Today in the Spirit: Lent 4A
Lent is a season the church employs to teach that, by the light of the Son of God coming into the world, darkness opposed to his arrival is exposed. In these middle weeks of Lent Year A, the church assigns long Gospel readings from the Book of John in which there is significant dialogue between Jesus and individuals, revealing the juxtaposition between light and darkness, faith and opposition, that exists in the world and in every human heart.
For Lent 4A, from the assigned Gospel reading out of John 9:1-13, 28-41, we hear in our worship the account of Jesus healing a man blind from birth in Jerusalem, that man’s testimony before Jewish leaders opposed to Jesus, and then a follow-up conversation between the man and Jesus after the man’s faith has been tested. In this passage, we hear Jesus’ claim, “‘As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world’” (5).
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The assigned OT reading from 1 Samuel 16:1-13 introduces the character of David in Scripture as one to be anointed king of Israel and given the Holy Spirit (foreshadowing events at the baptism of Jesus). Although his reign as king is not established until years later, David is described as one with a heart for the LORD (16:7). Around the theme of blindness and sight, the prophet Samuel is admonished for looking only at outward appearances and not seeing the internal qualities that God sees.
After the Old Testament reading, we might imagine ourselves saying or singing Psalm 23 in worship like we are Samuel traveling to Bethlehem under the threat of danger to anoint David, or like we are David singing his shepherd song on the way from the fields to meet Samuel: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want” (1).
On the theme of light and darkness, the New Testament reading from Ephesians 5:1-14 contains the apostle Paul’s clear teaching on how Christians should be visible as people of the Spirit living through God’s light in a world of darkness: “…for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord” (8-10).
The assigned collect was composed by Anglican priest Frederrick MacNutt (d. 1949) and retained in the BCP 2019 on this Sunday, probably to complement the Gospel reading in Year B about Jesus feeding the five thousand. We confess in prayer that Jesus is the “true bread which gives life to the world” and our desire to consume him (in eucharist and otherwise) continually: “Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him.”
The Collect
Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
I Have Provided for Myself a King (1 Samuel 16:1-13)
1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” 4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?” 5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” 7 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 sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
1 Samuel 16:1-13
Many know and love the promise of God found in Jeremiah: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you” (29:11-12). In this reading from 1 Samuel, we find that God certainly has “plans” and “a future” for David, but there is some question about how and when it will all be worked out.
By flipping ahead to the end of the book and then into 2 Samuel, we realize two decades will pass before David finally becomes king over Judah and Israel (2 Samuel 5): The prophet Samuel all but leaves the narrative after the anointing; David’s father and brothers act as if the ceremony never happened. Even David himself seems unaffected–until the time is ripe. “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.”
Devotionally, we need to come to grips with two spiritual truths found in Scripture and confirmed in experience: 1) God’s final, heavenly “plans” for us are never, except for a very few, fulfilled in this lifetime: “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet” (1 Cor. 15:51-52). What we experience here is all preparation for the ultimate end. And 2) God’s “plans” for us in the here and now are revealed only one morsel at a time. We feed slowly on his word, living in his presence, until we reach the right level of maturity to move forward. We may well lose track of the progression of God’s working in us in this world, but he never does.
Today, Holy Spirit, encouraged by the story of David in our worship, let us rest in the knowledge that you have “plans” and “a future” for us, individually and corporately, and that you have in hand the manner of their gradual unfolding.
The LORD Is My Shepherd (Psalm 23)
1 The Lord is my shepherd; *
Psalm 23, New Coverdale Psalter (BCP 2019)
therefore I can lack nothing.
2 He shall feed me in green pastures *
and lead me forth beside the waters of comfort.
3 He shall refresh my soul *
and bring me forth in the paths of righteousness for his Name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, *
for you are with me; your rod and your staff comfort me.
5 You shall prepare a table before me, in the presence of those who trouble me; *
you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup shall be full.
6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, *
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
The words of this song never fail to inspire. But we need to get it out of our heads that “David” sings them on the strength of his own heart for the LORD. This psalm, like all others, are songs of the Spirit: extraordinary jubilation and trust and pain arise in the heart and out of the mouth of a person only insofar as the Spirit has “rushed upon them” (remembering the wording of the OT reading, 1 Sam. 6:13). In the power of God, we too can and do sing like this.
When the Holy Spirit has his way with anyone who has received Christ, doubt is cast aside, and we, too, can declare “I shall not want” (1, ESV). When the Holy Spirit gives voice to the believer, the terror of the enemy is rebuked, and we, too, can pronounce, “I will fear no evil” (4). And when the Holy Spirit supplies the person of faith with vision for the future, we too can say with confidence, “I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (6).
What is needed for us, beloved, is no mere improvement in our understanding of Scripture or a new year’s resolution to be more “like David,” but a divine takeover–an alien invasion of our whole self that is as radical and terrifying as any we might see in science fiction. Just so Paul writes: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).
In The Institutes, John Calvin calls this “the witness of the Holy Spirit,” which must accompany our understanding of the Scripture: “For as God alone can properly bear witness to his own words, so these words will not obtain full credit in the hearts of men, until they are sealed by the inward testimony of the Holy Spirit.”
Today, hearing this beloved psalm on Sunday, Holy Spirit, give witness to our hearts of the faithful convictions you worked into and out of David concerning God our Shepherd.
Instead Expose Them (Ephesians 5:1-14)
1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
There are “unfruitful works of darkness” which God exposes all by himself. The treachery of Judas in the Gospels or the pretense of Simon the Sorcerer in Acts come to mind. But what can Paul possibly mean by the command to the church to “expose [the works of darkness] (11)? Is he proposing the creation of Inquisition-like structures within the church, in which members regularly accuse one another and run to the authorities to tattle? That would, it seems, be taking us far away from the exhortation at the beginning of the passage: “Since you are God’s dear children, you must try to be like him. Your life must be controlled by love, just as Christ loved us… “ (1, GNT). Yes, there are times when church leaders occasionally need to impose discipline and “expose” (GK. elenchō: “expose,” “rebuke,” “refute”) sin in the Christian community, but not frequently.
So what does Paul have in mind? Well, admitting up front that he does not specify exactly, one thing we might put forward from other NT testimony is the practice of voluntary confessional repentance and restoration (see James 5:16, Acts 19:18f). How healthy would our church communities be if members were regularly coming forward to reveal wounds and confess evil habits before one another, and if the community was well prepared and trained to receive these confessions with both compassion and skill? Darkness would be exposed and put away, and the entire body would be set free to emerge out of stifling half-light into the transforming brightness of the kingdom of Christ. The culture of secrecy and distrust that we too often maintain in our churches is a dimming force.
Today, in the Spirit, in obedience to the apostolic command, let us consider how we can change our church cultures to take the apostolic command seriously to “expose” darkness.
Siloam, Which Means Sent (John 9:1-13, 28-38 (39-41))
1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.” 13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.
28 And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out. 35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. [39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.]
John 9:1-13, 28-41
Among the many distinctive features of the Gospel of John is the revelation of Jesus of Nazareth as one “sent” by the Father and “working” with the Father. Up to the point of this reading, Jesus is reported in John using this language to talk just about himself (see 3:17,5:17). Here is the first indication of a shift in which Jesus begins to teach that the disciples, too, are being assigned by God to “work” alongside him. “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work” (4). Note the “we.” This transition in John culminates in the post-resurrection narrative of our Lord appearing to the disciples and declaring, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (20:21).
The transition in the text is indicative of a spiritual shift within us. In our devotional life, we can mark times in our lives, some happening quickly after conversion and others much later, in which we hear the voice of Jesus speaking into our hearts first “I,” then “we,” and then “you.” Very often, we fall in and out of consciousness of our Lord’s being sent to us (and the world) and losing our sense of call to keep working with him. The call never changes–we do. And we grow into it. So Paul writes, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18). And what is the “this”? It is God making us and all the world new, bringing all things, especially his people, under the oncoming reign of Christ, being established.
The key to maintaining our identity as sent ones by Jesus and co-workers with Jesus is staying consciously in the presence of God. In The Practice of the Presence of God (1692), we find many maxims of Brother Lawrence speaking to the reality of our straying from the sense of divine presence and God’s initiative to restore us to service: “Sometimes by necessity or infirmity, your thoughts may wander from practicing the presence of God. But presently, His Holy Spirit will recall you by inward motions so charming and delicious that you will be too amazed to mention them.”
Holy Spirit, life of Jesus in us, grant us renewed knowledge of the Son of God being sent to us and present with us, that we may be coaxed gladly back into gospel service.
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