The Cadbury egg is a popular treat this time of year. If you have not tried one, I will not spoil it for you. Although I will tell you, biting into one may cause you to say, “I did not see that coming.” A British chocolatier brought us the Cadbury egg, and well over a millennium earlier the British born St. Patrick brought the Gospel to Ireland, and he is still celebrated today. Although, I am guessing he would say, “I did not see that coming” if he saw that he was being remembered with leprechauns and food coloring in Coors rather than spreading the Gospel.
The mixture of saliva and dirt is not a popular cure for blindness. In fact, anyone who is blind would likely take great offense at someone rubbing mud from saliva and dirt onto their eyes. Yet the blind man in our Gospel reading from John 9 allowed Jesus to make this strange brown mixture and spread it on his broken eyes. Jesus then directed the man to wash in the Pool of Siloam, and after, the man went home seeing. It was a miracle, but the man had not seen who healed him. Although there were others who saw what happened, and they were not happy about it, so they brought the healed man to the Pharisees. After questioning the healed man, they concluded that Jesus and the healed man were sinners who had nothing to do with God. Their conclusion was blind to the truth, so Jesus made sure to enlighten the man whom he had healed as we read in our Gospel reading from John 9, 35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” 37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” 38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” Although he was rejected and is still rejected by many, Jesus is the cure for the spiritual blindness that affects all of us.
The spiritually blind enemies of our faith take many forms. For the blind man who was healed, it seems almost everyone in his life was against him. Those who knew him as a blind beggar turned him over to the Pharisees after he was healed, and the Pharisees condemned him for sharing Jesus’ miraculous healing. Similar to this man, King David often found himself surrounded by enemies. As a shepherd boy, David faced lions and bears attacking his sheep. As he grew up and was chosen to be the next King of Israel, he was mocked by an army and his own brothers for his faith in God to give him the victory over Goliath. After God gave him the victory, he was hunted by King Saul, scolded by his wife Michal and his son Absalom tried to steal the kingdom from him. Through all these attacks, David’s faith was put to the test to see how the LORD would not abandon him.
The enemies of our faith threaten to blind us from seeing the LORD. As with King David, our faith is tested by many enemies. We may find ourselves under a policy at school or work or from the government that promotes anti-Christian beliefs, lifestyles and sentiment. Even among the members of our family, we may be abused and abandoned for our faith. As these types of attacks linger in our lives, our eyes grow weary seeking the LORD. In our weariness, we often seek relief by compromising on our faith, rather than clinging tighter to Christ. Along with weariness, feelings of abandonment come when we are surrounded by policies and people who are against us as Christians. What we see with our eyes fights what we see with our eyes of faith. When we do not immediately see the LORD come down with all his glorious power to defend and deliver us, our hearts forget the power of Scripture, prayer and surrounding ourselves with our brothers and sisters in Christ. The enemy within us, our sinful nature, fills our hearts with darkness lying to us that we are alone and abandoned when the LORD is standing right beside us.
When surrounded by enemies, the LORD is always with us as our light, our salvation and our stronghold. In our Psalm for today, David wrote in Psalm 27, 1 The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Against any enemy, David always saw the outcome of the battle before it began. The LORD enlightened him to see no worldly creature could stand against the Creator of light and of the heavens and the earth. David looked to the LORD to save him as he had saved Noah from the Flood, Lot from falling fiery sulfur and Moses from Pharoah. In every battle, the LORD stood around David like a fortress so than any enemy that advanced against him lay fallen and defeated.
The same LORD who delivered David from his enemies has saved us. We read in Psalm 27, 9 Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior. We call out to God with confidence that he will help us, not abandon or forsake us, because he is our Savior. The name the angel told Joseph to give to the child Mary was carrying was Jesus, which means the ‘LORD saves’. When we were blind, the LORD came to save us through Jesus who was prophesied in our Old Testament reading from Isaiah 42, 16 I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. Jesus full of the light of the glory of God walked cloaked in shame rejected with a crown of thorns piercing his skull on the rough way to be hung on the cross. Darkness came over the place where he died, and the Father abandoned his one and only beloved Son. These are the things the LORD did to not abandon or forsake us, but to save us through Jesus’ death and resurrection. The words and actions from our enemies will stumble and fall as the LORD brings us to the heavenly land of the living.
As with David, seek out the LORD when trouble comes. King David experienced almost every kind of trouble at the hands of his enemies, from his sinful nature and by being abandoned by his friends and family. He experienced poverty and greed, hunger and indulgence, lust and laziness, marital strife, one of his children died shortly after birth and some of his older children died before him, he was hunted by the government, he was lonely, he was troubled by guilt and shame over past sins, etc. We have our own lists like David, and we can join with him in saying these words from Psalm 27, 11 Teach me your way, LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. The LORD teaches us through his Word, and he points us to Jesus when we are oppressed. In Jesus, we have salvation and the final deliverance in heaven. In him, God has also put us on a new path as we hear in our New Testament reading from Ephesians 5, 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. God has made us something new. Working through his Word and Sacraments, we are now light, and through them we are equipped to do battle with prayer, by congregating together, by encouraging one another, by walking his straight path and not blindly walking in darkness like our enemies. When we feel abandoned, God has provided a place of belonging in the salvation we have in Jesus. David longed to be in the presence of God in heaven, but on earth he also found safety and shelter in the tabernacle as we read in Psalm 27, 4 One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. 5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. At the tabernacle he offered sacrifices, prayed, found guidance and enjoyed fellowship with God’s people. We are blessed to find those same blessings when we gather for worship and Bible study. Gathering together provides us with protection, a faith family, a unified mission and a refresh before going back out to battle in the world. Though enemies surround us, we join David to say, 13 I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
Biting into a Cadbury egg for the first time will lead you to say, “I did not see that coming.” A British chocolatier brought us the Cadbury egg, and over a millennium earlier the British born St. Patrick brought the Gospel to Ireland. I am guessing St. Patrick would say, “I did not see that coming” if he saw that he was being remembered today with leprechauns and food coloring in Coors rather than spreading the Gospel. We do not always see the enemies of our faith coming, but when under attack, we are not alone. Our enemies take many forms, but the LORD is our light, our salvation and our stronghold. We will not be defeated or abandoned because those who wait for the LORD will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Amen.
Gunnar Ledermann, Pastor Divine Peace Church
Gunnar Ledermann
I’m passionate about Rockwall’s vibrant community and actively engage with local non-profits and community organizations, including the Rockwall Chamber of Commerce, the City of Rockwall, and the Downtown Rockwall Association. My background includes a bachelor’s degree in Classical Languages and a master’s degree in divinity. Currently serving as a pastor at Divine Peace Church in Rockwall, I also enjoy spending time with my wife, Marinda, and our five children.
