retires soon. The Southern Baptist Convention pronounced the church would be ousted for violating its ban on women pastors. There are a few SBC churches that do allow women pastors, but never as senior pastors. Warner has appealed the SBC’s ruling and the case is still open. Many SBC churches have left the denomination in recent years, joining new Baptist denominations, which are more progressive than the SBC. Former president Jimmy Carter urged his home church to leave the SBC, and with a seminary president help formed a new Baptist denomination in 2006 called the North American Baptist Covenant for Social Justice.

In the case of churches leaving our own denomination, the  Presbyterian Church (USA), the new denominations are more conservative, objecting to either ordaining non-heterosexuals or, in the case of the Presbyterian Church of America, both non-heterosexuals and women. Now the United Methodists are no longer united, having recently voted to split. Local United Methodist churches are currently voting on whether to leave the UMC or join the Global Methodist Church. Again, the issue is one of exclusion of people, not welcome due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. Strange, in that Jesus went out of his way to include the excluded. He never said people were excluded from God’s loving care because of their biological gender, sexual orientation or gender identity, or any other reason. When Jesus was headed to Jerusalem for his crucifixion, he made it clear that his sacrifice was for the redemption of all people.

The Johannine community, which felt excluded from their Jewish faith because they believed Jesus was the promised Messiah, would have resonated with a story about Jesus healing a man who had been excluded from the synagogue and marginalized by society due to his affliction. They would have applauded the image of Jewish leaders being made ridiculous when they confronted Jesus.  With argumentative language toward “the Jews,” it is obvious that the author of John was incensed at his fellow Jews, who forced his Jewish-Christian community members out of their synagogue. This is the kind of divisive rhetoric we hear far too much in our society today, particularly among our political leaders with such epithets as – “the Right-wingers,” “the Libs,” “The Crazies,” “the Educated Elite,” the Maga’s,” and “the Woke.” And of course, we also hear despicable names given to non-whites, especially those who are immigrants. We know all too well the fear narrative that is used to demonize those we “otherize.” Putting John’s term, “the Jews,” in context, we must keep in mind that the author of John had his own agenda. Unfortunately, historical misinterpretation and misuse have cited many scripture passages from John’s gospel to justify violence and persecution toward Jews.

Jesus’ confrontation with a group of Pharisees begins with their questioning him about his “authority” to heal the blind man. Does Jesus have the right credentials? Did he do it “decently and in order” according to the laws and tradition? Even Jesus’ disciples didn’t understand the situation. They asked him: “Did the man deserve to be healed or was he to blame for his condition? Do his parents share blame for his condition?” Jesus firmly contradicted this assumption. Laws, traditions, and questions of authority are the go-to justifications we use when our hearts are not in the right place. The famous rabbi, Abraham Joshua Heschel, observed: “When religion speaks only in the name of authority rather than with the voice of compassion — its message becomes meaningless.” The Pharisees wanted the privilege of power and authority and were not pleased to cede any of it to an unconventional outsider like Jesus, whose heart was in the right place – with God.

The blind beggar’s parents were too afraid to stand up and speak the truth, fearing retribution by their religious leaders or their congregation. Yet, the blind man who was healed speaks God’s truth. He responds to the Pharisees’ interrogation by stating what he knows is the important issue: “I was blind, but now I see.” He understands he, by Jesus’ healing, has been treated more mercifully and compassionately than anyone has treated him before. That is the greatest evangelical tool Jesus has taught us. That is how we become witnesses for Christ — to show compassion, to seek healing for ourselves, and act in ways to bring about healing for others – aligning our hearts with God’s.  Jesus never asked anyone who came to him if they deserved to be healed. In this story, the blind man didn’t even ask Jesus to restore his sight. Jesus saw him and felt compassion.

Like Samuel, both the blind man and his parents were put in an awkward, if not dangerous position. When the man and his parents were called before the Pharisees, they sensed trouble was brewing for them. The Pharisees demanded to know who had healed him. The parents had a moral crisis. If they told the truth, they risked being cast out of their congregation. So, they passed the buck to their son. “Ask him” they responded. The man who was blind, but now able to see, made a different choice at this critical point. He testified to what he knew to be true. How tragic that our society has become so divided, that we, like the blind man’s parents and the Pharisees, refuse to see inconvenient truths or see, but refuse to admit the truth.

We are living in an era of “Post-Truth) with conspiracy theories and various forms of public media reporting “so-called facts” they know not to be true. The liable trial against Fox news has revealed that its reporters knew that President Biden had won the election, but spread conspiracy theorists’ accusations that the Dominion voting machines were rigged. We might have better sight if we go back to the “heart” of the matter. The trial has revealed the intentions of Fox News in their fraudulent reporting – and they were not good. Greed for profit directed their dishonest actions. When our hearts, in the biblical sense, are aligned more closely with God’s, we are better able to see the truth and bravely give witness to it. Clean hearts also aid our eyes to see people like the blind beggar, those that need our compassion rather than our scorn or apathy.

Paul, or the author who wrote the book of Ephesians as though it were Paul, also talks about seeing when he encourages the Ephesian congregation to “Live as children of light— ⁹for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true.” (Eph.5:8-9) When we walk in the light, even in the darkest valleys as the psalmist put it, we are being led by God’s kingship, while the world offers worldly kingdoms for the mere price of worshipping its gods. During this Lenten season, we are challenged to look honestly at how well our actions model our faith. Are we demonstrating that our hearts are in the right place? When we are faced with decisions, are we willing to sacrifice worldly gains for our spiritual truths? Are we willing to give from our abundance when faced with human needs? Are we willing to stand up against the majority and be counted when it would be more popular or less trouble to go along with what others are doing?

In this time of Lent, we are called to examine our priorities and seek the path Christ has shown us to follow. Christ always has something to teach us about putting our hearts in the right place and keeping our eyes focused on God’s truth. Before we celebrate Easter, let us be attentive.

Amen. May it be so!

© Rev. Denise Clark-Jones, 2023, All Rights Reserved
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