A Note from Pastor Bill

Dear St. Luke’s Saints:

The earth tone of the Lenten Landscape this week is an odd one: mud. And what makes it even odder is that the mud is made when Jesus spits on the ground and mixes his saliva with dirt. As if that weren’t odd enough, he takes the mud and spreads it on the eyes of a man who has been blind since he was born. As creepy as that may seem to us, the method of Jesus’ healing seems to be a non-issue for the family, the Pharisees, and the man himself. The real issue turned out to be the fact that Jesus healed the man in the first place! And for that, his name was “mud!”

The whole ninth chapter of John is a story about blindness and sight. Those who think they can already see everything they need to see are actually blind, and those who are blind but believe in Jesus are the ones who see. Physical sight and spiritual acuity are two different things. Helen Keller “saw” more than most of us ever will, while many people with 20/20 eyesight miss everything that God is doing in us and around us.

It’s the difference between saying “I see your lips moving,” and “I see what you mean.” It’s akin to Jesus telling people: “Unless you become like children you will never see the Kingdom of God.” Sight is not always about optic nerves and pupils. Sometimes it’s about the pupils and their nerve to believe.

It’s a long scripture lesson this week: John 9:1-41. Try to become familiar with it before you take a seat this Sunday.

Please remember the offering of letters for Bread for the World (see below), the $1.00 a day for 40 days Lenten mission offering, and the final week for making a contribution to the Bethune-Cookman University Concert Chorale. You can make a gift for scholarships or for the robe and dance costume fund. My hope was to raise $10,000, which would buy 100 robes, and we are within $2000 of that goal.

I was going to wash the mud off of my Jeep this weekend, but just to keep me thinking about the scripture, I am going to pass on the hose. (Nice excuse, huh! Praise the Lord!)

With faith, hope, love, and a whole lot more excuses,
Bill