Latest / St. Paul Podcast / In the clouds, 3.15.2026

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In the clouds, 3.15.2026 · St. Paul Podcast

0:06
SPEAKER_00: Hi everyone and welcome to the St.
0:08
SPEAKER_00: Paul Podcast.
0:08
SPEAKER_00: My name is Mark Neethammer, Senior Pastor at St.
0:11
SPEAKER_00: Paul Lutheran Church, located in Davenport, Iowa, part of the Greater Quad Cities area of Iowa and Illinois.
0:18
SPEAKER_00: Right here, each week, you will find beautiful music and a message of hope and good news to guide your life.
0:25
SPEAKER_00: I am hopeful that this podcast can inspire you and help you on your journey of faith as you grow in love and trust in our God.
3:23
SPEAKER_00: Apparently, a lot.
3:31
SPEAKER_00: The problem is that some chose to not see the miracle, but instead see sin.
3:38
SPEAKER_00: Sin for working on the Sabbath, or as the cause for this man's blindness.
3:43
SPEAKER_00: A beautiful, life-giving, community restoring action got manipulated into something judgmental, a spiritual blindness of sorts.
3:55
SPEAKER_00: So take a listen to the story, John's ninth chapter.
4:00
SPEAKER_00: As Jesus walked along, he saw a man blind from birth.
4:04
SPEAKER_00: His disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned?
4:08
SPEAKER_00: This man or his parents, that he was born blind?
4:12
SPEAKER_00: Jesus answered, Neither this man nor his parents sinned.
4:17
SPEAKER_00: He was born blind, so that God's works might be revealed in him.
4:22
SPEAKER_00: We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day.
4:26
SPEAKER_00: Night is coming when no one can work, as long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
4:33
SPEAKER_00: When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes, saying to him, Go wash in the pool of Siloam, which means sent.
4:46
SPEAKER_00: Then he went and washed and came back, able to see.
4:50
SPEAKER_00: The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?
4:59
SPEAKER_00: Some were saying, It is he, others were saying, No, but it's someone like him.
5:03
SPEAKER_00: He kept saying, I am he.
5:06
SPEAKER_00: But they kept asking him, Then how were your eyes opened?
5:10
SPEAKER_00: He answered, The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, Go to Siloam and wash.
5:17
SPEAKER_00: Then I went and washed and received my sight.
5:20
SPEAKER_00: They said to him, Where is he?
5:22
SPEAKER_00: He said, I do not know.
5:25
SPEAKER_00: They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.
5:29
SPEAKER_00: Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.
5:33
SPEAKER_00: Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight.
5:38
SPEAKER_00: He said to them, He put mud on my eyes, then I washed, and now I see.
5:44
SPEAKER_00: Some of the Pharisees said, This man is not from God, for he does not observe the Sabbath.
5:50
SPEAKER_00: Others said, How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?
5:56
SPEAKER_00: And they were divided.
5:58
SPEAKER_00: So they said again to the blind man, What do you say about him?
6:02
SPEAKER_00: It was your eyes he opened.
6:04
SPEAKER_00: He said, He is a prophet.
6:07
SPEAKER_00: The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, Is this your son who you say was born blind?
6:18
SPEAKER_00: How then does he see?
6:21
SPEAKER_00: His parents answered, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind, but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes.
6:32
SPEAKER_00: Ask him.
6:33
SPEAKER_00: He is of age, he will speak for himself.
6:37
SPEAKER_00: His 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.
6:47
SPEAKER_00: Therefore his parents said, He is of age.
6:49
SPEAKER_00: Ask him.
6:51
SPEAKER_00: So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, Give glory to God.
6:58
SPEAKER_00: We know that this man is a sinner.
7:00
SPEAKER_00: He answered, I do not know whether he is a sinner.
7:04
SPEAKER_00: One thing I do know that though I was blind, now I see.
7:09
SPEAKER_00: They said to him, What did he do to you?
7:12
SPEAKER_00: How did he open your eyes?
7:14
SPEAKER_00: He answered them, I have told you already, and you would not listen.
7:18
SPEAKER_00: Why do you want to hear it again?
7:20
SPEAKER_00: Do you also want to become his disciples?
7:24
SPEAKER_00: Then they reviled him, saying, You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.
7:31
SPEAKER_00: We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.
7:38
SPEAKER_00: The man answered, Here is an astonishing thing.
7:42
SPEAKER_00: You do not know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.
7:46
SPEAKER_00: We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to the one who worships him and obeys his will.
7:53
SPEAKER_00: Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.
7:59
SPEAKER_00: If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.
8:03
SPEAKER_00: They answered him, You were born entirely in sins, and you are trying to teach us?
8:10
SPEAKER_00: And they drove him out.
8:13
SPEAKER_00: Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, Do you believe in the Son of Man?
8:21
SPEAKER_00: He answered, And who is he, sir?
8:23
SPEAKER_00: Tell me, so that I may believe in him.
8:26
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said to him, You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.
8:31
SPEAKER_00: He said, Lord, I believe, and he worshipped him.
8:34
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said, I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.
8:43
SPEAKER_00: Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, Surely we are not blind, are we?
8:50
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said to them, If you were blind, you would not have sin.
8:54
SPEAKER_00: But now that you say we see, your sin remains.
9:00
SPEAKER_00: One of the beautiful things about this reading is the diversity of perspectives offered.
9:05
SPEAKER_00: We get to hear how different people encountered this one event.
9:10
SPEAKER_00: The problem is that some people were unable to see beauty even when it was right in front of them.
9:16
SPEAKER_00: We would never make such a mistake, would we?
9:20
SPEAKER_00: Here's my sermon.
9:21
SPEAKER_00: My sermon on clouds, blindness, and new perspectives.
9:27
SPEAKER_00: There are few things more enjoyable in this life, I think, than laying outside on the ground, the smell of fresh air all around you, and staring at the clouds.
9:42
SPEAKER_00: Looking at a cloud and then determining what it looks like is one of life's great and simple pleasures.
9:52
SPEAKER_00: I think what I love about doing this so much is the creativity that can flow.
9:58
SPEAKER_00: Not only do you get to imagine what the cloud looks like, if you let your imaginations run a little wild, you can create a whole story to go along with that cloud.
10:10
SPEAKER_00: The beautiful puffy cloud with all of its ridges and depth changes from maybe a simple ball of cotton to, I don't know, a dragon flying across the sky.
10:25
SPEAKER_00: Stare at it long enough and it becomes a spaceship whizzing through space to its home planet.
10:32
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe it's even a witch on a broom.
10:37
SPEAKER_00: The clouds, when you stare at them long enough, can become almost anything you want them to become.
10:46
SPEAKER_00: This is the lens that we're going to use today as we look at what could have been a beautiful and simple story from John, but perspective changes everything.
11:02
SPEAKER_00: So let's dive in.
11:04
SPEAKER_00: In the story, we have a man who was blind since birth.
11:08
SPEAKER_00: He was a beggar, dependent on anyone and everyone around him for his survival.
11:14
SPEAKER_00: See, blind people in this time couldn't work, they couldn't do much of anything.
11:20
SPEAKER_00: They were simply left to receive the generosity of those around them.
11:26
SPEAKER_00: And in town, everyone would have known this blind person.
11:31
SPEAKER_00: They would have seen him every single day.
11:34
SPEAKER_00: They would have seen him begging in the same spot on the street, they would have helped when they could.
11:40
SPEAKER_00: This blind man became part of the landscape of the village, even though we don't know his name.
11:48
SPEAKER_00: So Jesus and his disciples encounter him one day, and the disciples decide to use him as a prop, a case study of sorts.
11:59
SPEAKER_00: They use him to ask Jesus a question: Who sinned that he was blind?
12:07
SPEAKER_00: Now the disciples' assumption was that bad things are a result of sin, and that assumption was not uncommon in that time.
12:17
SPEAKER_00: Nor is it now, even if it is remarkably misguided.
12:23
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus corrects them, he corrects his disciples, and he says that, or and Jesus sees this man not as sin.
12:31
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't see him as a blind man either.
12:34
SPEAKER_00: He sees him as one that can reveal the glory of God.
12:39
SPEAKER_00: So Jesus does something miraculous.
12:41
SPEAKER_00: He takes some mud, spit and dirt is all it took, and rubs it on the man's eyes to give him sight.
12:50
SPEAKER_00: This should be the end of a beautiful story.
12:54
SPEAKER_00: Jesus showed compassion on the beggar, he corrects his disciples' misguided notions.
12:59
SPEAKER_00: That should be it.
13:02
SPEAKER_00: But it isn't.
13:04
SPEAKER_00: So at this point, we have a couple different perspectives on the story.
13:08
SPEAKER_00: We have a couple differing ways to describe the clouds, as it were.
13:15
SPEAKER_00: Jesus saw this man as a way to give glory to God.
13:19
SPEAKER_00: Now, quick side note: I will always believe and encourage you to do the same, that the healing in this story was one of the man to community, which was something he lacked.
13:32
SPEAKER_00: The healing was not sight.
13:35
SPEAKER_00: Being blind is not a deficiency, neither is having any other differing ability.
13:41
SPEAKER_00: The healing is restoration of community.
13:44
SPEAKER_00: Okay, that's a slight digression, but that's important for us.
13:49
SPEAKER_00: The other important perspective that we need to keep in mind is that of the man himself.
13:54
SPEAKER_00: This man could now have a new kind of life.
13:57
SPEAKER_00: He was no longer going to be at the mercy of others around him.
14:01
SPEAKER_00: He could be a source of mercy for others in the community.
14:06
SPEAKER_00: From his perspective, the perspective of the man who was blind, this is a story about grace and a restoration of relationships.
14:19
SPEAKER_00: But we know the story doesn't end there.
14:22
SPEAKER_00: We get to the Pharisees, who have now been brought into this story because they had heard what Jesus did here, and they have a different view.
14:32
SPEAKER_00: They see the exact same healing, the exact same situation play out, and they see sin.
14:39
SPEAKER_00: They see that Jesus did this on the Sabbath, a day that work was prohibited.
14:46
SPEAKER_00: They have an opportunity, the Pharisees do, to see something beautiful, to see a healing, restoration.
14:55
SPEAKER_00: But they chose instead to see ways to punish and condemn someone else.
15:03
SPEAKER_00: Purity was their goal, not grace.
15:10
SPEAKER_00: There are two other perspectives on this story going on.
15:14
SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about those townspeople, the neighbors, those around the man.
15:20
SPEAKER_00: Those who took care of him for years.
15:23
SPEAKER_00: They knew him.
15:24
SPEAKER_00: They fed him.
15:25
SPEAKER_00: They probably talked to him most every day on the streets.
15:30
SPEAKER_00: As soon as they see that he had gained his sight, they have a change of heart towards him.
15:36
SPEAKER_00: We don't know him, they say, when pressed by the Pharisees.
15:41
SPEAKER_00: It isn't him, they assert.
15:42
SPEAKER_00: It's just someone who looks like him.
15:46
SPEAKER_00: Why did they have a change of heart?
15:51
SPEAKER_00: Instead of standing up for what was right, instead of standing for truth, they fade away.
16:00
SPEAKER_00: They forget someone who, to them, was indispensable.
16:07
SPEAKER_00: And lastly, we need to name the man's parents.
16:11
SPEAKER_00: They vouch for him for a minute.
16:13
SPEAKER_00: Yes, this is our son.
16:15
SPEAKER_00: Yes, he's been blind since birth.
16:19
SPEAKER_00: But they are afraid of what would happen if they stood up to power.
16:25
SPEAKER_00: They say, He's of age.
16:27
SPEAKER_00: Go ask him.
16:29
SPEAKER_00: Don't ask us anymore.
16:30
SPEAKER_00: Talk to him.
16:31
SPEAKER_00: They distance themselves from their own son.
16:37
SPEAKER_00: Almost all of these perspectives dehumanize the man who was healed.
16:43
SPEAKER_00: He's no longer a person with thoughts or feelings or worth.
16:48
SPEAKER_00: He's a prop.
16:50
SPEAKER_00: No longer is he someone born out of the love of two parents, no longer someone made in the image of God, no longer any of those things.
16:59
SPEAKER_00: He's now an example, a personification of sin.
17:03
SPEAKER_00: He is disposable.
17:05
SPEAKER_00: He is part of a court case rather than a tool used to prove a point.
17:12
SPEAKER_00: And the tragic end of the story is that there was no redemption for him.
17:18
SPEAKER_00: He was healed to be restored to community, but he was cast away by the people he was healed to be with.
17:31
SPEAKER_00: And maybe this is where watching the clouds comes back.
17:37
SPEAKER_00: When we lay on the grass and look at clouds, something interesting happens.
17:43
SPEAKER_00: Two people can stare at the exact same thing and see completely different or have completely different interpretations.
17:52
SPEAKER_00: One person can see a dragon, another a whale, and another sees nothing at all, but a random puff of vapor drifting through the sky.
18:03
SPEAKER_00: The cloud hasn't changed.
18:06
SPEAKER_00: The perspective has.
18:08
SPEAKER_00: And that's what's happening in this story.
18:12
SPEAKER_00: Everyone's looking at the same man.
18:15
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus sees a place where the glory of God can break into the world.
18:20
SPEAKER_00: And the man sees grace and new life unfolding before him.
18:25
SPEAKER_00: But the Pharisees look at the same moment and they see a violation.
18:29
SPEAKER_00: The neighbors see a problem they would rather avoid.
18:32
SPEAKER_00: The parents see a risk they're not willing to take.
18:36
SPEAKER_00: The miracle has not changed.
18:38
SPEAKER_00: The perspectives have.
18:42
SPEAKER_00: And here's the hard question the story asks of us.
18:47
SPEAKER_00: When God does something beautiful in front of us, what do we see?
18:54
SPEAKER_00: Do we see a fluke of nature?
18:57
SPEAKER_00: Do we see someone lying to get ahead?
19:00
SPEAKER_00: Are we cynical enough to believe that God isn't doing new things anymore?
19:08
SPEAKER_00: Or do we see the possibility that grace might be breaking into the world in ways we didn't expect?
19:16
SPEAKER_00: Because Jesus sees things that others can't.
19:22
SPEAKER_00: Jesus looks at the man everyone else had written off, a beggar, a burden, a sinner, a nobody.
19:30
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus sees the glory of God waiting to shine.
19:35
SPEAKER_00: That is the perspective of grace.
19:40
SPEAKER_00: Grace looks at the world differently.
19:42
SPEAKER_00: Grace looks at the person others avoid and says, there is belovedness there.
19:48
SPEAKER_00: Grace looks at the place others see brokenness and says, God can work here.
19:54
SPEAKER_00: Grace looks at the people others exclude and says, they belong.
19:59
SPEAKER_00: Grace looks at you with all of your complexities, errors and judgment, grief, pain, doubt, and says, You are mine forever.
20:12
SPEAKER_00: The Pharisees were so certain about who was in and who was out that they missed the glory of God standing right in front of them.
20:24
SPEAKER_00: And so the invitation through this story is simple.
20:47
SPEAKER_00: Because the truth is, God's grace is breaking into this world all the time.
20:53
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes and places we expect.
20:58
SPEAKER_00: So we're left with this.
21:01
SPEAKER_00: Are we going to spend our lives explaining the clouds away?
21:06
SPEAKER_00: Or will we lie back, open our eyes, and let God show us something beautiful that we never expected to see?
21:17
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
22:50
SPEAKER_01: They want to spend the chair.
25:16
SPEAKER_00: We are gathered into one by the Holy Spirit.
25:19
SPEAKER_00: Let us pray as Jesus taught us.
25:22
SPEAKER_00: Our Father in heaven.
25:24
SPEAKER_00: Hallowed be your name.
25:26
SPEAKER_00: Your kingdom come.
25:28
SPEAKER_00: Your will be done on earth as in heaven.
26:07
SPEAKER_00: Keep your eyes open for it.
26:09
SPEAKER_00: It will be amazing to behold.
26:16
SPEAKER_00: I hope you've enjoyed this podcast and thanks for your support of the ministries of the St.
26:21
SPEAKER_00: Paul Lutheran Church.
26:22
SPEAKER_00: Our commitment to endeavors that lend hope to other people's stretches across the country and around the world.
26:29
SPEAKER_00: We hope that in a good way you feel a part of that reach.
26:33
SPEAKER_00: Tune in next Thursday for another edition of the St.
26:35
SPEAKER_00: Paul Podcast.