Never Say Never - John 9

Never Say Never John 9

We live in a world that wants to ascribe blame, in the form of sin, for people who are different then us. This difference may be in the form of a mark of differently abledness (previously called disabilities), or a different religious tradition. It may even be people who are going through a disaster. Author Anne Rice states, “We are frightened of what makes us different.”, but really we are frightened because other people’s differences remind us just how different each of us are as well. 

In the beginning of today’s scripture passage we are met with a familiar situation – once again the disciples just aren’t getting it. They see a man who has been blind from birth and asked, “who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?” Maybe we aren’t quite as blunt with our questions such as, “why is this happening?”, but at the root of our questions we are just as curious as the disciples – why did God cause this to happen to this person. If God is all good and all knowing, then God must be punishing someone for something. What is it?

But Jesus responds to the disciples’ questions, and our questions, in a profound way – no on has sinned, but this has happened that the work of God may be displayed through him. What a re-orientation to our modern uneasyiness with difference – being different brings glory to God! It is not sin that causes what we have labeled disabilities – because disabilities allow us to see God in a new way! 

Then Jesus, with the craftsmanship of words that only he could possess, started playing around with the images of light and darkness – being blind and being able to see, saying, “as long as it is day, we must do the work of the one who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. But while in the world, I am the light of the world.”. Seeing and working and believing exist is this tangential relationship. And ironically, the disciples question shows that they are still in the dark.

I must admit, this is one of my least favorite healing stories of Jesus. It is one of the only ones where Jesus does not ask the man if he wants to be able to see. Perhaps this is because Jesus has set his inability to see up as a gift to be used for the glory of God. Perhaps Jesus just forgot to ask. But whatever the case, Jesus got messy with this healing. It was not as simple as touching someone and speaking healing into their life. No, he spit on to the ground and made mud from his saliva and then spread the mud over the eyes of the man. He then sent the man to wash in the pool – the pool whose name could be translated as sent. It’s like Jesus is teaching the disciples what it really means to live in the tension of seeing, working, and believing. This man had work to do before he could see. He had to believe that this man taking the messiness of life could bring light into his world for the first time.

Unfortunately, all is not well that ends well. This man’s healing turns into a public spectacle. Some people see him and wonder if he was the man who had begged outside of the city gate because of his blindness. Others thought that the man was never blind. But the man protested that he was the man who was once blind from birth. But now his eyes have been opened by this man Jesus.

The story goes on to a full out trial in front of the Pharisees, including this man’s parents attesting to the fact that yes, this was their son, and yes, he was born blind. And all the Pharisees have to say is that Jesus couldn’t possibly bring healing from God, because he didn’t honor the Sabbath. They aren’t able to rejoice with their brother in his healing because they were so caught up in labeling Jesus as a sinner. But my favorite line from this passage is in the man’s reply, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know. One thing I do know. I was blind, but now I see!”

Oh how I wish that each of us could make that same exclamation – all I know is that I was blind, but now I see! But my fear is that we fall in line more with the disciples and the Pharisees – unable to admit our own blindness, which is really the first step. We are so caught up with deflecting our own insecurities by pointing out the difference in others, by labeling their sin in order to avoid looking at our own, that we miss the point that we are in need of Jesus’ healing and love as well.

Jesus answered the question about sin causing different-ness in a way that brought light and hope into the world – even those things that we are afraid of, those things that others use to label us and mock us, God redeems and transforms. God takes those desolate areas in our lives where light may never have entered and brings a sunrise. God took the areas were there wasn’t enough light for things to bloom and made a bed of flowers arise. If only we would acknowledge that we cannot see the light, while believing that the light still transforms ourselves and everything around us.

This season of lent is one where we are challenged to look into our lives and ask God to shine light on the dark places. Those dark places may be different for each of us, but the mere fact that they exist makes us human. We then repent of those areas of our lives and ask God to transform them, through the love of Jesus Christ. Lent is only 40 days long – a snippet out of the breadth and depth of our entire year. But I fear that for some of us it’s hard to even approach this self-examination for this brief period of time. It is just too painful. So out of that pain we look around us for others to judge ourselves by, stating, “well at least I’m not as bad as him or I don’t do what she does.” But when we do this, we are missing the beauty of what Jesus is trying to teach us and the healing that Jesus is trying to bring us through his grace.

While I wish that Jesus would have asked if the man desired to be healed from his blindness, I also find comfort in the fact that Jesus knew just what to heal him from. Because there are times in my life when I am so unattended to the dark areas in my life, that I wouldn’t even know to ask healing for them. So I find myself just stumbling along the path, trying to feel my way from one step to the next, all the while going down the wrong path because I can’t see. 

Now is our opportunity to have our eyes opened and to have the blinding light of healing enter our lives. I pray that each day we can each become a little bit less like those who stand in the dark, asking questions about sin instead of those of healing and grace. I hope that we can have our eyes opened to the transforming power of God. And above all, I plead that we respond to the healing that God is offering us, even when it involves messiness and commands of being sent. Because healing is real work. But in that work we can find our belief strengthened and our sight restored. May it be so.