May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." (John 9:1-5)

Was it the big winner in the advertising slogan contest in a synod board room someplace? No. "Work While It Is Day" is more than a catchy four week phrase. It is a lifetime directive of our Savior to his disciples. So today we want to actually visit one of the Gospel passages in which Jesus specifically says: "As long as it is day we must do the work of Him who sent me."(4) Based on the first 5 verses of John chapter 9, today we will consider A "Work While It Is Day" Question and Answer.

1) Wrong Question - Right Answer (vs.1-3)

For this Q + A, it is going to be important for us to let Jesus direct our questioning and offer his answers. The problem is, from the start, we have an inclination to ask wrong questions. You remember that the Pharisees and teachers of the law had a gigantic problem with that. Their questions to Jesus were not to learn from him, but to debate him and to establish themselves as worthy of God without him. But even Jesus disciples asked ill-conceived questions. One example is seeing a man blind from birth and then asking Jesus, "Rabbi, who sinned - this man or his parents that he was born blind."(2) This is a logical question... for an unbeliever to ask. An unbeliever's sense of reality is limited to this earthly plane, to human experience and human logic. We wouldn't be surprised to hear an unbeliever going this direction-"Yes...it must have been a specific sin that this man's parents committed, or that he was destined to commit, that caused this blindness as a direct punishment." The unbelieving mind questions and reasons everything out by payments and punishments, merits and demerits. To the contrary, the Christian disciple knows that sin, in general, is the cause of all suffering. He also knows that God may allow the consequences of a specific sin to follow a person through their life. But the Christian especially knows that God does not dole out health or illness based on some goodness he sees in some people versus some evil he sees in another. Believers believe that we cannot always understand "why" God does what He does. We believers believe that God operates at a level high above our reason and from a heart that desires all to be saved for eternity.

Then why did the disciples ask such a thoughtless question about the blind man, trying to pin the blame for his condition on somebody, as if they themselves were too good for that ever to happen to them? Their sinful weakness was their problem. This is my same problem and your same problem that causes us to ask wrong questions, too. We may not phrase it as a question or put a question mark at the end of it, but a part of us likes to see other people "get what they deserve" (as if we don't deserve it). A part of us likes to think the quality of our character is responsible for our good fortune. "Bring some evidence that considering myself Ôabove average' lurks in my heart," you say. OK. When something does go drastically wrong in my life or perhaps close to home in our nation, immediately part of me disagrees with God for allowing it, thinking: "I don't deserve this." We do get off track in our questioning, too. Isn't that true? This happens when we compare with others, when we operate with an "earned and owed" mentality, and when we think we can fathom the mind of God to answer the many "why" questions of our lives.

But Jesus' answer rules out and obliterates the sinful human line of questioning. "Stop evaluating things in an earthly way. God had something eternal in mind for this blind man," said Jesus on that day. In essence Jesus tells the disciples then and now, "Don't be trying to figure out the mind of God even when you struggle. God doesn't operate with the Ôearned and owed and I'm going to get you back' mentality that sinners do." God operates at a level high above that. He does things for His own glory. He does things to ultimately save souls. Jesus expained: "that the work of God might be displayed in (the blind man's) life." (3) Then Jesus healed him physically and shined eternal light into his soul through the forgiveness of sins. Overturning and overruling all of our sinful earthbound questions and evaluations of things, Jesus reminds us today: "I'm way up here. I am the Life, the Light, the Word. I am here to save your souls and set you right with God for eternity. I satisfied God for you. I suffered for you. I will get you from earth to heaven. I am your Answer. "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."(Col. 1:14) Jesus pulls us above the earthly plane of sins darkness, away from all the "why" questions and what we don't know, he draws us close and says: "Disciples, I am your Answer." Then he points us back down here to an unbelieving world blanketed in sin's darkness and confusion and he says: "Disciples, I am their Answer, too. Don't dwell on what you don't know. Give them the Answer you do know."

A "purpose void" is a terrible thing. What happens to people who don't know why they are here. They try to find fulfillment and purpose on this earthly plane. A WELS Website devotion tells of a pilot who always turned the controls over to the copilot whenever they flew out of Minneapolis so he could look down out of the window. He regularly saw a boy fishing in the exact place he used fish as a boy and he wished to be back there. But he also remembered that when he was a boy fishing there he would always look up at the planes flying over and wished he were the pilot. People seek purpose in the dream or the attempt to trade places with others. After all, "the grass must be greener" over there. Or, people seek purpose and fulfillment by acquiring more things, new things, different things. A Barna research study of life goals recently indicated that even among churchgoers, having a personal relationship with God ranked sixth on the list behind such things as "living a comfortable lifestyle." Thank God such a fruitless quest for purpose is not the driver of our lives. Jesus, our Answer and our All, sends us back to the world with no "purpose void" but with a God - given agenda: "As long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent me." (4)

2. Right Questions - Same Answer (4,5)

Jesus has given us a fulfilling purpose in life. He gives us the right questions and answers for our "Work While it is Day" Q+A.

Q: Who is to WWIID?

A: "WE must do the work of Him who sent me," says Jesus. Just as Jesus love compelled him so that he "had to" go through Samaria to visit the woman at the well, so His love for us compels us so that we "must do the work." If we were to take only an "outcome based" view of the quota of souls ending up in heaven, St. Paul's congregation could dismiss it's called workers, withdraw every mission dollar, put a lock and chain on every door and close up shop. God would still save his elect without us. But Jesus says "WE" must do the work. "Thanks for the privilege of including us, Jesus. Remind me and teach my heart, Jesus, that it is a privilege for me that you share your purpose with me."

Q: What is the time-frame to WWIID?

A: "While it is day...night is coming when no one can work."(4) Jesus did not limit "day" by his departure from the world or by sunset in the West each evening. Notice, he refers to the night to follow as a time when "no one can work." So since "night" in this passage has to be the end of a persons life, or the end of time... that means the "day" is our entire lifetime. Gaus, Garchow, Gottsshalk... do those names mean anything to you? They are among the founding members of St. Paul's. Their "day" is over. While it was "day" for them in the late 1800's, they worked so that you and the people of Livonia could hear about Jesus through this congregation. Now you are alive. It is "day" for you now. Children, Parents, young adults, middle agers, seniors - it is still "day" for every one of you. It is not time for you to pass the torch to someone else until God takes you to heaven.

Q: What is the "work" of WWIID?

A: Let's begin this answer by letting Jesus tell us what it is not. "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you."(Jn.6:27) Our work IS to do all within our power to shine the Light of Jesus on people. God has revealed him to us. We reveal his suffering and dying and resurrection to others.

Q: What does it mean to do the work?

A: It means energy, activity and dedication. Jesus sends every disciple to work at this work with all their might. Laziness, selfishness, half-heartedness...these are not the marks of the working disciple. Lately our church council has been wrangling with what we might NOT be able to do as a congregation. How much better it will be if we all work the work with all our might, putting our leaders also in a position where they can busy themselves with the real work of proclaiming Christ.

Q: Why is it urgent work?

A: Because Jesus says so. Yes, there is an important "needs" issue here. Jesus isn't shy about pointing out the fields "white for the harvest." The Samaritan woman He saved had a need. The people of our neighborhood have a need. So do the people of Hong Kong, and India, Africa and Taiwan. Jesus doesn't want us to ignore the needs of lost souls. Certainly that makes the work urgent. But what especially makes the work urgent for disciples is that our Savior himself has tapped us on the shoulder, during our short "day," and told us "C'mon with Me, WE must do this work right now."

Remember how one extraordinary, heavenly answer of Jesus ruled out and obliterated the incorrect, earthbound line of questioning of the disciples about the man born blind? They said, "we think this and that." Jesus said, "You're on the wrong level...up here...look at me." In the very same way the very same overarching, eternal Answer gives substance and meaning to our well founded WWIID questions and answers. Over and above, behind and before our feeble attempts to Work While It Is Day is THE ANSWER - JESUS. He announces: "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."(5) Where Jesus is there is light and life for humanity. Where the Word is there Jesus is. He still is ("I am") the light of the world. Because HE is really doing the mission work for us and through us, WE are eager to do the work, too.   AMEN.