Fractured, Yet Whole: Crazy Quilts and Stain Glass
Text:
John 9:2-3 and Corinthians 1:18-25
Aldersgate UMC
I.
Working with Stain Glass
a.
Process
i.
Score, and break pieces
ii.
Sand them off
iii.
Wrap in foil
iv.
Solder back together
b.
Creating the wheat
i.
Missed individual kernels, too small
ii.
Settled for cattails
iii.
See the moon
c.
Great metaphor
i.
Spiritual lives
ii.
Christian message
II.
What do we see in the gospel lesson?
a.
The blindness as a problem to be overcome, like
disciples
i.
Blind form birth literally means “born from mother’s
womb”
ii.
gives rise to question suggesting sin in womb
1.
illness seen as punishment for one’s own sin
2.
parent’s quilt punished in children
b.
Or like Jesus who sees a gift that makes possible the
miracle of God
i.
the man not the disability
ii.
disability is opportunity for miracle
iii.
Transform the why?
iv.
to purpose
v.
miracles are works of God, symbols of god’s presence
c.
Jesus invites us into a new way of seeing
i.
Fractured, yet whole
III.
How can we be broken, fractured, and whole all at the
same time?
a.
Many places that are fractured
i.
Lives
ii.
World
iii.
Church
b.
Sin wrapped up in this brokenness, but not just sin
i.
Sin about being human
ii.
Pain and loss about being human
1.
answer to not feeling hurt is to not love
iii.
love defines who we are as humans
IV.
open our eyes by following the way of Christ
a.
Nouwen
articulates this way
i.
Face our brokenness squarely
1.
go to the cross
i.
Put it under a blessing
1.
see it in a new light, not as victim, but as
opportunity for a miracle
b.
Too often we let our brokenness lie under a curse
i.
confirmation that we are not beloved
ii.
we are worthless, useless
iii.
when something bad happens,
1.
we ask “why?” just like disciples
2.
seduces and leads to living under curse
iv.
rather
than being seduce by “why?”
1.
know that God walks with us through
2.
opportunity for a miracle
c.
Talk about Carole’s death
i.
Great loss and pain, let it lie under curse, asked
why?
ii.
God walking with me
iii.
God right beside me
1.
preparing eulogy
2.
serving RC Eucharist
iv.
miracle of Carole’s death
v.
Blessing of God touched my brokenness
d.
Gerald Sittser, A
Grace Disguised
i.
Helped me to see
1.
can choose to run from the loss or to face it as best
we can
ii.
Sittser
in taking his baby steps into own loss
1.
discovered another decision
2.
realized
that the experience of loss does not have to be the defining moment in one’s
life.
3.
“Instead, the defining moment can be our
response to the loss.”
4.
talking
about two deaths.
a.
a loved one dies
b.
in response to death
5.
not talking about avoiding grief
a.
rather,
allowing oneself to journey into the darkness.
6.
In journey of grief brought on by death,
a.
individuals
make a decision to choose life over death.
b.
7.
Remember, whenever there is a physical death, there is
potential for a spiritual death and that second death is a choice.
V.
Invited to look at our broken lives from God’s
perspective
a.
Cross becomes opportunity for God to come into the
world
i.
Incarnation leads to cross
ii.
Brokenness leads to glory
b.
Foolishness of the cross
i.
Opens our eyes to a new way of seeing
ii. Turns the world on end
c.
Transform brokenness
i.
Rather than seeing the blindness, look for the miracle
ii.
Face it squarely and put your life under a blessing
iii.
Testify to this because it works
d.
Fractured yet whole through God’s love and grace