When we say each week in the Apostles’ Creed, that Jesus “…descended to the dead…” (where we used to say “…descended to hell…” it means the same thing), for those who struggle with such a thought, we have an answer. This phrase (which gets its foundation from I Peter 3:18-19; 4:6) suggests that there is nowhere God will not go to proclaim His victory! By Jesus descending to the dead, there is no stone unturned for the sharing of his good news, even unto death and the devil himself.
So, this phrase is one example how God uses all things to work his goodness.
The same comes in the Gospel for tomorrow. In John 9:1-41, it is the story of Jesus healing a blind man. He uses spit mixed with dirt – to show the physical side of this healing. Spit.
When someone spits in theatre, it usually signifies very demeaning gesture. In Shakespeare, when one bit one’s thumb (which is followed by spitting), this was considered a vile action and if it was done in front of someone, they were insulted. There are still street signs throughout major cities of America where it says that it is against the law to spit on the sidewalk.
Watermelon seed-spitting contests aside, spitting suggests a nasty and unhealthy action.
Here in John 9, God uses a normally offensive act to proclaim healing.
It is true that in the Roman and Jewish culture alike, it was thought that saliva had many healing assets. In fact, many medical scholars of Jesus’ day thought it had great properties for the repair of sight.
God can and does use all forms of life’s resources to work his work; it teaches that there is nothing God cannot do or use while doing his work. Everything is at his disposal for good.
In Acts 10, Peter has a dream where he sees all kinds of creatures God has created. God tells him to take and eat them. Peter says that he won’t because they aren’t “kosher” (the are unclean). God responds, trying to teach Peter a valuable lesson about life, by saying: “What God has made, you must not consider unclean!”
God takes you and me every day and uses us for his purposes. Sinful (unclean, if you will) that we are, he still sees potential and the good in us!
Remember this: our prejudices toward everything are because of our own judgments, our own bias because of how we’ve grown up in our culture. Maybe we need to be a little less judgmental, that’s all. See the good; understand that bad and evil do exist in the world, but with God’s help we will find a way to discover the goodness that he offers to all in a new and inviting way. Spit mixed with dirt is a powerful thing. God did take dust (dirt) in Genesis 2 and made something special. By that first creative act, he eventually got around to make you and me.
If God can work his wonders with dirt and spit, think what else he can through you and me!
God loves you and so do we!
Pastor Jim