If we only took away the message that Jesus heals a blind man: that would be enough. We live in a world where we very much depend upon our sight. We know that there are many ways that the blind can cope and find their way, but not without difficulty. Jesus acts in a way that is compassionate and helpful. The man who is healed is thankful and believes in Jesus because of the miracle. If we could have the same reaction, we would have learned enough.
But the long chapter we have heard begins with the complicated feelings we always have when we face illness and wonder about God’s role in our lives. We believe all sorts of absolute things about God, and the difficult problems of our lives don’t seem to fit into our neat theological categories. The man is born blind. A loving God would not create someone that way, so there must be someone who deserves it. The disciples argue (as if the man is not there or that he has no feelings), that either his parents must have sinned or he must have sinned (in the womb? – or perhaps God knew the man would sin later and punished him preemptively?) The whole argument is empty of any compassion for the suffering of the blind man. In the larger context, no one seems to upset by his lot in life until he is healed, and then they only know him as “the man who used to beg.”
In contrast, as Jesus walks along, he sees the blind man and has compassion. He heals him. The only explanation is that the man is blind “so that God’s works might be revealed in him.” This is a mystery at first, but through the healing, this blind man professes faith in Jesus, and in the end it is the blind man who sees while everyone else is blind to the truth.
This is a story about a healing. It also a story about true blindness and true sight. The different arguments and approaches say a lot about what the different characters believe about God and what they believe about themselves. The disciples are rather cruel and dispassionate. They walk by the blind man and begin to discuss the theological implications of his blindness. No “good morning,” or “can I get you something?” Their faith is of no use to the blind man. They show by their actions that they want nothing to do with him. They offer us a good test of our own beliefs. If what we believe about God lets us walk by and ignore a person in our midst, maybe we are lacking something. Jesus doesn’t get into the argument. He just heals the man.
The religious authorities aren’t much better. They have a status quo to uphold. There must be a logical explanation that keeps God pure. They are troubled that Jesus performs and act of work on the Sabbath in order to heal the man. Again, they have no thought for the blind man. No “thank God!” or “good for you!” They can’t hold the thought in their heads that an obvious act of God could occur in way that breaks a law. They are not marveling at the wonderful generosity of God. They are trying to fill any loopholes in the rules.
The man who was born blind is called in to clear everything up. He tells what he knows – which isn’t much. After all, until recently, he was blind. He never saw Jesus. He probably never studied scripture – not being able to read. The authorities expect him to have all the proper answers, and all he can say is what happened. He cannot help them with their theological puzzle.
In the end, they declare that he is a sinner – always has been and always will be. They throw him out of the synagogue. I wonder how much of a loss this was for the man. After all – what connection did he ever have with the religious community except as a poor sinner to be pitied and shunned? He was born blind after all: someone must have sinned. When Jesus finds the man again, he is ready to believe. More than believing, he worships Jesus.
The blind man teaches us what to look for. As we see suffering and loss all around us, we are usually quick to assign blame. We say that people are sick because they eat the wrong foods, or they smoke, or their parents didn’t raise them right. We say that people are poor because they are lazy or they make bad choices. People are sad or lonely because they do something to deserve it… It’s always easy to fix blame, especially if we don’t have to get close to that person and see them as a child of God who needs our compassion.
In our blindness, we do not see as God sees. God loves all of us; no matter how well we’ve managed to polish up our lives or how badly we messed it up. God doesn’t wish our suffering, but God will use it bring us to a new place. If we are open to see with God’s eyes, we can see how God is reaching out and loving the world. We can see how God is healing and transforming every hurt and broken thing. We can see that it all has very little to do with us and what we deserve. All of this is the creative desire of God to make us into new people.
As we see with new eyes, we are likely to give up all the false illusions and rules that used to make us feel good by blocking out the truth. We will not be content with easy answers that are easy to follow and cost us nothing. We will be more comfortable with the mystery of God’s love – that is offered to us when we are at our worst. And we will see that we have everything in common with sinners and losers. Our life is a gift and we can rejoice in the God who loves even us!
Greg
But the long chapter we have heard begins with the complicated feelings we always have when we face illness and wonder about God’s role in our lives. We believe all sorts of absolute things about God, and the difficult problems of our lives don’t seem to fit into our neat theological categories. The man is born blind. A loving God would not create someone that way, so there must be someone who deserves it. The disciples argue (as if the man is not there or that he has no feelings), that either his parents must have sinned or he must have sinned (in the womb? – or perhaps God knew the man would sin later and punished him preemptively?) The whole argument is empty of any compassion for the suffering of the blind man. In the larger context, no one seems to upset by his lot in life until he is healed, and then they only know him as “the man who used to beg.”
In contrast, as Jesus walks along, he sees the blind man and has compassion. He heals him. The only explanation is that the man is blind “so that God’s works might be revealed in him.” This is a mystery at first, but through the healing, this blind man professes faith in Jesus, and in the end it is the blind man who sees while everyone else is blind to the truth.
This is a story about a healing. It also a story about true blindness and true sight. The different arguments and approaches say a lot about what the different characters believe about God and what they believe about themselves. The disciples are rather cruel and dispassionate. They walk by the blind man and begin to discuss the theological implications of his blindness. No “good morning,” or “can I get you something?” Their faith is of no use to the blind man. They show by their actions that they want nothing to do with him. They offer us a good test of our own beliefs. If what we believe about God lets us walk by and ignore a person in our midst, maybe we are lacking something. Jesus doesn’t get into the argument. He just heals the man.
The religious authorities aren’t much better. They have a status quo to uphold. There must be a logical explanation that keeps God pure. They are troubled that Jesus performs and act of work on the Sabbath in order to heal the man. Again, they have no thought for the blind man. No “thank God!” or “good for you!” They can’t hold the thought in their heads that an obvious act of God could occur in way that breaks a law. They are not marveling at the wonderful generosity of God. They are trying to fill any loopholes in the rules.
The man who was born blind is called in to clear everything up. He tells what he knows – which isn’t much. After all, until recently, he was blind. He never saw Jesus. He probably never studied scripture – not being able to read. The authorities expect him to have all the proper answers, and all he can say is what happened. He cannot help them with their theological puzzle.
In the end, they declare that he is a sinner – always has been and always will be. They throw him out of the synagogue. I wonder how much of a loss this was for the man. After all – what connection did he ever have with the religious community except as a poor sinner to be pitied and shunned? He was born blind after all: someone must have sinned. When Jesus finds the man again, he is ready to believe. More than believing, he worships Jesus.
The blind man teaches us what to look for. As we see suffering and loss all around us, we are usually quick to assign blame. We say that people are sick because they eat the wrong foods, or they smoke, or their parents didn’t raise them right. We say that people are poor because they are lazy or they make bad choices. People are sad or lonely because they do something to deserve it… It’s always easy to fix blame, especially if we don’t have to get close to that person and see them as a child of God who needs our compassion.
In our blindness, we do not see as God sees. God loves all of us; no matter how well we’ve managed to polish up our lives or how badly we messed it up. God doesn’t wish our suffering, but God will use it bring us to a new place. If we are open to see with God’s eyes, we can see how God is reaching out and loving the world. We can see how God is healing and transforming every hurt and broken thing. We can see that it all has very little to do with us and what we deserve. All of this is the creative desire of God to make us into new people.
As we see with new eyes, we are likely to give up all the false illusions and rules that used to make us feel good by blocking out the truth. We will not be content with easy answers that are easy to follow and cost us nothing. We will be more comfortable with the mystery of God’s love – that is offered to us when we are at our worst. And we will see that we have everything in common with sinners and losers. Our life is a gift and we can rejoice in the God who loves even us!
Greg
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