I am John Shuck.
My website is john shuck dot com. J-o-h-n-s-h-u-c-k dot com.
I am a Presbyterian Church (USA) minister and I have been for 27 years. I am a minister at large in Cascades Presbytery which covers Western Oregon.
Today is Sunday, March 22, 2020. It is the Fourth Sunday of Lent.
Places of worship have been closed down.
We have lost our freedom of assembly.
We have lost our freedom to worship.
The Gospel reading for this Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Lent, is John chapter 9:1-41.
Here is the text.
9As [Jesus] walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ 3Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. 4We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ 6When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, 7saying to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. 8The neighbours and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, ‘Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?’ 9Some were saying, ‘It is he.’ Others were saying, ‘No, but it is someone like him.’ He kept saying, ‘I am the man.’ 10But they kept asking him, ‘Then how were your eyes opened?’ 11He answered, ‘The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, “Go to Siloam and wash.” Then I went and washed and received my sight.’12They said to him, ‘Where is he?’ He said, ‘I do not know.’
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.14Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, ‘He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.’ 16Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.’ But others said, ‘How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?’ And they were divided. 17So they said again to the blind man, ‘What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.’ He said, ‘He is a prophet.’
18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight19and asked them, ‘Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?’ 20His parents answered, ‘We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.’ 22His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23Therefore his parents said, ‘He is of age; ask him.’
24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, ‘Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.’25He answered, ‘I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’ 26They said to him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’ 27He answered them, ‘I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?’ 28Then they reviled him, saying, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’ 30The man answered, ‘Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. 32Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.33If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.’ 34They answered him, ‘You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?’ And they drove him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ 36He answered, ‘And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.’ 37Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.’ 38He said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshipped him. 39Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.’ 40Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, ‘Surely we are not blind, are we?’ 41Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, “We see”, your sin remains.
There is a lot in this passage. One verse that immediately caught my eye and ear is verse four. Jesus said:
4We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.
Businesses have shut down. Schools have shut down. Churches, mosques, synagogues, and all places of worship have shut down. People are told to stay home. Protests around the world have stopped. It appears in the United States that we are headed for Medical Martial Law. This could be the same for the entire world.
Over what? A virus in which the vast majority of people who receive it, have no symptoms or if they do have symptoms, they are symptoms of a cold or mild flu. If we didn’t watch the news, we wouldn’t know anything was wrong. People are so afraid of getting sick, that they willingly give up their freedoms, and even beg the authorities to take their freedoms and rights away from them, to alleviate their fears.
4We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.
Night is coming.
There are many people who are challenging the official narrative. It is likely they will not be able to do this important work for long as the platforms are silencing dissenting voices and call anything that departs from the official story line as misinformation or false news. If we wish to hear these voices that are challenging the narratives, we may need to go to websites that are not hosted by the huge corporate platforms. You will have to search. Free speech will be the next casualty.
Night is coming.
I am a member of Religious Leaders for 9/11 Truth and have been since 2010. The media continues to lie about 9/11 and so of course it cannot be trusted to tell the truth about this Coronavirus event. I am more and more convinced that this Coronavirus event is a psychological operation by world elites who operate beyond national boundaries. The goal is ultimate social control.
Night is coming.
President Trump and leaders of other governments are actors reading their scripts. The media reads a script. This has been planned. The starting date for this coronavirus event was October 18th, 2019. That is the date that something called Event 201 was held in New York City. It was a rehearsal for a pandemic. This is the script that is being played out now. For details I refer you to James Corbett of the Corbett Report for important analysis.
Jesus said, We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.
What are the works of Jesus? Telling the truth is a work of Jesus. Researching for yourself what is happening is a work of Jesus. Connecting dots is a work of Jesus. Admitting to yourself that the world we thought we knew is not real is a work of Jesus. Reminding people who we really are is a work of Jesus.
I am not here to convince you. I cannot. All I am doing is to say what I see and hear and I am inviting you to do the same. Research for yourself. Trust yourself. Don’t seek the approval of others for what you see, hear, and know. Check everything. But you decide for yourself what is real.
It is very difficult and disconcerting to know who and what to trust and to stand alone when others in their panic try to shut you down with shame. Know that they did the same to the Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) and they did the same to Imam Hussain (alaayhi salaam) and they did the same to Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) and the same can be said for all the prophets whose stories we read in the Qur’an and in the Hebrew Scriptures and in the Gospels. If you are shut down by telling what is real, you are in good company.
There are evil forces in control of this world. Evil forces that operate in the darkness. Evil forces disguised as angels. We need to know what is real.
In today’s reading, Jesus heals a man who was born blind from birth. The authorities, the Pharisees, do not want this kind of healing power available in their world. They want to control all healing even though they are incompetent to actually heal. They want to say what is true for everyone even as they are blind to truth. They make people live in fear, casting out of the synagogues anyone who says that Jesus is the Messiah. It isn’t about whether it is true or not, it is about control. Jesus proves he is sent from Allah. That is why they end up crucifying him. That is the only answer they have. Might makes right. Silence truth-tellers. The passage concludes from verse 39 to 41:
39Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.’ 40Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, ‘Surely we are not blind, are we?’ 41Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, “We see”, your sin remains.
Night is coming.
I cannot predict how this script will play out. It appears that martial law could happen in America by the end of the week. I don’t know. Signs of this are happening now. Do know this: Martial law will not being enacted to protect from a pandemic. That is a ruse. This is a manufactured pandemic, just as 9/11 was a manufactured event. This is far worse. This is a shut-down of the world in preparation for total control and enslavement of humanity which will likely be fully in place by the end of this decade. I recommend you read the work of David Icke.
The tragedy is that people won’t resist it, but actually beg for it. They will beg and are begging for everything to be shut down and for the military to come and protect them because they are afraid. They are so afraid of dying, of getting sick, that they give up their rights thinking that the modern-day Pharisees are worthy of trust.
It is possible that in certain areas of the world, various biological agents will be released killing many people. They can kill who they want. The point is that all of this is not the result of a disease naturally taking its course and that the authorities are protecting us. That is a false story. Think it through. Think it through for yourself.
It is possible that some sort of vaccine will be promoted in the coming weeks or months and it will be mandatory. If you refuse it, you won’t get access to food or whatever. This vaccine is not a cure for coronavirus. This vaccine is something else. The same people who create these bioweapons also create their supposed cures. Problem. Reaction. Solution. They create a problem. The people react with fear. They create a solution which the people accept and even beg for which is more control, more surveillance, mandatory vaccinations, a cashless society, all to benefit the elite.
Night is coming.
The World Health Organization, WHO, is now promoting the idea that cash spreads the virus and we need to be completely digital in regards to currency. This is a severe form of control. Now when your card doesn’t work you can pay with cash. When there is no cash, those who control your card (guess who) can prevent you from getting what you need. This has nothing to do with slowing the spread of viruses. It is part of a long-planned agenda.
Night is coming.
While we are all freaking out over this, laws are being passed to restrict more freedoms. I read this yesterday, March 21st 2020 on Reason Magazine:
“The Justice Department is using the COVID-19 outbreak to press for sweeping new powers that include being able to detain Americans indefinitely without a trial, Politico reports.
The department is asking Congress to allow the U.S. attorney general to ask courts to suspend court proceedings. These include "any statutes or rules of procedure otherwise affecting pre-arrest, post-arrest, pre-trial, trial, and post-trial procedures in criminal and juvenile proceedings and all civil process and proceedings," reports Betsy Woodruff Swan, citing DOJ documents presented to Congress.
In other words, the Justice Department would be able to postpone trials, hearings, and other procedural steps that follow arrest. That represents a potentially huge violation of the constitutional right to a speedy trial.”
That was from Reason magazine. How many rights guaranteed by the constitution are now gone? Right to assembly, right to worship, right to commerce, right to a speedy trial. Restrictions to free speech and privacy are on the way. Jesus said,
4We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.
Night is coming.
What do we do?
One thing. This is the most important. You must control your fear and not let fear dictate your response. Yes, this is happening. Night is coming.
But you are not your body.
You are not your emotions.
You are not your thoughts.
You have a body.
You have emotions.
You have thoughts.
But you are not them.
You are having an experience that is temporary. As the old hymn says, “The Earth is not my home. I am just passing through.” You will die someday. That is not the end of the real you.
You can step back and say to yourself when you are feeling afraid, “That is interesting. That is what is happening.” But you do not have to be enslaved by whatever it is you are feeling or thinking.
That is why the scriptures are full of wisdom and practices including prayer and meditation, that help us to remember who we really are. David Icke says and I think he is correct that “We are infinite consciousness having an earthly experience.” When this experience is over, we go back to who we really are.
Take this seriously. We are limited now by our five senses. But that is not who we are. The incarnation of Jesus shows this reality. He was one with God and then willingly gave it up to have a human experience. Then he goes back to God. The point is that his story is all of our stories. We, as we exist in this world, are all incarnations of infinite consciousness. We are infinite consciousness having a finite experience. The example of this in the Christian faith is Jesus. It wasn’t just him. He is a teacher and prophet for all of us.
This is why Jesus told the truth. This is why Jesus allowed himself to be crucified. Even as he knew that was coming, he still told the truth. His mission and his message served to awaken us. We are here to continue this work of awakening even as “Night is Coming.”
They may kill the body.
They will not and cannot kill my soul.
I am a child of God.
I will not fear.
Repeat that again and again.
We have one but one task. We are here to bear witness to what is real. Your courageous bearing of witness can help awaken others. This is how God will defeat evil by awakening us all to Truth.
Regardless of what others think.
Regardless of what others do.
Regardless of the powers of darkness.
Seek what is real for yourself.
Bear witness to what is real.
Do not be afraid.
Center yourself.
Remember who you are.
You are love.
You are strength.
You are a child of God.
Amen.
Please share this if you think it is helpful. You can find the text for this sermon with links at www.johnshuck.com I will post what I can as long as I can on my website and on my Facebook page, Twitter account and VK account.
I am John Shuck. Be well.
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Photo credit:
Title:
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Jesus cures the man born blind
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Notes:
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JESUS MAFA is a response to the New Testament readings from the Lectionary by a Christian community in Cameroon, Africa. Each of the readings were selected and adapted to dramatic interpretation by the community members. Photographs of their interpretations were made, and these were then transcribed to paintings.
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Date:
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1973
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Artist:
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JESUS MAFA
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JESUS MAFA. Jesus cures the man born blind, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48383 [retrieved March 22, 2020]. Original source: http://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr (contact page: https://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr/contact).
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