4th Sunday of Lent, Year A
3-6 year olds
(full reading: John 9.1-41)
We know things about Jesus.
We know that he is the Light of the World.
We know that he is the Good Shepherd.
We know these things because he tells us so.
I am the Light of the World (John 8:12, 9:5)
he says.
I am the Good Shepherd (John 10:11)
he says.
But we also know these things because of what Jesus does.
In the Gospel reading for this Sunday, Jesus shows us that he is the Light of the World and shows us that he is the Good Shepherd.
What do we know about Light...?
It is bright.
It is beautiful.
It helps us to know where we are and where we are going.
It helps us to see.
As Jesus walked along, he saw a man blind from birth.
When the man who is blind has never been able to see, what does Jesus do?
Jesus spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then the man went and washed and came back able to see.
Can you imagine?! This man has spent his whole life not being able to see!
He would have been able to tell when it is dark and when it is light, but never ever would he have been able to see the light sparkle on the pool of Siloam, the birds chirping in the branches of trees, the faces of his parents smiling at him with delight. All things bright and beautiful--now he can see.
He would have been able to feel his way from his home to the place where he sits to beg, but never ever would he have been able to know all the choices of other places to go. He couldn't see those choices before. But now? Now he can choose. Now he can see.
This is what Jesus the Light of the World does.
What do we know about the Good Shepherd...?
He knows his sheep.
He calls them by name.
He gives everything for the sheep.
He finds the one who is lost.
When the man comes back from the pool of Siloam able to see all the streets of Jerusalem and all the faces of the people around him, he doesn't see Jesus. Instead, a whole bunch of people keep asking him how this has happened, how he can see. They don't seem to be rejoicing with him, do they?
I wonder if that is confusing for him. The whole world must seem strange all of a sudden. Bright, yes. And oh so beautiful! But the world is not the same as he knew it before. Everything is so very new. There is so much to see. And there are so many questions from all these people. I wonder if he just wants to hide from all this newness and noise. He cannot answer their questions, and,
they drove him out
That means they made him go away from them all. I wonder if, now that he is all alone, he feels lost.
When the man who can see feels confused, alone, and lost, what does Jesus do?
Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and...he found him
Jesus finds the man! The Good Shepherd searches until he finds the one who is lost.
This is what Jesus the Good Shepherd does.
What Jesus says, Jesus does.
We know that Jesus is the Light of the World and
we know that Jesus is the Good Shepherd because,
that's who he is.
