Woke? Not Even Awake!

Sermon by: Rev. John Vertigan

John Vertigan is the conference minister in the Florida Conference and a member of First United Church of Christ in Orlando

4th Sunday in Lent: Scripture: John 9:1-41

(We do not have a copy of Rev. Vertigo’s sermon. Here is a summary by Rev. Mary Alice Mulligan, from our 3/22/23 midweek update.)

What a great day we had last Sunday when Rev. John Vertigan, our Florida Conference Minister, preached. The scripture passage he used was about Jesus’ healing a person who was born blind and some of Jesus’ critics who believed they could see clearly but who were actually unable to see at all. Rev. Vertigan challenged us as a congregation to consider ways we may think we can see clearly but we cannot. Time for us to let God open our eyes. Time for us to be awakened. Woke even.
 
Probably most people and most churches believe they understand God’s ways, or at least feel they are closer to the truth than other groups. We do well to notice how many times people around Jesus were shocked to learn they did not understand at all. If people who actually walked and talked with Jesus kept being surprised with new lessons, my guess is we can expect similar surprises to keep happening in our lives of faith, if we are open and humble. If we admit we don’t know everything, that the lessons of Jesus are not as easy as we wish they were, and that we each have plenty yet to learn, then we are in a better position to start seeing with God’s vision. As individuals and as a congregation, we can see anew.

                                                                                Blessings, Rev. Mary Alice