"What's Your Story?"
#92-39Presented on The Lutheran Hour on May 25, 2025
By Rev. Gregory Manning, Guest Speaker
Copyright 2025 Lutheran Hour Ministries
Reflections
Text: John 9:1-11
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, today I invite you to ponder a profound question: "What's your story?" Each of us is a carrier of a unique narrative woven through the threads of our lives. Our stories may seem ordinary, but they are anything but—especially when viewed through the lens of our faith.
Let us turn our hearts to the Gospel of John 9:1-11. Here is that Scripture now.
As He [Jesus] was passing by, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples questioned Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," Jesus answered. "This came about so that God's works might be displayed in him. We must do the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; night is coming, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world." After He said these things, He spit on the ground, made some mud with His saliva, and spread the mud on his eyes. "Go," He told him, "wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). So he left, washed, and came back seeing.
His neighbors and those who formerly had seen him as a beggar said, "Isn't this the man who sat begging?" Some said, "He's the one." "No," others were saying, "but he looks like him." He kept saying, "I am the one." Therefore they asked him, "Then how were your eyes opened?" He answered, "The Man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and told me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' So when I went and washed and I received my sight." "Where is He?" they asked. "I do not know," he said.
This passage tells us the story of a man who was born blind. On that day, he encountered Jesus, the Light of the world. As we explore this Scripture, we will delve into the Who, the What, and the Why of this man's experience, and how it resonates with our own lives.
Who?
The man in the story is significant—not just for his blindness but for who he became after his encounter with Jesus. The disciples ask Jesus, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Implicit in their question is a sense of judgment, a need to find blame. But Jesus rejects this notion, saying it was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents, but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in his life.
I particularly appreciate the fact that Jesus words were "this happened." The "this" that Jesus was referring to was this man's impairment of being blind. I have no doubt that some of you listening today share this very same "this." In fact, this man's "this" is also familiar to me, in that I was also born blind. However, as we reflect upon our stories, and this journey of faith, I submit to you that each of us has our own personal "this"—those particular things that we are enduring that God can use to display His power. Maybe you're dealing with grief, or some other illness, or marital problems, or even difficult relationships with children or family. I think that all of these issues can be summed up as a "this." Each of them, no matter what they are, are issues or circumstances God can use to display His power. In order for the Lord to display His power, we must begin to understand that we are not victims, but we are vessels of the Lord.
Here, the blind man is not merely a victim of circumstances; he is a vessel of God's glory. Similarly, who are we in this narrative? We are the blind man; each of us [is] burdened by our own afflictions, struggles, and sins. Yet, we are more than our trials; we are also beneficiaries of God's mercy. God sees our potential, even when we can't—a reminder that our stories can reflect His power, just as the blind man's did.
What?
What happened in the story? Jesus sees the blind man, reaches out to him. He uses mud, made from earth and His saliva, to restore the man's sight. This act is not just a miracle; it is a profound expression of God's creative power—restoring, renewing, and making whole.
For us, what does this act symbolize? It signifies that God is intimately involved in our lives. He takes the ordinary elements of our existence—our pain, our struggles, our sin—and transforms them, just as Christ transformed us from eternal death to everlasting life through the atoning sacrifice on the cross and the victory over sin, death, and the power of the devil. Even as He continues to transform us through the waters of holy Baptism and the forgiveness of sins that comes through confession and absolution and through the transformative power of receiving His body and blood in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Yes, through all of this He begins to work in us, turning our darkness into light. Just as the blind man, we, too, receive the gift of sight—spiritual sight that allows us to see the world anew and discover our purpose.
Why?
Finally, let's consider the "why." Why would Jesus choose to heal this man in such a way? The answer lies in displaying God's works. Jesus adds, "We must do the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is still day." The man's healing is a testament of God's power, a revelation of His love and grace.
When we look back on our own stories, do we not see how God has worked through our trials, our difficulties—be they physical, emotional, or spiritual? They often become the backdrop against which God reveals His faithfulness. Each challenge is an opportunity for His power to be displayed. Just like the blind man, our testimonies become proof of God's goodness. As we walk through life, we can embrace our stories, even the painful parts, as sacred opportunities to point others to Jesus. We are called to share our testimonies—how we were lost but now found, how we were blind but now see. This is what it means to be a Christian; our lives become living testimonies of God's grace and redemption.
So, dear friends, as I conclude, I ask you again: What's your story? Are you willing to allow God to use your life—your struggles and triumphs—to display His power? Through the blind man, we see the beauty of God's grace in action. May we all become willing vessels of His glory, inviting others into the transformative power of His love.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank You for the stories You've woven into our lives. Help us to see our own struggles through the lens of Your grace and give us the courage to share our testimonies. May our lives reflect Your power and love, drawing others to You. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Reflections for May 25, 2025
Title: Introducing Rev. Gerald Manning
Mark Eischer: Joining us now for thoughts on today's message, here is Lutheran Hour Speaker, Dr. Michael Zeigler.
Mike Zeigler: Thank you, Mark. Today I am visiting with Pastor Greg Manning, whom you just heard speak for us as a guest speaker. Welcome Pastor Greg and thanks for bringing the good word to us today.
Greg Manning: Hey, thanks for having me.
Mike Zeigler: Pastor Greg, thank you for encouraging us to give our difficulties over to God and to allow His power to be made perfect in our weakness. In the sermon, you mentioned briefly why this account from John 9 is special to you that you yourself were born blind. Could you tell us a little bit more about that?
Greg Manning: Sure. So I was born with a hereditary disease that runs in my family. It's called Leber optic neuropathy. It affects only the males in my family. Generally, either you are born blind, as I was—I have about 4 percent vision; I'm 96 percent blind. Or, often in adolescence, you will go blind. And so my brother went blind when he was in eighth grade, about 13 or 14 years old. Went blind within four weeks. So while I can see some, and I often say to others, if you were seeing through my eyes, it would probably look very blurry. But I've been this way all my life, and I don't drive, I use very large print, and my iPad is a special blessing to me. And so God has just really blessed me to be able to be very mobile and really give me the tools that I need to continue to spread the Gospel.
Mike Zeigler: So you mentioned driving and using special print. Could you just help us understand a little bit more, what does this look like? What are some of the everyday tasks that, how do you go about doing those with the visual impairment?
Greg Manning: Those ride shares make a lot of money off my church and [me]. But there are also blessings. I use a lot of Uber and Lyft, I have a lot of volunteers, a lot of people are very gracious, and I walk a lot. I live about nine blocks from my church. When it's not too terribly hot in New Orleans, which is about six months out of the year, I do walk. My iPad—I can make print about 72 font and read it. And so other than that, there are so many different tools that I have on my iPhone that enable text to be read to me or even tell me the colors of fabrics or what different things look like, and just a tremendous help to me. So I don't find myself hindered in most ways, and I've learned to navigate through life in really great ways.
Mike Zeigler: So you mentioned John 9. Do you remember, was there a moment when you first heard this account from Scripture, and it spoke to you?
Greg Manning: My family was Lutheran, but we'd often visit other churches. We had members of our family who were Pentecostal. And even beyond that, there were people in the community that, if they learned that I was blind, they will often, or my brother, for that matter, they will often try to heal us, lay hands on us, pray and believe that God was going to heal us. And I remember several instances when people laid their hands on me and prayed and believed that God was going to heal me—and then I wasn't healed. And I remember one particular woman who said, "Well, you're not healed because you don't have enough faith. You're not healed because you've got some sort of sin in your life that you've not confessed. And so when you either have enough faith or you confess that sin, then God will give you your sight."
Now hearing this as a 13-year-old, that hurt me to my core; it hurt my heart. Because here I'm walking around thinking I don't know what I did. I don't know what I did, that God would punish me in this way. And so at some point I read this text and where Jesus says neither he nor his parents sinned that he should be born blind. It blessed my heart and my soul in which I understood that God could use anything. I've never received my sight, but God has blessed me so much in my life to be a blessing to others. And I am just so overjoyed to see God working His awesome power. So yeah, just being—I think it was just deliverance from that shame and that guilt that others put on me—just God delivered me from that by hearing this particular chapter and verses.
Mike Zeigler: So Jesus reframed the narrative for you. It wasn't a backward looking "What have I done?" but rather forward looking, "How is God going to use me and use this as part of my story?"
Greg Manning: Absolutely. And that's what I want other people to know. It's been my life mission to let people know that whatever your "this" is, God can still use it. He may not change it, but He can use it for His glory.
Mike Zeigler: Why do you think that is, that we are so focused on wanting it to be changed? As Paul prayed, he wanted the thorn in his flesh to be taken away. Why do you think that's a human tendency to want to want the change?
Greg Manning: I think we look at other people, and we compare ourselves to other people. What they have is better than what we have or what they're able to do is greater than what we're able to do. And I love the Word of God that lets us know that we are fearfully and wonderfully made and that God doesn't make mistakes. And I think often we think that and wrongfully think that. God didn't make a mistake when He allowed me to be visually impaired. It wasn't a mistake. God made me just as I am and to use me as a vessel. And so we've got to stop thinking that something was an accident. God can use all things for the good, and that's what the Scripture says. All things work together for good, right?
Mike Zeigler: Amen. So you said this is your life mission to help people see that their "this" is something that God can use and not something they need to be ashamed of or embarrassed of. Do you have some moments of people you've seen that message take root in?
Greg Manning: Over my life as a pastor, I can say that there's been many, many moments. But I particularly had to get used to the fact that as a young pastor, I remember visiting people in the hospital, and I remember thinking that I didn't want anybody to know that I was visually impaired. I didn't want anybody to feel sorry for me or think that I was incapable of doing certain things. But more and more people who were elderly in the hospital, particularly lying in their hospital bed, would look at me in just their sickness and illness and weak position that they were in laying there. And they would often say these words, they'd say, "Pastor Greg, I know that if you can make it and with all the struggles that you're going through, I know that I could make it." And I've heard so many times those very same words, and it took a while, but after a while it just began to give me joy and understanding that God was using my—I guess you could call it—affliction to give somebody else's strength to know that they too could pull through physical therapy or believed that they were going to get better or believe that God was going to work a miracle in their life just the same way He had done me.
Mike Zeigler: So I really appreciate how you asked each one of us to this question, this reflective question, what's your story? What's your story for you? When did it become clear to you or when did you start to think that being a pastor was going to be part of your story? How did that happen?
Greg Manning: Well, my story of being a pastor goes back a long way. I knew I was going to be a pastor since I was four years old, although there were other gifts and talents that God revealed along the way. Particularly I have a gift to be able to act and maybe I thought I was going to be an actor. But I also knew that there was no way I was going to move off the path that God had given me to be a pastor since I was four years old. Now, the way that comes into my story is that it wasn't easy. It was never easy to get through seminary, reading a lot of textbooks, never easy to get through college using books on tape. I didn't have the iPad that makes large print the way I do now. So I had hundreds of cassette tapes that I listened to and big magnifying glasses. So it was a challenge, but God gave me strength to get through because I knew that He had established in me since age of four that I was going to be a pastor. He didn't say the road was going to be easy, and it certainly wasn't. But I knew that one day I would be ordained. I asked God to hold my hand until I got there.
Mike Zeigler: Was there someone who inspired you to this vocation early on?
Greg Manning: If there was anyone that inspired me, it was my mother. My mother always told me that God could do anything in and through me. She always reminded me of that. Mother would tell the story—she's home with Jesus now—but she'd tell the story of how, often as a four-year-old, I wasn't the best behaved in church, that I would sometimes fall out in the center aisle of Zion Lutheran Church and beg for ice cream and say, "I want it now." And later in life she'd say, "I understand that you were screaming because you wanted to be up there with the pastor." I don't know if that was true then, but I will accept that because mother always would tell people that my son has declared that he was going to be a pastor since he was four years old. And she let me know that, in spite of my difficulties, God was going to take me there.
Mike Zeigler: Again. I'm so grateful for your message about how we see God's creative power working through what we consider afflictions and infirmities. My first encounter with you, Pastor Greg, I told you this earlier, was watching a video of you speaking at our church body's youth gathering, it's a national youth gathering, and 25,000 youth and workers are all gathered together in a big stadium. And you were telling the Word! You were preaching the Word, and it was so inspiring to listen to you. God has certainly anointed you with this powerful voice. Where else have you seen God's creative power working through these difficulties and triumphs?
Greg Manning: You know, God has used me, as you say, I'm so blessed and honored that I give all glory to God, that He's given me a voice that is able to draw people. And so I'm able to draw people through my voice through the preaching of the Gospel. I've been able to preach the Gospel all over the world, in Australia, in Norway, most recently in Uganda. And I am so blessed to be able to do that. And I never thought, I never would've thought growing up that God would allow me to have that position. I've even been able to be a speaker in my community of New Orleans. I am a civil rights activist, and so I am often called on to be an advocate for so many people, whether it's our nurses or whether it's our schoolteachers, or whether it's our sanitation workers. People will often call me to come and show up to speak for them. And I'm so honored that God can use me as a vessel to be able to do that.
Mike Zeigler: Praise God! He is using you. I am confident He will continue to use you for His kingdom and His glory. Thank you so much for being with us, Pastor Greg, and we'd like to invite you to come back and talk some more with us next week. Does that work for you?
Greg Manning: Hey, I would absolutely love that. I'd be honored to do so.
Mike Zeigler: All right. Would you do us the honor in leading us in the Lord's Prayer as we conclude?
Greg Manning: Absolutely. Let us pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory. For now and forever. Amen.
Mike Zeigler: Amen. And the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with His favor and give you peace. Amen.
Music Selections for this program:
"A Mighty Fortress" arr. Peter Prochnow. Used by permission.
"Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice" courtesy of The Hymnal Project of the Michigan District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
"Crucifer" by Sydney H. Nicholson, arr. Peter Prochnow. Used by permission.
"Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice" From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House) Used by permission.
