Baptism is sometimes called
enlightenment. The gospel for this Sunday is the story of the man born blind
healed by Christ. I was blind, but now I see, declares the man. In baptism God
opens our eyes to see the truth of who we are: God’s beloved sons and daughters.
As David was anointed king of Israel, in baptism God anoints our head with oil,
and calls us to bear witness to the light of Christ in our daily lives.
Bend your ear to our prayers, Lord
Christ, and come among us. By your gracious life and death for us, bring light
into the darkness of our hearts, and anoint us with your Spirit, for you live
and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
1 Samuel 16:1-13
David is chosen and
anointed
Psalm 23
You anoint my head with oil. (Ps. 23:5)
Ephesians 5:8-14
Awake from sleep,
live as children of light
John 9:1-41
Baptismal image: the
man born blind
Samuel anointed David
even though he was the eighth-oldest son of Jesse and did not match his
brothers in height or other physical characteristics. With the anointing came
endowment with the Spirit of the Lord, designating David as the Lord’s chosen
successor to Saul.
1The
Lord said to Samuel, “How long
will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel.
Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among
his sons.” 2Samuel said, “How can I
go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to
sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show
you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.”
4Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem.
The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come
peaceably?” 5He said, “Peaceably; I
have come to sacrifice to the Lord;
sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse
and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.” 7But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his
appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for
the Lord does not see as mortals
see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 8Then
Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before
Samuel. He said, “Neither has the Lord
chosen this one.” 9Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10Jesse made seven of his sons pass before
Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord
has not chosen any of these.” 11Samuel
said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the
youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and
bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” 12He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy,
and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord
said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.” 13Then
Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers;
and the spirit of the Lord came mightily
upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.
You anoint my head with oil. (Ps. 23:5)
1The
Lord| is
my shepherd;
I shall not | be in want.
2The Lord makes me lie down | in green
pastures
and leads me be- | side still
waters.
3You restore my |
soul, O Lord,
and guide me along right pathways | for your name’s
sake.
4Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall | fear no
evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they | comfort me. R
5You prepare a table before me in
the presence | of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil, and my cup is | running over.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days | of my
life,
and I will dwell in the house of the | Lord
forever. R
Because we now live
in the divine light that is Jesus Christ, we conduct our lives in ways that
reflect the light of Christ, so that our activity is truly pleasing to God.
8Once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light.
Live as children of light—9for the
fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. 10Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord.
11Take no part in the unfruitful
works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12For
it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; 13but everything exposed by the light becomes
visible, 14for everything that
becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
“Sleeper, awake!
Rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
Jesus heals a man
born blind, provoking a hostile reaction that he regards as spiritual blindness
to the things of God.
1As
[Jesus] 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. 8The
neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this
not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9Some
were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.”
He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10But
they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud,
spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and
washed and received my sight.” 12They
said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”
13They brought to the Pharisees
the man who had formerly been blind. 14Now
it was a sabbath day when
Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15Then
the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to
them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” 16Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not
from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.”
But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they
were divided. 17So they said again
to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He
said, “He is a prophet.”
18The Jews did not believe that he
had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the
man who had received his sight 19and
asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now
see?” 20His parents answered, “We
know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21but we do not know how it is that now he
sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak
for himself.” 22His parents said
this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that
anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue.
23Therefore his parents said, “He is
of age; ask him.”
24So for the second time they
called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We
know that this man is a sinner.” 25He
answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that
though I was blind, now I see.” 26They
said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27He answered them, “I have told you already,
and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to
become his disciples?” 28Then they
reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as
for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30The man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do
not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31We know that God does not listen to sinners,
but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. 32Never since the world began has it been heard
that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33If this man were not from God, he could do
nothing.” 34They answered him, “You
were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him
out.
35Jesus heard that they had driven
him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so
that I may believe in him.” 37Jesus
said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” 38He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped
him. 39Jesus said, “I came into this
world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see
may become blind.” 40Some of the
Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are
we?” 41Jesus said to them, “If you
were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin
remains.”
sision of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches
of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights
reserved.