As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. 4We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, 7saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.
Who
can tell me what it means to have a “plan?” Do you know
that word? What is a "plan?"
(When
you make a plan you decide what you’re going to do and how
you’re going to do it…and sometimes a plan has lots of little steps.)
Before
I came to church today I had to put on my shoes and socks
...that was part of my “coming to church plan.” Which do you
think I put
on first? My shoes or my socks?
That’s
right…and why is it important to put on your socks first?
Do you think I tied my shoes before I put them on, or after I put them
on? How
come?
That’s
right! When you have a plan you do the things you do for
a reason. I tied my shoes so they wouldn’t fall off…but the real
reason
I was tying them was so I could come here to church and be with you. That
was my plan.
Did
you know that God has a special plan for each of us? In
today’s gospel story we’re going to hear a story about a man who is
blind…he
can’t see. Jesus and his disciples come across this man and they ask
Jesus why
this happened. They wonder if the man has done something wrong – or if
has
parents had – to make him born blind. And Jesus surprises them – he
tells them
that the man’s blindness is all a special part of God’s plan.
God
had chosen this man to help people understand who Jesus was.
So Jesus performs a miracle…he heals the man
so that can see! (Guess how? Do you really want to know? I’ll give you
a
hint…it’s kind of yucky. I’ll make you a deal…you listen very carefully
during
the reading and see if you can catch it. Then come and tell me what he
did at
the end of the service. And if you miss it, I’ll tell you.)
What
an important lesson! Sometimes sad things happen to us – and
it’s hard to understand why. But Jesus wants us to remember that God
has a
special plan for each of us. And that everything happens for a reason.
Will
you pray with me?
Dear
God,
We
know that you have reasons for the things you do – and we know
that you have chosen important jobs for us all. Please help us to do
them well
– and to help others know you better - just like the blind man in
today’s
story.