Sermon - 3-15-26

Year A – Fourth Sunday in Lent– March 15, 2026 Pastor Megan Floyd John 9:1-41 Grace and peace to you from God and the Holy Spirit, and from Jesus Christ, who finds us where we are, and calls us to be his own. Amen. *** Just a couple of days ago, on Thursday, nearly 30 people from across lower Michigan came here to Faith for a mini retreat focused on ministry with youth and young adults. When we first started planning, I expected about eight people to come… so the fact that it became a room full of people was amazing and so incredible. These folks were pastors, lay ministers, and synod staff who chose to spend their day together because they value the place of youth and young adults in the church… and each of them knew, on some level… that this is work we need to do together. We are all aware that the programs and platforms from the 90s don't work like they used to… and that life together in a faith community is ever-changing… especially for our young people… and it's not always abundantly clear what shape it will take next. So, we came together, and trusted that God's Spirit would find us here… and guide us… and inspire us… to discern the way forward. It was really awesome! And God's Spirit did find us, and reminded us that we need each other in the body of Christ… We need to hear the testimonies and witness of our neighbors beyond our church walls, so that we can better equip ourselves… and our communities to recognize how and where God shows up… Because Christ is always seeking us… God's Spirit is always swirling around, so close, it's blowing our hair back… but if we are blind to it, we might just think it's windy. So… in our gospel story today… we are blessed to hear the testimony of a man whom Jesus found… He's a poor man, desperately poor – a beggar. It's all he can be… because he was born blind. And no one, in all of history, had ever managed to heal a person born blind. So this man is an outcast in his community. Jesus and his disciples are walking along. They walk past this blind man who is begging. The disciples are eager to learn from their Rabbi, so they ask Jesus… Whose sin caused this beggar to be blind? They don't really see the man... They don't address him… but they talk about him. They assume that his situation is a lesson on the consequences of sin. But Jesus saw him. Jesus saw that beloved man… and… he DID take the opportunity to teach his disciples a lesson. He applied spit and mud to the man's eyes and sent him away to wash. The man obeyed Jesus's command… and it was at that moment that this man became a disciple… the moment that he chose to trust Jesus… and do as Jesus commanded… and then for the first time in his life, he could see! So naturally, he's amazed and… not really sure what to do next except tell others what happened to him. But his neighbors can't believe it – some don't even recognize him. How could he possibly see? How could this possibly be the same person? No way. And the Pharisees… are blind to the miracle and solely focused on the fact that Jesus healed on the Sabbath, so Jesus must be a sinner. However, the man doesn't have a deep theological explanation for what happened… he only gives his honest answer… "I don't know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that through I was blind, now I see." And the man… this guy that Jesus found, continues to tell his story. He continues to testify to what Jesus has done for him… and each time he does… he grows in his understanding of who this man, Jesus, must be. But the religious leaders are stuck… they can't see past that Jesus violated their religious laws… they are stuck in how things have always been. They cannot see that God is doing something new through Jesus… and showing them that God's kingdom is bigger than what they ever imagined. The man continues to testify… continues to give witness to his encounter… growing bolder in the dawning of his understanding. The religious leaders choose the dark confinement of the law over the light of the world shining around them. And yet, the man is working it all out, and finally… he confidently proclaims that Jesus could only be from God. …but unfortunately… that was so offensive, they cast him out of the community… again. And again, Jesus finds him. The Lord found him, and the man recognized his God! How could he possibly do anything but give thanks and praise… that he was found…he was claimed. …he was loved …and through Christ, he was given abundant life… grace upon grace. We also suffer from blindness to what the Lord has done. Not always, ok… but we're generally out of practice. We have these moments where we're sure that the Spirit just washed over us… but then we write it off… or …we marvel at the moment, and give our thanks… but then… we forget. We don't run through the town telling others what the Lord has done! But you know what? I wanna hear about it! I DO! …I want to know what God is up to in your life! I wanna know how Jesus is finding you day after day. Just like how I was excited to tell you about how God found us this past week in our retreat… How Christ found us… and blessed us with the guiding presence of the Spirit. When you share your testimony about the moments when Christ finds you… even if you don't have a full theological explanation… only that you feel it happened… that's enough… that is sharing the Gospel! Because the first step to sharing your witness with others is to acknowledge that Christ found you… that the Spirit showed up in your life! So… the Spirit blows your hair back, and you think it's just windy …but then you pause… maybe it's more. …Maybe. …maybe write it down… and pray over it later… see what God reveals to you. See what God might be doing …through you. Your testimony not only opens your eyes to see Christ, but your testimony opens the eyes of others as well, so they can see Christ. Just like our retreat this past week… this work is better when we do it together… when we trust that our God will find us… wherever we are… and we share those experiences and help each other understand them… This brings us all closer to God and closer to each other as the full Body of Christ. The good news today is that just as Jesus found that man… an outcast from his community… and brought him into the fold, Jesus will find you… call you and claim you… and bring you under his protection… and his love. It's not a one-time thing… it's every day… the Lord finds you. And each of us is here today because the Lord found us… and because we are found… because we have been given grace upon grace …we can go to those whom God sends us… and proclaim this good news! We go confidently with a word from the Lord. …a word of love. …a word of welcome… a word of invitation… to work together… to collaborate in our ministries and in our lives… and join together in God's abundance …of grace upon grace …that we ourselves have received from the Lord. It's too good not to share! The miracle that Jesus offers in our gospel today is an invitation into abundant life, and it comes to you exactly as you are. You have been found …and you are beloved and worthy. So remember that God continues to call us into this joy of sharing our testimony… the Holy Spirit continues to invite us to share our experiences of how God is showing up for us in our families, and in our faith communities. We can boldly trust that the Spirit will guide us… and that others need this word… they need to hear that God does, indeed, find us and love us. You don't have to have it all figured out… just trust your story… and rejoice in Christ's presence. Amen.