From Mud to Sight: Becoming Good Dirt

The world doesn't need more perfect people pretending that we have it all together. The world needs communities' willingness to get their hands a little dirty, a little muddy. Communities willing to trust that god can take the dirt of our lives and turn it into the soil where healing begins because if Jesus can use dirt and spit to to restore sight, then imagine what god can do with a group of people, a group of people who are willing to say, here I am. Use me. In the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit. Amen. [01:06:03] (67 seconds)  #HandsDirtyHealing

Maybe this is telling us something very important about how god works because god doesn't wait for perfect tools. That's us, y'all. We are the imperfect tools. God uses what he already has, what already is available, what already is here, the dust, the mud, the clay, us. And if god can use dirt mixed with spit, imagine what god can do with all of us if we're willing. [00:59:50] (41 seconds)  #GodUsesImperfect

When Jesus said, I am the light of the world, he wasn't just making a poetic statement. He was saying that true sight comes through him, through Jesus. Not the kind of sight that makes us feel superior, but the kind that opens our eyes so that we can see. The kind that lets us see humanity through each other. The kind that helps us to notice the places where healing is needed. And once we begin to see, we start to realize something that god is still making holy mud. [01:02:11] (37 seconds)  #SightThroughChrist

People who are willing to get their hands dirty in the work of healing because Jesus is still still kneeling in the dirt, still making holy mud, still restoring sight. And you, you, each one of you are invited to be a part of the miracle. So maybe our testimony can be simple too. The one thing that I know, the one thing that I'm sure of is that I was once blind, but now I see. Part of our life today might be just admitting that that we have been blind, that we haven't seen perfectly. [01:04:03] (65 seconds)  #FromBlindToSeeing

Someone did something wrong and so there's a punishment but Jesus rejects that entirely, refuses this idea that the man's blindness is a result of sin either by his his own sin or by his parents sin. Instead, Jesus says that this is an opening, a place to see god at work where god's work can be revealed. And when we think about that in our own world, in the world that we live in today, where sometimes we think that brokenness becomes the somebody else's fault. Right? [00:53:44] (37 seconds)  #NotPunishmentButPurpose

Meanwhile, the religious authorities who insist that they already see everything clearly become more and more blind. They see less and less. And and Jesus eventually says something that that kinda lands pretty hard. Like maybe a thunderclap. Those who claim to see remain blind. How often is that us? When we claim to see, but we remain blind. The only people who receive sight are the ones who know that they cannot see on their own. Submitting, being willing to be healed. [00:55:54] (54 seconds)  #HumilityReceivesSight

But Jesus does something that's incredibly profound. This strange healing method, this mud and spit. It doesn't sound like you'd expect from the the son of God to do. Jesus chooses something incredibly ordinary, dirt to become the vehicle of healing. God doesn't wait for perfect materials because god's work can happen with what is available. Dirt, mud, ordinary stuff, spit, and if we think about the story of scripture, it actually fits because in Genesis, god takes the dust of the earth and does what? Makes people Humanity. [00:50:04] (58 seconds)  #DirtAsDivine

Today, part of our life might be looking for how god is able to use our story, how god is able to use our compassion or our willingness to show up to help someone else to begin to see differently. Not about perfection. Because remember, Jesus started with mud Which means the ordinary stuff in our lives, the things that we sometimes think are too small or too messy or too imperfect might actually be what god wants us to use, what god is going to use through us if we allow it to happen. [01:05:18] (45 seconds)  #OrdinaryIsSacred

The world doesn't need more perfect people pretending that we have it all together. The world needs communities' willingness to get their hands a little dirty, a little muddy. Communities willing to trust that God can take the dirt of our lives and turn it into the soil where healing begins because if Jesus can use dirt and spit to to restore sight, then imagine what God can do with a group of people, a group of people who are willing to say, here I am. Use me. [01:06:03] (39 seconds)