"None is so blind as he who will not see." I have no idea who said it; I don't even care, but it's a great statement.

You can imagine President Obama making this statement as he has worked to get the economic stimulus package passed. He has probably wanted to tear out his hair, while screaming, "Can't they see we need this?" Meanwhile, those who oppose it would be saying basically the same thing, "Can't they see how damaging this would be? Both sides would be saying, "Are they intentionally playing blind?"

35 years ago today, the majority of the faculty and students of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis were saying pretty much the same thing. "Can't the synod see we need to move in this direction? It is futile to try to approach the Bible as anything other than man's writings." Then 4 days later, they walked off campus. The seminary had gone into exile. This was Seminex. They left behind symbols of a funeral, marking what they thought would be the death of the seminary. Meanwhile those who represented the traditional approach of the synod, who believe the Bible is God's Word and that its teachings are clear, wanted to scream, "Can't you see what you are doing? Can't you see where this is going to go?"

I was just at a Word Alone Gathering in Chokio yesterday. Word Alone is a reform movement in the ELCA. The people gathered there can see where Seminex went. Those poor people are resisting their synod that seems intent on allowing homosexual ordination and same sex marriage blessing. And here's the thing, most of the leaders behind the push for these abominable practices are those who came out the St. Louis seminary who were sympathetic to, if not involved, in our synod's seminary walkout.

The people of the ELCA now see it unfolding. I think the laity of our synod saw it coming. That's why they wanted to get rid of it. As we look back, from the vantage point of 35 years later, we can easily see where it was going to go, which leads me to another popular saying, "Hindsight is always 20/20."

Until you have the privilege of hindsight, it's not always so clear. Take the case of our disciples. Jesus told them, in no uncertain terms, exactly what was going to happen to Him. "The Son of Man will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day He will rise."

How much more did they need? How much clearer could he possibly be? It is a fact, He couldn't say it any clearer. And yet, they didn't get it. Not just once, not just twice, but three different times, Luke tells us they didn't get it.

We look back at it, knowing what happened to Jesus, and ask, "How could they be so blind? How could they miss what Jesus is saying?" But times were different when He started saying this. Jesus was a good man; everyone could see it. He was popular. He was powerful. They could not understand how this could possibly happen to a man so blessed by God, much less God Himself.

It's apparent we're in a transition from Epiphany to Lent. We're not quite in Lent, but predictions like this one Jesus made, are more the subject matter of Lent. We're not completely out of Epiphany. You will know when that happens. That will be next week with Transfiguration. That's when we will put away our Alleluias.

The kids really like this. This is when they get to take their alleluia banners and hold them as high as they can so everyone can clearly see them. And then after marching around the nave a couple times while the congregation sings "Farewell to Alleluia," place them in a black box, resembling a casket, which is like burying the alleluias.

Imagine that. I can make an announcement and give directions, while I am still preaching. Gotta love it. Anyway, that's next week. This week, we are looking at these disciples who seem to intentionally be blind, who act like they just don't want to see. But is it so hard to understand that they can't see? It just didn't make sense for them.

It happened to Samuel when he was supposed to anoint David as king. He couldn't imagine it not being one of Jesse's older boys. He surely couldn't imagine it would be his 8th child. It just didn't make sense that God would select the youngest.

It didn't make sense for Samuel; it didn't make sense for the disciples. And when it doesn't make sense, is it hard to understand that someone can't see even what is plainly before them?

Take God's grace. Does that make sense? No. We can hear it again and again, and still not hear what it really is. We can have it set out plainly before us, and still not get it.

How many of us think we are going to heaven because we go to church, give to church, or try to be good? How many of us think because we have decided to accept God's grace, we are going to go to heaven? How many of us think because we went through the ritual of baptism that we will? You have heard none of these statements from this pulpit since I have been your pastor. Not even the one about baptism. I may say, "Because God has claimed you as His child in baptism, you can be sure you are going to heaven," but it's not because you were obedient and went through a ritual or that your parents took you through it.

So, you never hear this preached from this pulpit, it's not said in any of our hymns, the order of the Divine Service says nothing like it, and yet, some of you will still hold to these ideas or something like them. Why? Because grace doesn't make sense. The fact that God chose you simply because He chose you doesn't satisfy our sense of justice or our reason.

No, it doesn't matter what I say, many of you are going to hear something different from what I am saying. I hope you are hearing this now and the Spirit is breaking through. You are God's child because He has claimed you in your baptism. You didn't decide to accept His grace, He already chose you. And yet, I know I will still hear baptized people saying, "I'm terrified of the judgment; I hope God goes easy on me." I will hear people boldly confess Jesus as their Savior and then say, "But I'll have to answer for this or that sin."

Do you know what that does to me? It tears out my heart. The comfort the Lord wants you to have, can't possibly be there. If you have to worry about the final judgment, then you can't be confident about God's love for you in Christ, which you have been given now.

The problem is, this isn't just some of us. We are all blind. Our ransomed soul or spirit sees perfectly well. It is a new creature, new from what it was when we were first born. It knows exactly what it needs. It knows what God has done. But remember what Jesus said, "Although the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak." Our minds, which is part of our flesh, tries to hear God's words of grace as something other than what they are.

Even those among us who have started to grasp the idea of grace, given in baptism, who know the comfort of being securely one of God's children, still struggle with God's clear words. The Lord tells them He knows what is best for them, but they question it. They may even directly defy Him, thinking that in this moment they know what is best, in this circumstance, they are wiser. They will lose sight that God's love for them is strictly based on Jesus' sacrificial death, and think He loves them because they get Christianity better than some others, or because their response appears to be more genuine.

I'm afraid all of us are blind, blind because of sin. The text makes this very clear, even if it isn't explicit.

So, now you know what is going to happen next in our text. You might have even guessed it. It's only natural that Jesus would heal a man who was blind. Notice, though, the man doesn't ask that he can see, but that he can see again. "Recover my sight." This isn't a man born blind, but a man who once was able to see, who has lost his sight. He wants to be able to see again.

Isn't this us? We are not completely blind. We were when we were born, that is, we were lost in our sin, and doomed to eternal death, not being able to see either our desperate condition or God's grace but sight was given to us when we were adopted into His family. And yet, as it should be completely clear, we struggle with blindness. We beg to be able to see clearly. To see without any distortion, to know not only how desperately we need His grace, but how amazing His grace actually is. And we don't pray for this, asking for it to come, only when our end comes and when we know we will see clearly, but we pray for it now, it is our wish now, so that we may enjoy the comfort our Lord wants us to enjoy. And so we pray, "recover my sight." That's what the man prayed and Jesus restores his sight.

But you are seeing more in this miracle than you realize. You are seeing your own recovery of sight. You are getting a sneak peek into the prediction Jesus had given to the disciples earlier. "The Son of Man will be delivered over to the Gentiles and they will kill him and on the third day He will rise." You see, Jesus restores this man to His original condition. Originally he could see. He restores His sight. Jesus, by His suffering and victorious death, restores creation. All of creation became cursed by sin, but Jesus by His death, breaks that curse. He restores creation to what it once was. We don't see it yet, but it has been done. You, as a Christian, are the first to experience that restoration. You have been made one of God's people. When man was first created, they were created to be God's people. Sin changed that and caused it to be lost. Your baptism has restored it again for you personally. You are God's child because He has restored you through His death.

Now, He brings that healing to you. The fruits of His death, which brings healing, is available to you this morning. Soon, He will offer His body and blood. This is what brings further sight. In this He gives forgiveness and healing, he brings sight and faith.

Take and eat, take and drink, take and see. See that only and purely by His grace you are His. See that because it is His work and His work alone, not only will you enjoy eternal life when you die, but you can enjoy, and knowingly enjoy the comfort of eternal life now.

AMEN