Eyeless On The Outer Banks

 This is the link to the video version of this reflection:  
https://saintandrewsobx.com/uncategorized/poem-reflection-for-sunday-march-22/


Poem/Reflection for IV Lent                               St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Nags Head, N.C. March 22, 2020                                                            Thomas E Wilson, Supply Clergy                      1 Samuel 16:1-13       Ephesians 5:8-14     John 9:1-41       Psalm 23

Eyeless On The Outer Banks

Last week on a very cold and very dark predawn morning I took a walk. It was overcast and the light of the crescent moon was hidden. My neighborhood has no streetlights and with many of the homes of part time residents empty and dark; it was darker than ever.

Being a person who, like half the people on this earth, has a Y chromosome, I did not start off paying attention to how cold it really was. But when the cold wind started blowing even more cold, I started to give up my macho pose and zipped up my coat and then reached inside the coat pockets to pull out my gloves. When I put them on; they did not feel right. I assumed that since I had not exercised regularly, I might have found some of the weight that I had lost. But I suspected that I had not gained that much weight. I them realized that I had put on each glove on the wrong hand. I did not have enough light to see. and my male pride kept me from admitting my own mistake as I was misinterpreting the environment in which I lived and moved and had my being. That is good metaphor for that is going on in the lessons for today; walking with darkness and willing to misinterpret the environment.

In the Hebrew Testament lesson from Samuel, Samuel, the last of the Judges of Israel is looking for a replacement for Saul as King. He looks over the sons of Jesse in Bethlehem and his vision is stuck on the brothers who look like they are straight out of Central Castings’ pick for a King. Samuel want to hold on to his old ideas of how things should be. However, God keeps telling Samuel (and us) not to look with the darkness of the eyes of humans but with the renewed eyes of the Spirit of God. Finally, Samuel sees the blindness in his own vision as he finds the boy, David, a most unlikely candidate by any human measure, but God has this habit of seeing things differently than we tend to. Samuel trusts in the Spirit of God and anoints David as the King in waiting.

In the 23rd Psalm, the Psalmist sees with his, or her, vision that s/he is walking in the valley of the shadow of death, but with the eyes of the vision of God s/he is able to see that s/he is not alone and whatever happens s/he will dwell in the House of the LORD forever. The Psalmist is telling us to look not just with human eyes but with the renewed eyes of faith. Like a sheep to a shepherd, the Psalmist trusts in the Spirit of God.

The author of the Epistle to the Ephesians writes: “Once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light— for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. . . but everything exposed by the light becomes visible” The writer is telling the Ephesians not to look with human eyes but to walk with the renewed eyes of faith; trusting in the Spirit of God in the Risen Christ.

In the Gospel story from John, the community of the Beloved disciple tells a story of the healing by Jesus of a blind man. The story is full of twists and turns about who is the one who is really blind and the convolutions gone through as each side accuses the other of sin. It is a slapstick
comedy that the community tells itself and passes on to the larger church about the need to not look with only the human eyes of tradition but to open oneself up to see with the renewed eyes of faith trusting in the Spirit of God in the Risen Christ.

Years ago, in Seminary I learned to sing a South African song, “Siyahamba”, in the Zulu language, the first line is “Siyahamb' ekukhanyen' kwenkhos'”, or in English “We are Marching in the Light of God.” It is an infectious call and response song and the word “marching” can be substituted with “walking”, “clapping”, “singing”, “dancing”, “laughing”, “praying” or whatever you chose. God gave me many gifts but singing on tune is not one of them, and over the years the Zula words have fled my memory. However, I make a joyful noise when I sing that song in English.

We are marching in the light of God,
We are marching in the light of God,
We are marching in the light of God,
We are marching in the light of,
The light of God,
We are marching, marching,
We are marching, marching,
We are marching in the light of,
The light of God,
We are marching, marching,
We are marching, marching,
We are marching in the light of God

The song was written down in the 1950’s but it was already a popular street song in the Black Townships during the time of Racial Apartheid in South Africa. It was a song of faith in the middle of difficult times. Although the whole world seemed wrapped in darkness; they sang in hope.
As I was walking in that darkness that morning, I started to sing that song. I realized that the darkness in front of my eyes was an outward and visible sign of the darkness in front of the world at this time.

The church services here at St. Andrew’s and on the other churches on the Outer Banks were canceled. The Virus has had, as the British say, “thrown a spanner in the works” method of walking in the light of God, that we use to give hope; combinations of receiving communion together, with person to person contact, communal worship services, community building and pastoral activities. The method is not available currently in the old form. However, while the method is unavailable, we must adapt to the new reality if the emergency is with us. This is the task of the church of how we can find a way of living in the light of God.

We may not be able to have Eucharist together for right now, we may not be able to have person to person contact right now, we may not be able to sing together, dance together, eat together, laugh together, welcome guests together, work together on projects but the light of god shines in the spiritual space between us. We will have to use phones, letters, social media but we continue to share God’s light.

I use a phrase from a 19th Century Swiss Philosopher at the beginning of my final blessings during the services which I share with you now: “Life is short and we do not have much time to gladden the hearts of those who travel with us; so be swift to love and make haste to be kind.” We are walking in the Light of God

Eyeless On The Outer Banks
Mismatched gloved, walking in darkness,
he was so sure of himself, all puffed up;
lucky he was that he didn't trip himself up.
Yet, not for the luck but undeserved grace.
Spirit has her hands full with blind fools,
who “know” all they need, want, to know,
stumbling in ignorance wherever they go,
claiming a superior wisdom as best tools.
As he’s walking, a Zulu song came to mind,
a hymn to sing when darkness seems near,
threatening a peace which he longs to hear,
“Siyahamba” springs to heal his time blind.
Knows while he thinks he is walking alone,
he is mistaken; new seed of hope are sown.