CHRIST CHURCH MORNINGSIDE
  • Home
  • ABOUT
  • SERVICES
    • WORSHIP
  • COMMUNITY
    • PASTORAL CARE
    • CHILDREN & FAMILIES
    • GROUPS
    • LIFE EVENTS
    • BEYOND CHRIST CHURCH
  • LEARNING
    • BELIEVING IN THE EVERYDAY
  • BUILDING
    • HALL HIRE
    • REFURBISHMENT
    • OUR PULPIT
  • CONTACT
  • Home
  • ABOUT
  • SERVICES
    • WORSHIP
  • COMMUNITY
    • PASTORAL CARE
    • CHILDREN & FAMILIES
    • GROUPS
    • LIFE EVENTS
    • BEYOND CHRIST CHURCH
  • LEARNING
    • BELIEVING IN THE EVERYDAY
  • BUILDING
    • HALL HIRE
    • REFURBISHMENT
    • OUR PULPIT
  • CONTACT
Picture

LENT IV 2020

16/3/2020

0 Comments

 
  • 1 Samuel 16:1-13  • 
  • Psalm 23  • 
  • Ephesians 5:8-14  • 
  • John 9:1-41
PictureVasily Surikov -- Christ Healing the Man Born Blind
The Gospel for this Sunday is unusually long. It starts out as a miracle story and then turns into a perplexing parable. A man who is literally blind is given sight for the first time in his life. The Pharisees are highly suspicious of Jesus. So they look for ways to discredit this miraculous deed, while at the same time dispelling any idea that he might be the Messiah. First, they doubt if the man really was blind. Then, they try to get him to admit that Jesus is religiously at fault; healing on the Sabbath is a sin. By implication, the miracle cure is no reason to praise him. To this line of reasoning, the man makes a memorable response "I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, though I was blind, now I see."

When the Pharisees finally engage with Jesus himself, it seems that the whole episode is not primarily a healing miracle at all, but what we might call a ‘parable in action’. The miracle reveals something about spiritual sight and spiritual blindness. Puzzlingly, Jesus says that those who are blind will be able to see, and that those who can see will prove blind. How are we to understand this? An important clue comes right at the start of the passage. The blind man is not blind because he is a sinner. Though it looks like a curse, his blindness is in reality a very special attribute, since through it Jesus will reveal the works of God. The content of that revelation is that Jesus is the one true light. That is to say, it is by close attention to the works and words of Jesus, not by scrupulous attention to religious regulations, that we can discern God’s will for us. By refusing to acknowledge this, the sighted Pharisees show themselves to be purblind, unwilling to see. By acknowledging it, the blind man, paradoxically, shows himself to have a degree of spiritual insight that the physically sighted lack.
PictureSalvador Dali -- Angel of Light
​Spiritual sightedness, no less than physical sightedness, concerns reality -- the truth about ourselves, the lives we lead, and the world we live in. Like ordinary eyesight, it requires light by which to see. Yet sinfulness flees from the light, because it prefers that the truth should remain hidden. The short passage from the Epistle to the Ephesians reflects this dichotomy, and turns it into a choice with which we are confronted. “Christ will shine on you” verse 14 declares. For those who want the truth, these words represent a liberating promise. For those engaged in “works of darkness”, however, these very same words constitute a threat. The choice is clear, and real. We can continue to act according to our own lights, and inevitably stumble around in darkness. Or we can avail ourselves of the light of Christ, and gladly embrace the truth that it reveals, however painful or uncomfortable that might be for us.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    November 2018

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

CONTACT DETAILS
Christ Church Morningisde
6a Morningside Road
Edinburgh  EH10 4DD
Tel: 0131 229 0090 or 
​
07718 278 145​
OFFICE HOURS: MON-FRI 9AM-3PM
SERVICES
 SUNDAYS
​
8am  - Holy Communion* 
10am - Sung Eucharist
6.30pm - Compline (Zoom)
WEEKDAY SERVICES
MONDAY-FRIDAY
8.30am - Morning Prayer with Holy Communion*
WEDNESDAY
11am - Holy Communion

* service not yet resumed
LEGAL INFORMATION
Scottish Charity SC003009
Terms of Use
​Privacy Notice
Cookie opt-out

aCCESSIBILITY

Accessibility Statement