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- Apr 25, 2006
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29 August 2007
John 9 v 6-12
After Jesus said this, he spit on the ground and made some mud with it and put the mud on the man's eyes. Then he told the man, "Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam." (Siloam means Sent.) So the man went, washed, and came back seeing.
The neighbours and some people who had earlier seen this man begging said, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?"
Some said, "He is the one," but others said, "No, he only looks like him."
The man himself said, "I am the man."
They asked, "How did you get your sight?"
He answered, "The man named Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. Then he told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see."
They asked him, "Where is this man?"
"I don't know," he answered.
Have you ever played the game 'Word Association'? It's where someone says a word and then the next person says the first word that comes in to their head, the next person does the same and so on. For example 'Apple!' 'Tree!' or 'Pie!' or 'Core!' or 'Pip!' (I was once playing this game and someone said 'Apple!' and I said 'Banana!' ...)
Let's have a quick game now - 'Mud!' What was the first word that came in to your head? Dirt? Filth? Wellington boots? Hippos? Yuk? Squelch? (Of course you might have thought of mud as soil / crops / mud baths / healing / building.) But in today's passage Jesus uses mud to do something amazing - "The man named Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. Then he told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see." Jesus turns something seemingly dirty / yucky / filthy into something amazing and beautiful. We may feel useless sometimes and dirty / yucky / filthy because of things we have done, but if we turn to Jesus, by his death we are washed clean.
If you're somewhere now where you can go and splash your face and eyes with some water (not mud!) do so now before you pray, and feel refreshed by God's love for you today.
Thank you Lord that when we feel like useless mud, if we turn to You, You can refresh us and use us to do amazing and beautiful things for others. Amen.
Written by Sarah Beston
John 9 v 6-12
After Jesus said this, he spit on the ground and made some mud with it and put the mud on the man's eyes. Then he told the man, "Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam." (Siloam means Sent.) So the man went, washed, and came back seeing.
The neighbours and some people who had earlier seen this man begging said, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?"
Some said, "He is the one," but others said, "No, he only looks like him."
The man himself said, "I am the man."
They asked, "How did you get your sight?"
He answered, "The man named Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. Then he told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see."
They asked him, "Where is this man?"
"I don't know," he answered.
Have you ever played the game 'Word Association'? It's where someone says a word and then the next person says the first word that comes in to their head, the next person does the same and so on. For example 'Apple!' 'Tree!' or 'Pie!' or 'Core!' or 'Pip!' (I was once playing this game and someone said 'Apple!' and I said 'Banana!' ...)
Let's have a quick game now - 'Mud!' What was the first word that came in to your head? Dirt? Filth? Wellington boots? Hippos? Yuk? Squelch? (Of course you might have thought of mud as soil / crops / mud baths / healing / building.) But in today's passage Jesus uses mud to do something amazing - "The man named Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. Then he told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see." Jesus turns something seemingly dirty / yucky / filthy into something amazing and beautiful. We may feel useless sometimes and dirty / yucky / filthy because of things we have done, but if we turn to Jesus, by his death we are washed clean.
If you're somewhere now where you can go and splash your face and eyes with some water (not mud!) do so now before you pray, and feel refreshed by God's love for you today.
Thank you Lord that when we feel like useless mud, if we turn to You, You can refresh us and use us to do amazing and beautiful things for others. Amen.
Written by Sarah Beston
