Have you ever made a resume? Undoubtedly at some point. It is the primary way we introduce
ourselves to prospective employers. In it we try to convey all that we are, our talents, skills, and so on.
This one little document carries the potential for a great job – or not. It is no wonder why we sometimes
butter it up to gain an edge, to win favor and prestige in the eyes of others. This standard of evaluating a person’s skills, assets, abilities, and worth; is a lot of pressure to handle. It is a dog-eat-dog world; survival of the fittest. From this perspective, how would we think a all holy God would expect of us? Certainly, a resume that is stellar with all i’s dotted and t’s crossed. In our Gospel from Sunday that is how some leaders certainly saw it. They accused the blind man who was restored sight from Christ as a sinner, born in sin. They looked down upon Christ’s resume as well. The religious authorities in called Christ a sinner, born in fornication, not honoring the sabbath, an uncouth Nazarian, and so on.
Unfortunately, the world will always judge by these standards. Standards of physical beauty, ability,
skills. These things define our worth as employees, and when you get down to it, as people; citizens,
family member, friend, husband, and so on. Is this the same measure God measures us with? Let’s take
a quick look at our Old Testament and Gospel reading. In 1st Samuel, we read out of all the strapping
young men of Jesse God could have chosen, Samuel was instructed by God to choose David, the
youngest, scrawniest kid of the bunch. In our Gospel, it wasn’t the self-righteous religious authorities
with heaps of Torah knowledge that were chosen to be his disciples, but it was a beggar who sat
pathetically by a pool for 38 years waiting to touch the water in hopes of restoring his vision. His faith
and gratitude for Christ was what those leaders lacked.
Psalm 113:7-8: “He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them
with princes, with the princes of his people.” No need to butter up our application for God. God throws
them out. God calls and welcomes us at the door when we repent and turn in faith to our heavenly
Father. Though the world will continue to show us our lack of worth and value through our competitive
systems and social structures, we can lift our hands in praise and thanksgiving to our heavenly Father
who has no such standards or requirements. When faith leads us to Christ, we are already counted as
beloved children of God as the blind man was. We are baptized in the body of Christ, sealed in divine
favor, forgiveness, and grace. If we did have resumes as Christians, this would be the only thing written,
“I am baptized.” Amen.
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