1 Samuel 16:1-13, Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41

“There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.”

These are days of blurred expectations, days of fear of the unknown, days when all of our worldly wisdom and medical technology are confounded and excessively overstretched.  We are brought to our knees in our search for God’s guidance, our need to see what is ahead.

Perhaps, then, we can better relate to Samuel’s plight.  Samuel, the great seer, the last of the judges of Israel, was called by the LORD to orchestrate the transition for Israel from a nation ruled by judges to a nation ruled by kings.  Saul had been Israel’s first king, but that kingship had gone awry.  Now, Samuel was instructed by the LORD to fill his horn with oil and set out to the home of Jesse, the Bethlehemite.  From the sons of Jesse would come the next king of Israel as God anointed.

Samuel was afraid.  The angry and deranged Saul continued to threaten.  But, Samuel trusted God, and God provided for Samuel’s safety.

Samuel was bewildered.  Upon arrival at the home of Jesse, not one among the magnificent parade of handsome and robust sons had evoked God’s approval.  Samuel was the prophet of the LORD; Samuel was the renown seer amongst God’s people; yet, Samuel, we could imagine, was weary and at the point of panic.  In his frustration, Samuel asks, “Are all your sons here?”  Jesse responds downheartedly, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.”  Thus, David, the shepherd, the youngest of this host of brothers so handsome and mighty in stature, was summoned from the flock and anointed king over Israel.  We read that the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him from that day forward.  Indeed, David would go on to become the greatest of the earthly kings over Israel.

How amazing are the ways of the LORD!   Samuel was amazed by the ways of the LORD.  The great prophet Samuel, at his well-seasoned age and in his divinely inspired wisdom was yet again to be surprised and amazed by the ways of the LORD.  Once again, Samuel, the seer, is reminded to leave the “seeing” to God.  For those willing to see, the ways of the LORD continue to amaze.

Fear, bewilderment, and amazement are themes as well of our Gospel lesson from John.

“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  Religious tradition held that physical handicap was a direct result of sinfulness.  The Pharisees, and even the disciples themselves, were spiritually blinded by this misconception that this man’s physical blindness was God’s punishment for sin.  Amazed by Jesus’ actions that healed the man’s lifelong physical blindness and disconcerted by Jesus’ self-identification as the Son of Man, the Pharisees were struck with fear.  Their sinfulness, their lack of faith, their misdirected zeal for God’s Law rendered them blind to the presence of the Anointed One.  Were they to submit themselves to Jesus’ healing touch, were they to follow Jesus’ call to wash the mud from their eyes and hearts, they too could have been released from their prison of blindness.

Yet, somewhat like Samuel, the ability of the Pharisees to SEE as God sees, was clouded by human misconception.  But yet, unlike Samuel who persevered through fear and bewilderment to experience seeing as God sees, the Pharisees remained blinded by fear and self-importance, their amazement in Jesus’ presence forcing them deeper and deeper into bewildering darkness.  They could see only as mortals see.  Jesus 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.”

For the Lord does not see as mortals see.

In this time of great fear and bewilderment, God is with us, seeing us through in unexpected and amazing ways. One of God’s ways of assuring us of his presence is offered by Presiding Bishop Curry in his new weekly meditation series. Here, we find his suggestion to cultivate “habits of grace.”  As illustration, he describes the scene that is playing out throughout Italy:

One of the things that I’m aware of is that consistent habits, what some have called habits of grace, can really be helpful especially in unsettling times.  I was watching television and saw where in Milan and throughout Italy apparently, a movement has begun. . . . at six o’clock every evening everyone who is in their apartment is socializing by coming out on the porch and at six o’clock they begin to applaud.  They just start clapping.  And everyone claps and applauds as a way of saying thank you to the medical folk who are working, the first responders who are working.  Just a way of saying thank you.  And then the applause moves into or morphs into a song.  And they sometimes sing their national anthem or sing some other song, every day at six.  A habit of grace.

As we are cautioned to keep physically separate from one another, let us draw closer to God and, thus, closer to one another in Christ.  God is tending his sheep; his rod and his staff are comforting us through the valley of the shadow of death.  God, in his unbounded mercy, will turn the blindness of our fear and bewilderment into amazing sight.  Let’s keep our eyes and hearts open.