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We have discovered that lives are
changed as a result of meeting Jesus and entering into
holy conversation. We follow Jesus’ lead by engaging
others in meaningful conversations. Opportunities
present themselves all the time in a variety of places
and situations.
Today’s rather long reading has all
the makings of a play or made for television movie. As
Jesus along with the disciples made their way they
encountered a man “blind from birth.” The disciples
want to enter into a debate over the cause of the man’s
blindness. They asked Jesus who sinned this man or his
parents. In Jesus’ day people believed there was a
direct correlation between sin and bad things happening
to individuals. In their mind someone must have sinned
for the man to have been born blind. And if we are not
careful, sometimes we slip into this way of thinking as
well.
They wanted to enter into a debate, discuss the
theological origins of the affect of sin. Are there
times in our lives when we would rather hold a
discussion, than to actually do something? It is easier
to talk about needing to do something than actually
stepping up and do it. Maybe the disciples were more
comfortable holding a debate than caring for the man.
Jesus set the matter straight, “Neither this man nor his
parents sinned.” God does not cause terrible things to
happen to us because of the sin of our parents or our
own sin. Instead of lecturing about the affect of sin
Jesus acted. He rubbed mud on the blind man’s eyes and
instructed him to “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” A
miracle took place, the man did as he was instructed,
and when he washed the mud from his eyes suddenly he
could see. For the first time in his life he could
see. Imagine for a moment going your entire life unable
to see and suddenly receive the gift of sight. I would
like to think that the first thing he saw was the face
of Jesus.
This man’s new found sight changed his life. His
neighbors did not even recognize him. They began to
ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” It
makes you wonder why they did not recognize him. Did
they ever really look at him? Was he nothing more than
the blind man begging on the corner? Sometimes we do
not really see people who are suffering, we look beyond
them. To the formerly blind man’s credit he kept
insisting, “I am the man.” He told them how Jesus
placed mud on his eyes and when he washed his eyes he
could see. They asked him where Jesus was and the man
replied, “I do not know.”
The next scene the formerly blind man is interviewed by
the religious officials. They too failed to see the
miracle of new sight. They asked him how he could see
and for the second time he tells the story of Jesus
placing mud on his eyes, washing, and then being able to
see. All the religious leaders were concerned about was
keeping the law. Since it was the Sabbath, and their
law prohibited any type of work, Jesus was labeled a
sinner. In their limited way of thinking no righteous
person would have done such a thing on the Sabbath.
There is a progression in the formerly blind man’s
thought. When his neighbors asked him about Jesus he
answered that he did not know anything about him. When
the religious officials ask him the same question, he
answers, “He is a prophet.”
The religious leaders are not satisfied with the
formerly blind man’s answers so they call his parents.
I know my generation enjoys blaming our parents for all
of our short comings, but the formerly blind man’s
parents are not the least bit supportive of their son.
His parents tell the authorities, “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. Ask him; he is of age.” Sadly, they do not
want to involve themselves in this discussion. “Ask
him,” they reply, “he is of age.” They were afraid of
the religious leaders and what they might do to them,
expel them from the synagogue. You might have expected
more from his parents.
While we might not always approve of what our children
do as parents we need to always be supportive of them.
The formerly blind man’s parents could use some backbone
and stand up for their son. They were afraid and did
not want to get involved.
The religious officials interrogated the formerly blind
man a second time. Again he explains what happened to
him and how he is able to see. He questions if the
religious officials would like to become followers of
Jesus. They did not take this suggestion too well.
Nothing like trying to convince someone whose mind is
already made up of anything new or different. As you
might have expected the religious leaders scoff at the
man. How dare he try to teach them something? They
have Moses. Further they claim to know nothing of
Jesus. The formerly blind man can hardly believe that
they would not be interested in learning more about
Jesus or at least explore the notion that he might be
sent from God. However, they did not. Their minds were
closed off, they failed to recognize Jesus in their
midst because he did not fit into their narrowly defined
box.
Frequently the religious leaders are portrayed in a
negative light in the gospels. I wonder if there are
times when we close our minds to a new idea, simply
because we might not like it, or claim that we’ve never
done it that before. When we close our minds in this
manner we might actually close ourselves off from what
God is doing in our world. It is possible that the new
idea is actually God inspired.
The religious officials had heard enough from this man.
“You were born entirely in sin, and are you trying to
teach us?” they asked with a certain sense of
arrogance. And they expelled him.
In
the final scene Jesus returns having heard of the man’s
ordeal. Jesus asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of
Man?” The man is open and receptive to Jesus and makes
his confession, “Lord, I believe,” and he worships him.
At those times when we stand up for Jesus and are not
treated too well, fear not, because Jesus comes to us.
Within earshot of the Pharisees, Jesus pronounces words
of judgment, “I came into this world for judgment so
that those who do not see may see, and those who do see
may become blind.” People like the religious leaders
who think they know it all had better watch out, because
according to Jesus, when they close themselves off, they
are blind to what God is doing in the world. People
that are open and receptive, like the man born blind,
place their trust in Jesus and are given fresh insight.
As you might have expected the Pharisees did not
appreciate what Jesus had to say. They remained
spiritually blind, closed off to what God was doing in
the world. May we not make the same mistake.
We gather at the altar to receive
bread and wine, which nourishes us as well as
strengthens our faith. We come open and willing to
follow Jesus wherever he may lead us. We leave to tell
others what Jesus has done, and continues to do, in our
lives.
Amen.
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