You might be blind

John 9:1-41

1 As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, 7 saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. 8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am he.” 10 But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

    13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided. 17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.”

      18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind, 21 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. He will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

    24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 28 Then they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out.

     35 Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”36 He answered, “And who is he, sir?Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see may see and those who do see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

Who is blind?  And who can see?  And how do you know?  

As Jesus “walked along” he encountered a man who was blind from birth.  The disciples ask whose sin is responsible for his blindness - his own or that of his parents - because they assumed, as was standard, that any such physical defect correlated to a spiritual one.  Jesus rejected not just the question but also all the assumptions that lie behind it, and declared that the man “was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him”.  This is not an untroubling statement, suggesting as it might that the man had suffered blindness all this time just to serve as a prop in God’s drama, but we might take it as more comprehensive statement that the brokenness of the world - the brokenness in all of us - is allowed to endure precisely so that it - that we - may be redeemed.  

Jesus spat on the ground, made a bit of mud, smeared on the man’s eyes (surely his eyelids!?), and told him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam.  He did as Jesus said, and he regained his sight.  It’s not every day that a blind man can see, so the people around begin to question if this man who sure seems like he can see is, in fact, the same man who they knew to be blind.  Jesus set the healing in motion, but it doesn’t happen until after he’s disappeared.  No one saw it, so they seek explanations, but no one knows where Jesus is.  

The man is then brought before the Pharisees for questioning, and he again explains what happened.  The problem was that Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath, which, according to the dogma of the Pharisees, was impossible.  To do work on the Sabbath was sinful, and no sinner could perform such sign.  And yet others couldn’t help but wonder at the apparent paradox.  

The obvious solution to the problem is that this was a case of mistaken identity, so they call in the man’s parents, who are obviously afraid to confirm anything other than that the man is indeed their son and that he was indeed born blind.  They tell the Pharisees that their son can speak for himself, so they call him in again and say to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner”.   The man responds that determining such questions is above his pay grade, but he does know that he was blind and now can see. 

Why do the Pharisees refuse to accept the testimony before them?  The sympathetic answer is that everything they thought they knew made such a healing impossible.  It was none other than God who gave the commandment not to work on the Sabbath, and they merely take this commandment seriously, concluding that anyone who would willfully break it could not possibly be on God’s side.  They think they are defending what is true and good.  But even if that’s the case, it’s worth noting then that you can find yourself opposed to God when you sincerely think you’re defending God.  

In any case, all of us are capable of seeing only what we imagine could possibly be.  Even when we see the “unbelievable” with our own eyes, our minds grasp for other explanations.  But this is especially the case when we are personally invested in preserving the “truth” which events have called into question.  The Pharisees, throughout the Scriptures, are not really concerned with the truth so much as their own status.  When reports surface that Jesus rose from the dead, the question that preoccupies them is not whether or not it is true but rather what it will mean if people think it’s true.  They’re quite content with the status quo in which they enjoy a level of power and prestige, so the squelch any movement that might disrupt.  

In this passage they not only cannot imagine that a blind man could receive his sight on the Sabbath, they don’t want to imagine it.  What should be good news, is to them an abomination.  No one enjoys facing the possibility that the very core of their beliefs is flawed, and they also know, at some level, that a world in which the law is not absolute is a world which doesn’t need Pharisees.  They cling to their certainties even as they become increasingly implausible.  The blind man points out the incoherence of their argument, which elicits not circumspection but lashing out in anger.  

The passage concludes with Jesus issuing a judgment on the pharisees which should be a warning to us:  “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.  Jesus does not condemn the blind for their blindness; he condemns the blind who claim to be able to see.  The literal blind get healed in Scripture in part because they come to Jesus for help exactly because they know they are blind.  And the spiritual blind also come to him so that the eyes of their heart might be opened.  But there are many who claim to see - who are certain that their vision is state of the art - and reject him.  

It’s always tempting when we read about the Pharisees to put ourselves beside Jesus and join in condemning them.   “Look at those fools who get it exactly backwards!”  But the Pharisees in the Gospels hold up a mirror to the religious folks who think they’ve got everything figured out.  Their example serves as warning to those who are convinced they’re right and that others are wrong.  While we aren’t anyone’s idea of a self-righteous community, we still might be tempted to tell ourselves we’re getting things right - or at least as close to right as they can be gotten - while everyone else is missing the mark.  Humility is crucial if we desire to be faithful, if we prioritize the truth above being right.  The goal is not to be right; the goal is to know God.  

But if I’m concerned, it’s more than we would err the other direction, that we would practice a kind of false humility.  That in our desire to avoid being a bunch of know-it-alls we act as if we know nothing at all; in our desire to avoid self-righteousness, we deny the possibility of righteousness altogether.  Because it seems so many overstate or misconstrue God’s action, we find ourselves denying God’s action.   

To the skeptic - and to the sceptic in all of us - it’s worth considering the possibility that God is at work in the world and we fail to see it - not because it’s invisible or hidden, but simply because we have taught ourselves to be blind to it.  If you grow up in the West (and probably other places too) you are taught to understand the world in a way that excludes the possibility of God’s action.  Even for Christians, “miracles” come to name the exception to the rule, the occasions God intervenes in the the world from which God is otherwise not involved.  Our ancestors would’ve seen God’s hand everywhere, everyday, but for us the world has become disenchanted.

Let’s be clear, scientific method has shed a lot of light on the world and has benefit humanity greatly, but it’s also created a mechanistic, material conception of reality which hides much from view.   The fact that the sun rises every morning can be explained in terms of astrophysics, but it can also be explained - without conflict, in fact - in terms of God’s constant presence to creation.   We might lament that God rarely seems to cure blindness even as we celebrate the ability of medicine to perform miracles, and realize that the restoration of one’s sight is always occasion to give glory to God.  We might consider that we are personally invested in denying the power of God, because we think our position and reputation depend on it.  We can easily see without perceiving, and the first step might be opening ourselves to the possibility that we are, in fact, blind.  

We might, in the language of 1 Samuel, see only the outward appearance without seeing the heart of the matter.  We might, in the language of Ephesians, be deceived with empty words.  If we really want to see, then we will need to humble ourselves, to acknowledge our inability to make ourselves see properly.  We come here because it is through Jesus alone that we gain our sight, that we can see truthfully, act faithfully.