John 9:1-41 (9:1-12 NRSV below)
9 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 the man.” 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.”
Devotional Thought
The miracle itself is somewhat unique. Instead of merely healing the man, Jesus puts mud on his eyes, then tells him to go wash off the mud in the Pool of Siloam. It is only after the man follows through with this task that he can see (v. 7). What would you have done? Many would have walked away, thinking Jesus was crazy. He did just make mud from his own spit and rub it on the man’s eyes. Furthermore, it could not have been easy for a blind man to find his way to this pool; he likely would have had to ask someone for help, which would have been more embarrassing than normal, since his face was covered in mud. Just like the disciples, this man needed to learn how to see anew, and this took time and responsibility. As the narrative develops, the juxtaposition of the religious leaders and the healed man proves ironic. Those who have physically seen for their whole lives are spiritually and even physically unable to see what is right in front of them, while the man born blind is now able to see both physically and spiritually. For these Pharisees, Jesus is a sinner because he heals on the Sabbath (v. 16). . . . They cannot see past their preconceived judgments, though all the evidence points toward an alternate truth; their beliefs prevent them from seeing. The narrative even recounts that the healed man is so astonished at their unbelief that he logically and ironically, like a trained rabbi, walks them through the facts as he understands them (vv. 30-33). To which the Pharisees reply, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us” (v. 34). When all else fails, they return to the safety of their erroneous worldview. Jesus attempts to shift the disciples’ worldview and broaden their scope of vision so they can see the tragedies of their world from a different perspective. He is calling us to this same shift. Like the religious leaders in this story, we are too often crippled by our biased judgments. . . . We need to learn to see anew. Jesus invites us to participate in actively shifting a dominant Christian worldview that has done more to place God on the judgment seat than to show God’s love. Jesus has invited us to take responsibility by asking ourselves how God wants to work through us to bring about restoration and justice in each and every situation we encounter. (This devotional is an excerpt from Fringer & Lane, Theology of Luck, 99-101)
Prayer
Lord, we confess that we have often been quick to judge others and quick see things from only our own point of view. Forgive us. Lord, give us eyes to see others as you see them and help us to be a people who, with our every word and action, bring hope and love into our world for your glory. Amen.
Rev Rob A. Fringer, Principal