4th Sunday of Lent

Our readings for the Fourth Sunday of Lent Cycle A are:

1. 1st Samuel 16: 1b, 6-7, 10-13a
2. Psalms 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
3. Ephesians 5: 8-14
4. John 9: 1-41

1. Chosen
• You never hear whether there was any sort of a discussion about whether Jesse was willing to sacrifice his son to serve the Jewish people as king, or whether David was keen on leaving hearth and home for a palace that he'd probably never seen before.
• Have you ever felt chosen of God for some role to play, some vocation?
• How did you hear that call?
• How did you come to terms with the changes, the demands of that call?
• How did your response change you?
2. What I want is ...
• Each phase in life has its own imperatives, drives.  What would you say are the biggest drivers in your life today?
• Now, where do you spend your time in an average week?
• How have those drives changed through the years?
• How do you think that they will change in the years to come?
• Does that sound like a welcome transition?
3. Lighten up
• At Boeing there was a slogan (large corporations have found that the best way to influence people's behavior is to tell them something snappy that they are not likely to forget) "if you see something, say something" which was aimed at getting everyone to report security violations.
• A prophet is possibly the ultimate example of "see something, say something" at several levels.  Have you ever had someone in your life who was not afraid to speak up when they thought that something needed to be said?
• If you're morally certain that saying something about a given injustice, evil practice, act of oppression is going to do more harm than good, are you still bound to say it?
• When trying to be prophetic, does it pay to be diplomatic?
• Should we look to provide some sort of prophetic immunity to registered prophets?
4. I think I see what you're saying now ...
• I notice that Jesus didn't approach the blind man until the blind man had been thrown out of the temple.  I'm thinking the blind man may have started to wonder if this whole sight thing was worth the bother.  At least while he was blind, he could attend family gatherings.  Now, maybe not so much.
• Have you had an occasion when God's guidance seemed to wait until you had hit bottom?
• Why do you think that is?  Maybe God wants us to appreciate Him more, or He waits until we're no longer distracted by other options?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Am I willing to see the way that God sees, even if it is painful?
2. Am I willing to trust God in and with my life?
3. Do I have the courage to be a voice for the voiceless?
4. Am I willing to give up old ways of looking at things so that I can see truly?

What I want is

Peace that passes understanding
A peace that defies circumstances,
Laughs in the face of turmoil
Finds hope where others see despair.

Joy that endures
Even while engaged in the wide world
A joy that see beneath the surface
To a celebration of God's Presence.

Contentment that sustains
Finding all that I want
In all that is given me
Finding abundance in the here and now.

Love in generosity
Opportunities each day to give away
All that I am, all that I have
To those abandoned by everyone else.

Somehow I'm sure
As long as these blessings are what I want
That my shepherd will provide them
With overflowing abundance.

Shalom!