Today we have another long and detailed story from John, the healing of the man who was born blind receiving his sight from Jesus -- literally going from darkness to light. And another story of enlightenment: of growing into the light of Christ or choosing to remain in the dark. Now, two thousand years ago there were no special services for people with physical challenges, no CNIB with training programs, seeing-eye dogs, white canes, or specialized opthamologists. Blind people were destined to a life sentence as a beggar, dependant totally on the charity of their family and community. Jesus sees a man begging on the road side, blind from birth, and heals him, giving him sight. What an incredible miracle! In the history of humanity, this had never happened before. And this is of key importance, because, it was one of the things that the Messiah would do when he came, according to the prophets Isaiah and Malachi: lepers would be cleansed, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the blind see, and the dead would be raised. By these miracles, or signs as John calls them, you would know the Messiah.
The healing is the talk of the neighbourhood, but just who was healed people wonder. Is this really the beggar who was born blind? I thought it strange at first that some people didn’t recognize him. But upon reflection, it occurred to me that we really see disabled people through their disabilities—we see the white cane before the person holding it, the wheelchair before the person in it, and street people begging—well we often choose not to see them at all. The former blind man says yes, it is me! But, the people question, how can this be? This sort of thing just doesn’t happen! And it’s only a matter of time before he’s taken to the court of religious officials, a tribunal of the Pharisees. Now, they were the Jewish religious authorities who were the proud keepers of the law, controllers of the faith and traditions, almost a religious enforcement squad. Three times they try to get to the bottom of this man born blind who now sees business.
First, they question former blind man. He explains, it’s pretty simple, really. Last week on the Sabbath, this man Jesus walked by while I was begging on the street. He mixed up some mud, put it on my eyes, told me to wash it off, and when I did, I could see. You can almost hear the discussion amongst them, trying to figure this out, this guy who did an amazing thing, something that had never been done before, something the prophets said only the Messiah was supposed to be able to do. Couldn’t be, they say! Ah, this happened on a Sabbath. Mixing up potions, healing on a Sabbath, we’re not sure who this guy is, but he couldn’t possibly be a man of God who had done that. Our men of God know the importance of the propriety of keeping the Sabbath, adhering to the Law of Moses. A real man of God would know better than to heal on a Sabbath. Yet, who else but God could do something that miraculous, and only God can heal on the Sabbath. This just doesn’t jive, it doesn’t make sense.
So the tribunal, perplexed, ask the once blind man: “Who do you think he is?” “Well, duh” he says, “He’s got to be a prophet at least!” “Nope”, they respond, “he can’t be a man of God, he’s not doing this by our Laws.” So they wonder, “Is this supposedly former blind guy, is he trying to pull a fast one, was he ever really blind?”
And the tribunal calls on his parents to “testify” to their son’s so-called blindness. His parents, probably elder folk, are terrified to be called in front of the religious court; and no wonder, for the officials had already decided that anyone who confesses Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place. If they say it’s a miracle, that means the man who healed their son must be the Messiah, and they’re essentially “excommunicated” from temple, which means they would be shunned by everyone, kicked out of their own community. Yet, how can they deny their own son?
This is a challenging one—a tough decision, the kind of decision that we all have to face at some point in our lives. When you are called upon to take a stand, which side do you tend to go to, what guides your decision making? The safety of the establishment, siding with those in power--even though you know that’s not the way your heart is leaning; or do you stay true to your heart and beliefs, knowing there may be a price to pay for doing so, there will be repercussions for going against the powerbrokers? Often the moral and faithful way is not the easy way. Or do you find the middle road, and try and appease both sides? That’s what the parents in this story did, they took the middle road: “Yes, that’s our son—yes he was born blind. No, we don’t know who “opened his eyes”. He’s of legal age, ask him.” It’s a very safe response for this couple. But was it the right one? They didn’t support their son out of fear of reprisal for themselves, fully aware those same reprisals awaited their son!
Well, the interview with the parents didn’t get the tribunal the answers they were wanting, so they call the once blind man back and question him again. We get a strong sense that the man is exasperated with all this repeated questioning. And he stands his ground, he did not cower, that must have taken a great deal of courage to do that: this was the religious court of his community, they wielded great power! He tells them: “I’ve already told you, isn’t it obvious, why do you need to hear again? You’re not listening; never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God he could do nothing.” He asks: “Do you also want to become his disciple?” .While the once blind man sees—he has received his eye sight and comes to see who Jesus is, the Pharisees refuse to open their eyes to the new possibilities, sticking to the letter of their laws. They remain in the dark, because it’s too difficult to challenge their age-old ideas and perceptions of how their faith has always worked, never mind the possibility of who Jesus could be. The Pharisees just don’t get it, or don’t want to get it. They’re angry and they drive the once blind man out of the synagague—out of the Jewish community of his birth, he’s as good as a dead to the community now—and to his parents too, because as a condemned man, they would not be able to associate with him either.
Now, changing how you think about things is hard enough, but actually changing how you do things you’ve always done is even harder. This was not just out of the box thinking, but for the Pharisees would have been out of the box doing. This would have turned their world upside down, accepting Jesus as the Messiah--more than a change to their ways, but a complete overhaul! And sometimes it’s easier to stay in the box, the walls may be high and thick, but at least you know what’s inside it, and there is a certain comfort in that. The irony in this story is not to be missed. The once blind man comes to see Jesus for who he really is, the supposedly enlightened and educated Pharisees, deliberately ‘turn a blind eye’ to him. Even the Pharisees ask Jesus if he thinks they are blind, and Jesus tells them “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.” (vs 41 NLT) Hmm, so much for turning a blind eye!
Jesus hears that the man he has healed has been kicked out of the synagogue. Jesus, as a Jew, fully understood what the man had done, the implications of the choices the man made, when he had chosen him, Jesus, over the Pharisees. And what does Jesus do? Jesus went looking for him and found him.
Jesus asked him: “Do you believe in the Son of Man” The once blind man says, “Tell me who this person is so I can believe in him” and Jesus says “I am he”. And the man has yet another epiphany moment, when Jesus tells him that he is the Son of Man, and the once blind man sees yet again, but this time with his spiritual eyes.
Did you notice how the man’s faith has developed as the story goes on? As the man once born blind retells his story, his understanding of who Jesus is develops. First, he’s the man called Jesus, second telling, he must be a prophet. Third telling, he must be a man from God, and finally when Jesus comes to him, he knows Jesus as Saviour. When we share our stories of faith, of Jesus’ presence in our lives, it strengthens our faith, reinforcing Jesus’ presence with us. The once blind man’s understanding of what has happened to him, and the role of Jesus and who Jesus is grew with each time and telling. Yes, the growth of our faith is a life-long process! Mature Christian faith goes beyond what we learned in Sunday School! And when Jesus comes to him again, and reveals who he is, the once blind man knows and says “I believe”. And he becomes one of Jesus disciples, joining the group who followed him.
So let’s end by going back to the beginning. To use John’s language, this healing was a sign that pointed to Jesus as the Messiah, the Saviour, the light of the world.
This story is full of people blind to so many things. There is a man born blind who was given his sight as a sign for all to see who Jesus was. Many neighbours didn’t really see the man when he was blind and so didn’t recognize him once he was sighted, let alone the implications of that healing sign! The parents couldn’t or wouldn’t see because of their fear. The Pharisees were blinded by their religious traditions—healings shouldn’t happen on Sabbath, only God can heal on the Sabbath, so Jesus couldn’t be a man of God, never mind being the Messiah! This story shows us how we too can be spiritually blind to Jesus’ presence and working in our midst, and in others. Our lives get so busy and focused on our own personal needs and wants that we don’t see Jesus in the other, particularly those others who Iive on the margins. Our own traditions and rules when adhered to slavishly can block us from being open to allowing Jesus in so as to guide our choices in our lives. Cultural pressures can also make it challenging to make decisions to walk in the way of the light, when so much of our society walks on the dark side, and makes it look so attractive. But also as this story showed us, Jesus comes and finds us, and will reveal himself to us, just like he did for the once blind man. Even though sometimes we walk through the darkest of valleys, we will feel no evil, because Christ is with us. And so, goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives, our whole lives long when we live in the light of Christ. Amen.