Loading...
Sermon March 19, 2023
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, MSW
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen’s
The Fourth Sunday in Lent, Year A
https://lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Lent/ALent4_RCL.html
Audio: /documents/Eucharist__March_19__2023
Video: https://youtu.be/X9-sWES-BMs
They answered him, ‘You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?’ And they drove him out. John 9:34
Did you hear as a child that it was better to tell the truth than to lie? That you would get in less trouble if you told the truth? I know I heard that.
I have a good friend of over 30 years. I see her as a truth teller. She tends to see things in ways other people don’t. She has always been concerned about justice and cares deeply for the world…for its people, its creatures and all of nature.
Often, it seems, that others do not see what she sees. And rather than trust her and listen to her, they tell her she is wrong. They tell her she is too negative. She questions herself and wonders if what she is seeing is really true. Her truth telling can be a heavy burden for her.
Why is it that telling the truth seems to cause more trouble? That’s what we hear in our Gospel reading today, isn’t it?
This man who had been blind since birth keeps telling the truth about how Jesus healed him. He tells it over and over again to the authorities of the time. Being blind from birth meant in the eyes of the community that he was born that way because of sin. He was most likely ignored and not welcome and maybe even not allowed to be part of the community. He was definitely a sinner in their eyes and someone to be avoided.
Jesus heals him. Jesus has a different view about blindness. Jesus seems to know that it is not caused by sin, but caused by a variety of things. Once healed, this man could be part of the community once again. However, the authorities are angry and when he keeps telling the truth, even to the point of challenging them, what do they do? They drive him out! Rather than focusing on what happened and how wonderful it must be, and also confusing at first, to this man, they drive him away. They focus on the fact that Jesus healed on a sabbath day, which they felt was against the laws that ruled and guided them. In essence, the religious authorities do not want to know the truth.
Scientists in our time have studied this phenomenon – about how hard it is for us to hear and know the truth.
It turns out when the truth is something with which we agree or with which we are comfortable, we find it easy to accept. However, when the truth is something with which we disagree, we resist.
Apparently, when we are told something that disagrees with our view of the world, we experience cognitive dissonance. Things are not matching up. Then we try to find a way to get rid of that dissonance, because it is uncomfortable. Instead of working through the discomfort, we try to find another explanation that keeps our view of the world intact.
The story about an incident in the 1950s that gave this label to our thinking is pretty amazing. It involves a small group led by a woman in Chicago. The group was called the Seekers. Their founder said the world would end on December 21, 1954. There would be a great flood and only the true believers, the members of the Seekers, would be saved. A flying saucer would come on December 17 to pick up the Seekers and take them to a new planet. People joined this group, sold everything they had, and left their jobs.
Of course, the flying saucer and the big flood never came. Then the rationale the most believing Seekers created was that because of their actions, the Seekers "had spread so much light that God had saved the world from destruction."
We might ignore what we have been told. Or we come up with explanations about why we are right. We do almost anything to preserve our view of the world. We do not like and often are not open to uncomfortable truths.
I know when I hear something about myself that makes me fidget and feel uncomfortable, I try to pay attention to what I am feeling. I try to hear the person and not respond at all, but let them know I will get back to them. Then I stay with my feelings and whatever thoughts I’m having about what I’ve been told. I have a conversation with God. That helps me hear and see the truth. Sometimes I come to a slightly different conclusion, but I often am able to learn something new about myself.
Our readings today remind us that we see the world differently. They remind us to be open to new things in our following God and Jesus Christ. We are children of the light. We are different. When cognitive dissonance hits us and we feel uncomfortable, we need to be open to exploring more and finding out more and maybe being uncomfortable for a bit.
We are reminded, too, that the truth we know will not always be accepted by the world. Sometimes we are driven out. While the community was not pleased with the man whom Jesus cured, Jesus did not abandon him, right? We don’t fully know what ultimately happened, but when Jesus heard that the man had been driven out, Jesus went to find this man. Jesus talked to this man some more and explained more about who Jesus was. The man believed in Jesus and worshiped Jesus. And the religious authorities began to question what they believed.
May we be open to the truth and may we also have strength and courage to live in the truth.
Amen
