LENT: Psalm 23 & An Invitation

Fourth Sunday of Lent | Fr. Chad E. JarnaginPsalm 23 (NRSV) The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures;he leads me beside still waters;  he restores my soul.He leads me in right paths    for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley,    I fear no evil;for you are with me;    your rod and your staff—    they comfort me. You prepare a table before me    in the presence of my enemies;you anoint my head with oil;    my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me    all the days of my life,and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord    my whole life long.The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.In this portion of John 9:1-41 (the Gospel today), Jesus is revealing the works of God. Christ continues to be revealed as the light of the world. He is seen as he truly is… today, we need to see Jesus as he truly is, not as we make him out to be. Here’s where I think we have the biggest problem with Jesus - because light exposes everything. This light shows us what is happening in the world and what is happening in ourselves… but there is Good News in this revelation… The Greek for this is meta·noia (a transformative change of heart).Since the outbreak realities over the past week, I have been guiding us through the idea of “this is our life, these are the terms, now, what is the invitation?” That may be different for each of us during this time… but collectively, it may be “who are we when it is all stripped away?” Our refusal of the invitation would be such a waist of our attention and opportunity. Sometimes the spiritually blind refuse to be healed. Sometimes we refuse to see what is right if front of us, even if we have always had our sight. The truth of our conditions are sometimes difficult to face, but to refuse spiritual healing is refuse the gospel… to refuse hope. For those who want to receive the invitation is to receive the Good News… of hope and peace in Christ… especially during uncertain times like these.*Music by The Brilliance Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.