Weekly Memo from Pastor Dan — March 27, 2014

Each Wednesday during Lent I do a brief reflection on the scripture. Last night the scripture was the story from John 9 about the man who is born blind and I took a chance and wrote and read something like a poem.

The story in the Bible is about a man blind from birth, who is healed by Jesus and then unjustly kicked out of his synagogue by its leaders. The images are healing and blindness and light. It’s a very touching, tragic, humorous and in its own way subtly radical story that is our scripture for this coming Sunday.

This Sunday the theme for worship is “Justice” and in the poem I wrote; I imagined the man reflecting on his experience.  And in that experience it’s Justice and his role in it is what this man, born blind, is finally able to see.  Here’s the poem. I offer it to you today as a way of preparing for your reflections this Sunday morning.

There were days
            when I could take it.

Days I could take
            The indignity of being pushed aside,
                        Ignored,  overlooked,  omitted
                                    Unheeded,  unnoticed,
                                                even unseen.

There were days when I could take
             Someone trashing what I said
                                    and in their words throwing me out
                                                like the trash
                                                           because I said it?

There were days when I could take someone saying
            That I was nothing but dirt.
                        Or get out of here…
                                    Or get Lost…..

There were days when I could take
            most anything
                        most anybody.

But taking most anything does not
            Make it right
                        Or them right
                                    Or me right for taking it.

But now that I see…..

There are days
            To stand up
                        And sit up
                                    And wake up
            to what is going on around you
                        and beside you
                                    and within you.

You see, when you see
            For the first time
                        with eyes touched by Jesus.
                                    when grace has opened your eyes
                                                to the indignity of being unseen
                                                            to the reality of  injustice
            It’s hard to turn away                      
                        And just take it.

May your eyes be touched by the Grace that helps us all to see and respond to the reality of injustice in our world.