Open Eyes

I have been a bit negligent in posting my sermons from this summer! Sorry ;) Here is one for our sermon series at CTK. We are reading through the book of Nehemiah—that is in the Old Testament.  We are looking at the ways that Nehemiah lived open, allowing God to use him in mighty ways in the midst of risk to change a community. 

This sermon looks at Nehemiah 1&2 in which he is called to be apart of the restoration of Jerusalem.  The sermon is entitled “Open Eyes”

When I was a little girl I wanted glasses so badly.  I used to lie to the eye doctor. I would like to my teachers and say I couldn’t see the board so they would write a note to my parents encouraging them to take me to the doctors.  When I was in college, I even purchased fake glasses so that I would look smarter in class.  Each time I was given the same reply, you can see absolutely fine.  There is no need for glasses.  Several years later, my vision had worsened slightly and I now need glasses to see a far distance and for driving at night.  I joyfully picked out the long awaited pair knowing that I was finally going to see clearly—and look intelligent and trendy while doing it! 

Despite my obsession in my younger, and not so younger days, with physical sight and glasses, I know understand a much deeper reality to sight.  Many of us walk around each day seeing things.  We walk around aware that we are surrounded by trees and houses.  Some of us see colleagues daily, other see our kids as we drive them to and fro, others of us see never ending to-do lists—but how many of us see more than just the surface?  How often do you walk around a notice more than just the fact that a tree is there but see the deep ecology of our natural world and the overwhelming handiwork of God?  How often do look and see a people—not stories or children of God or potential—but people in our way, making us uncomfortable, challenging our way of life.  How often do we see only us and our scarcity instead of we and the abundance of God? The human answer is: Far too often. 

Far too often our eyes are seeing only the surface—and people of God—today and every day, God is calling us to look at the world with God’s eyes.  To see more than just people, trees and us and instead see God’s creative and redeeming work in the world. 

Throughout the next four weeks, as a congregation, we will be reading through the book of Nehemiah together.  Yes, it is a departure from our usual use of a lesson from each part of scripture.  Yet, Nehemiah only comes around once in our cycle of lessons and when it does, only one chapter is used.  Nehemiah holds such rich instruction for our life in community, especially our giving life.  Today, we explore how Nehemiah saw—and saw more than just his physical reality but saw God’s vision for him and his people. 

The book of Nehemiah is one that recalls the time of the Jewish people towards the end of exile.  For a variety of reasons, namely their own pride and hard heartedness, God allowed the Jewish people to be conquered by a foreign enemy and to be scattered.  They were sent far from their homeland, their buildings and temple were destroyed.  The very fabric of their life was torn apart, their earthly well-being now in the hands of bigger, bitter enemy.  Many of the Jewish people were taken and made slaves.  Nehemiah is no different. He has been separated from his people and made cup bearer to the king in the Persian province of Susa.  While serving in this role, he was visited by several men including Hananai.  Nehemiah asked about the state of Jerusalem.  The report was not good.  Things were laid bare, destroyed, beyond redemption.  Now Nehemiah hears this report with open ears and begins to see the situation with his spiritual eyes.   And he is better than most of us.  When we ask how things are going with people, we are often polite enough to listen to the answer, but not engaged enough to be bothered with it.  We nod, “sure, yes, I see.”  But do we allow the answers to such questions dwell deeper?  Do we only engage the world on the surface? 

If we are surface dwellers, our story would diverge from Nehemiah after a mere three verses.  If we are surface dwellers and see-ers, we would have quickly moved onto another topic that would make us more comfortable.  If we are surface dwellers, we would have turned off the difficult story on the news opting for a sitcom that makes us laugh and allows us to escape the harshness of deeply seeing. 

Yet, Nehemiah wasn’t a surface dweller.  He hears the report from Hanani and instead of embracing the easy of surface dwelling, he allows the news of what is happening in Jerusalem to dwell deeply.  And he takes it to God in prayer. 

Nehemiah is reminded in pray of God’s word to bring the Jewish people back together.  At this point, God’s spirit is working to open eyes and give him a vision for what is next. 

And that is what spiritual sight, deep seeing does…it gives us a vision that we can put into action.  For Nehemiah, we learn that the vision God gives him is to rebuild the city.  If we are honest, this moving to action part is why many of us don’t want to open our eyes to God in world—because God might just call us to do something.  We don’t want to hear about another teen bullied in the schools because we might just have to get involved with the bully.  We don’t want to hear about the most severe drought ever in the Horn of Africa that is leading to 3,000 people becoming refugees a day, because we might then have to examine our own family food intake and realize that we are hording.  We might just feel called to give up one dinner out a month and instead opt for leftovers so a donation can be made to ELCA disaster relief.  We don’t want to hear about our elderly population being abused because it might just move us to make space in our homes or busy schedules to care for our elderly. 

The reality is that if we are seeing the world with God’s eyes, it will be quickly followed by a vision and a call to action.  And our human nature is to trade the possible transformation for the comfort of being surface dwellers. 

Spoiler alert.  If we aren’t like Nehemiah and willing to see deeply, recognize need and allow God’s spirit to give us vision and action for a need, we will never see walls rebuilt, a city restore or people renewed as it was with Nehemiah. 

For our conversation about giving this fall, we chose the theme open.  It was deliberate because far too often we choose to close our eyes, our hands, our hearts and our wallets.  Closed living is comfortable. It requires no risk nor vision.  We don’t need to see deeply because we feel no need to be part of something more than the status quo.  Yet, when we are living open.  When we declare to God that we want to see more deeply, we are proclaiming to the world that despite the risk or the energy required, we want to be part of something greater than ourselves. 

And this is what Nehemiah does—he takes a risk—a big one that involved asking the king for protection and later for supplies because he knows that to be apart of what God is doing is what makes for a great life.  A great life is not marked by how cleanly and neatly we have protected ourselves but marked by how deeply we see the world around us, how clearly we see the spark of God in each person, how faithfully we live our God’s vision.

So where are you this morning? 

Are you sitting here thinking, “Yep. She nailed it. I have my eyes closed to the world around me, to where God could be working.”  Are you a surface dweller?  If you are in this category, you must ask God to move you.  Ask God to open your eyes.  Ask God to place you in situations that you can’t ignore the depth beyond.  But be prepared. If this becomes your prayer, God will move your heart towards something beyond yourself…yet, know as your are bold, you are not alone. 

Maybe you want to move beyond surface dwelling but have not had a Hanani moment, a moment where you have encountered someone or a message that has broken your heart like the news of Jerusalem has Nehemiah.  If this is you, make it your goal to be fully present this week.  When people share with you listen to them and engage their response.  Pray with the newspaper nearby.  Allow the stories to not merely be commentaries on the terrible condition of our world but ready each story asking God, “Where might your possibility take flight?” 

For those of you with concerns deep in your heart, don’t be afraid to begin the steps to realize the vision.  Talk to people of influence that can support you.  Inspect what needs to be done as Nehemiah did with the wall.  And continually be in conversation with God and reminded that it is not your vision but God’s.

And if you are currently living our God’s vision in an area of the world, keep at it.  God takes great delight in your faithfulness. 

So let us be a community that sees, a community that explores beyond the surface and allows the creative and redeeming work of God to work in such a way that all the world is touched by the rare, relentless love of God.   And people of God, let me tell you.  You don’t need to wait 28 years for glasses to see deeply.  God will give you all the vision you need.