Good Morning Calvary! And God’s peace to you in these Lenten weeks.
My name is Thomas Paul Eggebeen – just like eggs and beans; “egg-a-bean” - it’s a Dutch name, and means, “bent” or “broken leg” – but you can call me Tom, or Pastor Tom, or Rev. or Dr., or whatever seems right and good to you … high-falutin’ holiness would be okay, too.
Donna and I are pleased to be with you, and we look forward to spending some of our life with you.
Today, I celebrate with you the Gospel … the gospel proclaimed by Jesus:
God is in our midst.
I am your God, and you are my people!
I am with you always.
I will never leave you or forsake you.
That’s about as basic as it gets.
God loves what God has made, and God’s love is at work in all things for good.
No matter what or where … God is at work.
Morning, noon and night … God is at work.
In season and out of season … God is at work.
When life is good and when it isn’t … God is at work.
When things makes sense and when everything’s up in the air … God is at work.
When the sun is bright and the night is dark … God is at work.
When we can see and when we can’t … God is at work!
You’ll often hear me say: “We’re all in this together.”
With Christ in our hearts, we hang on to each other.
We laugh together.
We cry together.
We fall together … and we rise together.
The LORD is our shepherd … not just some of the time, but all the time.
Leading us, guiding us, getting us there … not just some of the time, but all the time.
The LORD is our host spreading a marvelous table before us, even when enemies are present … not just some of the time, but all the time.
Because God is good … all the time … and all the time … God is good!
Not even death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our LORD.[1]
In this life, and in the life to come, in body and in soul, in life and in death, we belong to a faithful savior,[2] and we belong to one another in the fellowship of faith, the company of believers.
In the church of Jesus Christ.
Even as Christ hangs on to us, we hang on to one another.
When he calls Peter and Andrew, James and John to leave their nets and follow him.
When he carries the cross to Calvary …
When they lay him in the tomb.
When God rolls the stone away on the first Easter Morn.
When the Holy Spirit comes on Pentecost Day with the sound of a mighty rushing wind and tongues of flame for everyone!
The church of Jesus Christ:
The church of our mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers.
The church of our children and their children.
The church, yesterday, today and tomorrow.
The church of Jesus Christ.
Your church and my church.
The church around the world in a myriad of cultures and climes, and ten thousand different tongues …
What a joy to be the church of Jesus Christ.
What a privilege.
And what a task.
I look forward to learning more about Christ with you … and getting to know you:
How you love one another.
The hymns you sing and the music you love.
Your joys and your sorrows.
And your stories:
Everyone has a story.
Where we were born and who reared us … our teachers and our pastors, the good times and the bad times …
Everyone has a story … how we like our eggs, and whether or not we like pistachio ice cream or plain-Jane vanilla …
And why are stories important?
Because they’re our stories.
And God is in our stories.
From top to bottom.
From side to side, and all around the town.
God is in our stories.
When we tell our stories, we’re talking about God.
The God who created us in our mother’s womb.
The God who loves us and brings us to Christ.
The God who bestows gifts to us that we might bless the world.
So, come on by … I want to hear your story.
I love to listen … my door is always open.
For the months ahead, I can’t think of a better story to guide us than the healing of the blind man.
It’s a big story.
41 verses … and we could be here all day, like a miner panning for gold … sift and shake and something shiny catches our eye … it’s the gold of God’s love.
Anyone wanna spend all day here?
Okay, then, let me highlight a few things that can guide us in the next six months.
The gold in the story.
The first gold is the unexpected healing.
Jesus sees the man, and Jesus heals him.
No one asks for the healing.
No one plans on it.
It just happens.
Grace, we rightly say … amazing grace.
Grace comes to us that way.
Before we ask for it, before we know anything about it …
If Jesus waits for us to ask, it would always be too late.
God see us first.
God loves us first.
God makes the first move … always.
John says it well, In this is love, not that we loved God, but that God loved us and sent his Son.[3]
God proves God’s love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.[4]
God always finds us.
Which reminds me:
A man called a friend’s home one day, and a little voice answered very softly:
Hello
May I speak to your daddy please.
The little voice whispered,
I'm afraid he's not at home just now
Well may I speak to your mother then please.
I'm afraid she's not at home either.
Well is there anyone else there?
There's a policeman.
Could I speak to him please?
No, I'm sorry he's rather busy.
Is there anyone else?
There's a great big fireman
My goodness it's very strange that your mummy and daddy are out and there is a policeman and a fireman at your house - what is going on?
The whispered voice replied with a little giggle -
Hee hee, they're all looking for me!
Even when we hide from God, God finds us.
That’s the gospel, the good news.
The love of God, first in all things.
People sometimes tell me that they wish they had more faith … a stronger, bigger, better, faith … as if that made any difference to God.
If God were to rely on our faith, nothing would happen.
It’s only because of God’s faithfulness to God’s own promise – to make all things new … that things happen.
God’s promises and God’s covenant are center stage.
Not you; not me; not even the quality of our faith.
It’s God who does the heavy lifting.
God has all the faith this world needs.
God has all the faith you and I need.
Our faith?
How big is it?
Mustard seed size, says Jesus.
Because God is in our faith.
And it’s God who moves the mountain.
We don’t need to fret about our faith.
It’s not worth the time, and it’s not what counts.
Even someone as illustrious as the Apostle Paul says: If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.[6]
So let us set our sights, instead, on God’s faithfulness.
And one truly amazing thing about God – God can be very, very, small.
Small enough to fit into Bethlehem’s cradle.
Small enough to be held by Mary.
Small enough to be a little boy in Nazareth.
Small enough to fit into your heart and mine.
Small enough to fit into our faith, the size of a mustard seed.
The second gold piece of our story – folks were arguing about things that don’t count.
They were trying to figure out why the man was blind – Well, he must have done something wrong, or maybe his parents are to blame.
Jesus doesn’t waste any time with such things …
There no place for blame in the heart of God.
Who’s at fault and who did what makes no difference.
Because - every situation is an occasion for good.
Jesus goes to work …
There’s a need to be met.
Eyes to be opened.
A life to be changed.
There’s urgency here … love can’t wait … mercy is always in a hurry …
We must work while we can, says Jesus … while the sun shines, because there will come a night when no one can work.
Don’t put off for tomorrow what can be done today!
Is there someone we need to talk to?
A letter that needs to be written?
A visit that needs to be made?
Forgiveness offered?
Forgiveness sought?
Do it now.
Do it today.
Don’t wait.
Jesus spits into the dirt.
Makes some mud.
Smears it on the man’s eyes.
Tells him to go and wash.
What’s going on here?
Why the mud?
A delightful image of creation?
Genesis, chapter 2?
God likes to play in the dirt.
God takes a scoop of dirt and fashions a little creature from it, and then blows into its face the breath of life, and the little creature begins to live, made from the dirt of the earth and breath of God.
Jesus brings to us a new creation …
Everyone is a new creation in Christ,[7] says Paul the Apostle.
And it’s not just the eyes that Jesus heals.
It’s our heart, and what we believe.
Our mind, and how we think
Our relationships, and the care we have for one another.
The touch of Christ changes everything.
Dear Calvary on the Boulevard:
It’s a privilege to be here today.
To know Christ.
The God who loves us before the foundation of the world was laid.[8]
The God who comes to us with mercy and kindness.
And a little mud for our eyes … and some water in which to wash.
And when we open our eyes, it’s Christ we see.
And the church standing with him throughout the ages.
The Church Universal … and our church right here.
Calvary Presbyterian Church.
Calvary on the Boulevard.
Ready to love, ready to work, eager to make our world a better place.
Are you with me on this?
I know that you are!
Amen and Amen!
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