- John 9:1-41 - read this passage online here »
On Saturday evening, I often watch a television program called Behind the Story. The host will usually have three guests who talk with him about what they think is behind the news stories of the week. There is usually an underlying story behind each story. How true that is for the story of the man born blind in John Chapter 9! If we had read Chapter 8, we would have heard Jesus clearly state [verse 12]:
Now that particular insight of faith took time to develop in the man born blind. At first, he considered Jesus merely a man who used mud to heal his eyes (verse 11). Then after he had some time to think about what his healing meant, he called Jesus a prophet (verse 17). Then, as the authorities continued to question and push him about the identity of Jesus, he told them he believed that “unless this man came from God, he would not be able to do a thing [to heal my eyes]” (verse 33). Finally, he confessed his belief that Jesus was the Son of Man. In a short time, he had come to believe Jesus was more than a mere man – Jesus spoke and acted in miraculous ways with God’s authority. He now believed Jesus was Lord. And he worshipped him!
In writing his Gospel, not only did John hope everyone would see Jesus as the life-giving light for the world, John also revealed to his readers toward the end of his book -- in Chapter 20:30, 31 [GNT] -- the real story behind all the stories he told in his Gospel (including the man born blind):
Some elements in the story sound very like articles and stories we might find in our national church magazine, The United Church Observer, asking Who is Jesus? Was he merely a human mentor, a teacher with fine teachings? Or is he truly the Messiah, the Son of God who did perform signs and miracles as the New Testament Gospels and letters record? The story of the man born blind and his healing by Jesus revealed questions and conflict and eventually the call for personal decision in the face of opposition or rejection.
Our basic theme this Lent is “Being a Christian means that, when Jesus calls us, we follow.” But the reality is that, when Jesus calls, some follow and some do not. In his Gospel, John reminds us that what we know happens among people in the 21st century is not all that different than what happened with people during the first century when Jesus physically lived among human beings. Some followed. And some did not.
Why do some people not follow Jesus?
For instance, do some people deliberately disbelieve what they hear or see? Some of the blind man’s neighbours and those who had seen him begging on the street for money were so surprised they didn’t know what to believe at first. They wondered if this man who could see was really the same man who was formerly blind. He said he was! And if they wanted further confirmation, they could have asked his parents and they would have clearly identified him as their son. But most of the real questioning and disbelief came from the religious leaders who were already having clashes with Jesus before this incident. We know this because the man’s parents were very careful not to talk about any possibility of Jesus being the one involved in their blind son being able to see because they already knew they would be thrown out of the synagogue. Then the conversation between the man and the religious authorities also revealed how differently they viewed Jesus. They saw Jesus as a sinner because he did not observe their Sabbath law – therefore, he could not have healed the man despite the evidence standing before them. Interestingly, the man born blind had not yet seen Jesus but he had a different viewpoint and answered honestly:
In The Magician's Nephew [Collier Books, pp.125-26], a novel from the Chronicles of Narnia series, author C. S. Lewis gives us careful insight into the meaning of spiritual blindness. The land of Narnia was created when Aslan -- the Lion who represented Jesus – sang it into being. That creation song revealed Aslan's majesty and glory. We could call it a grand “call to worship!” But there was one person – Uncle Andrew in the novel -- who refused to hear the song. And the consequences were staggering. Lewis writes:
Why do some people follow Jesus?
The story of the man born blind and then healed tells us one significant reason. The man is one among many people – countless men and women over the centuries – whose personal lives have been touched or healed or made well or who have experienced deep forgiveness or reconciliation or hope or joy or peace because of what Jesus Christ has done for them and in them through the Holy Spirit. Sometimes Jesus does heal people physically. Why that doesn’t happen more often, I don’t know. But I do know Jesus heals people in many different ways.
In the April 2011 issue of the magazine Christianity Today is an article [p. 42] titled “God of the Schizophrenic.” David Weiss, an ordinary individual like you and me, writes about how he rediscovered his faith amid the ravages of mental illness and the expensive electroconvulsive therapy (electric shocks) and the drug treatments he endured. This is how he concludes the article:
In the latest issue of our church magazine, there are a number of letters to the editor written in response to an article in February’s issue titled “Sacred, yes, but is it church?” That article outlined several United Church clergy and congregations whose spiritual journey is more about what they call “sacredness” than about any sense of believing in God who has come in Jesus. It is illuminating and encouraging that many readers had great difficulty with the article. Here is a sampling of what they wrote:
Please turn to page 918 in Voices United and stand as you are able.
Rev. Chris Miller,
Lent 2, March 27, 2011
OYM Oriole-York Mills United Church, Toronto
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”While John – in Chapter 9 -- wanted us to sample Jesus’ ability to restore sight to a man who was congenitally blind, John also hoped we would see the dawning of spiritual light in the blind man who was healed and also the dawning of Jesus’ light in all those who would read or hear his Gospel and be open to believe. That we would see what the man eventually saw – that Jesus is the life-giving light for the world.
Now that particular insight of faith took time to develop in the man born blind. At first, he considered Jesus merely a man who used mud to heal his eyes (verse 11). Then after he had some time to think about what his healing meant, he called Jesus a prophet (verse 17). Then, as the authorities continued to question and push him about the identity of Jesus, he told them he believed that “unless this man came from God, he would not be able to do a thing [to heal my eyes]” (verse 33). Finally, he confessed his belief that Jesus was the Son of Man. In a short time, he had come to believe Jesus was more than a mere man – Jesus spoke and acted in miraculous ways with God’s authority. He now believed Jesus was Lord. And he worshipped him!
In writing his Gospel, not only did John hope everyone would see Jesus as the life-giving light for the world, John also revealed to his readers toward the end of his book -- in Chapter 20:30, 31 [GNT] -- the real story behind all the stories he told in his Gospel (including the man born blind):
“In his disciples’ presence Jesus performed many other miracles which are not written down in this book. But these [miracles] have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through your faith in him you may have life [eternal life with God].”One thing that intrigued me about this story of the man born blind was the confusion among those who knew him as a neighbour and those who had seen him begging when he was blind.
“Is this the same man? Sure looks like him, doesn’t it? But it can’t be him, can it? How could it be – he was born blind?”There was also the conflict between the healed man and the religious leaders who had to accept the reality that the man could see – that he had been healed. But they did not want to accept Jesus as the one whom the man said had healed him.
“Say it was God who healed you. Don’t say it was this man Jesus. He’s not from God!”As well, there was the intimidation the man’s parents felt at the hands of the religious leaders. They were afraid to admit what they really knew or how they really felt about “the man called Jesus” who healed their son because they might be expelled from their place of worship. That would be difficult to accept because all their friends went there. What would they do? Where would they go?
Some elements in the story sound very like articles and stories we might find in our national church magazine, The United Church Observer, asking Who is Jesus? Was he merely a human mentor, a teacher with fine teachings? Or is he truly the Messiah, the Son of God who did perform signs and miracles as the New Testament Gospels and letters record? The story of the man born blind and his healing by Jesus revealed questions and conflict and eventually the call for personal decision in the face of opposition or rejection.
Our basic theme this Lent is “Being a Christian means that, when Jesus calls us, we follow.” But the reality is that, when Jesus calls, some follow and some do not. In his Gospel, John reminds us that what we know happens among people in the 21st century is not all that different than what happened with people during the first century when Jesus physically lived among human beings. Some followed. And some did not.
Why do some people not follow Jesus?
For instance, do some people deliberately disbelieve what they hear or see? Some of the blind man’s neighbours and those who had seen him begging on the street for money were so surprised they didn’t know what to believe at first. They wondered if this man who could see was really the same man who was formerly blind. He said he was! And if they wanted further confirmation, they could have asked his parents and they would have clearly identified him as their son. But most of the real questioning and disbelief came from the religious leaders who were already having clashes with Jesus before this incident. We know this because the man’s parents were very careful not to talk about any possibility of Jesus being the one involved in their blind son being able to see because they already knew they would be thrown out of the synagogue. Then the conversation between the man and the religious authorities also revealed how differently they viewed Jesus. They saw Jesus as a sinner because he did not observe their Sabbath law – therefore, he could not have healed the man despite the evidence standing before them. Interestingly, the man born blind had not yet seen Jesus but he had a different viewpoint and answered honestly:
“I do not know if he is a sinner or not. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I see.”At the end of this incident, some of these religious leaders overheard Jesus saying:
“I came into the world to bring everything into the clear light of day, making all the distinctions clear, so that those who have never seen will see, and those who have made a great pretense of seeing will be exposed as blind.”These leaders then asked: “Does that mean you are calling us blind?” [The Message Bible]
In The Magician's Nephew [Collier Books, pp.125-26], a novel from the Chronicles of Narnia series, author C. S. Lewis gives us careful insight into the meaning of spiritual blindness. The land of Narnia was created when Aslan -- the Lion who represented Jesus – sang it into being. That creation song revealed Aslan's majesty and glory. We could call it a grand “call to worship!” But there was one person – Uncle Andrew in the novel -- who refused to hear the song. And the consequences were staggering. Lewis writes:
When the great moment came and the Beast [Aslan] spoke, he [Uncle Andrew] missed the whole point for a rather interesting reason. When the Lion had first begun singing, long ago when it was still quite dark, he had realized that the noise was a song. And he had disliked the song very much. It made him think and feel things he did not want to think and feel.Like Uncle Andrew in the novel and some of the religious leaders in John 9, there are also some today who dislike what they see and hear in Jesus – in his life and in his teachings. So they refuse to acknowledge what Jesus clearly said. They turn away from the light in Jesus. They claim they see what is good but then deliberately reject the author of all goodness. I don’t really understand that. But in Matthew 6:23, Jesus said: “If the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”
Then, when the sun rose and he saw that the singer was a lion (“only a lion,” as he said to himself), he tried his hardest to make himself believe that it wasn't singing and never had been singing -- only roaring as any lion might in a zoo in our own world. “Of course it can't really have been singing,” he thought. “I must have imagined it. I've been letting my nerves get out of order. Who ever heard of a lion singing?” And the longer and more beautifully the Lion sang, the harder Uncle Andrew tried to make himself believe that he could hear nothing but roaring.
Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. Uncle Andrew did. He soon did hear nothing but roaring in Aslan's song. Soon he couldn't have heard anything else even if he had wanted to. And when at last the Lion spoke and said, “Narnia awake,” he didn't hear any words: he heard only a snarl. And when the Beasts spoke in answer, he heard only barkings, growlings, bayings and howlings.
Why do some people follow Jesus?
The story of the man born blind and then healed tells us one significant reason. The man is one among many people – countless men and women over the centuries – whose personal lives have been touched or healed or made well or who have experienced deep forgiveness or reconciliation or hope or joy or peace because of what Jesus Christ has done for them and in them through the Holy Spirit. Sometimes Jesus does heal people physically. Why that doesn’t happen more often, I don’t know. But I do know Jesus heals people in many different ways.
In the April 2011 issue of the magazine Christianity Today is an article [p. 42] titled “God of the Schizophrenic.” David Weiss, an ordinary individual like you and me, writes about how he rediscovered his faith amid the ravages of mental illness and the expensive electroconvulsive therapy (electric shocks) and the drug treatments he endured. This is how he concludes the article:
“Though my illness persists, I have finally met the God I had heard about but never truly experienced [before]. A God who heals. A God who loves. A God I cannot logically explain to my psychiatrist. A God who manifests his genius by salvaging good from the evil in our lives. Someone unlike me. Someone unlike the well-meaning inquisitors who judged me and sought spiritually to cure me. Someone I never would have discovered without my affliction.
“A God who calls himself Emmanuel – God with us.”Some follow Jesus because they do see that God has truly come to us in Jesus. In fact, that is what the United Church New Creed confesses: “We believe in God … who has come in Jesus.”
In the latest issue of our church magazine, there are a number of letters to the editor written in response to an article in February’s issue titled “Sacred, yes, but is it church?” That article outlined several United Church clergy and congregations whose spiritual journey is more about what they call “sacredness” than about any sense of believing in God who has come in Jesus. It is illuminating and encouraging that many readers had great difficulty with the article. Here is a sampling of what they wrote:
“These post-theistic congregations have turned their places of worship into little more than coffee-houses for self-centered conversations. They have not only thrown out the baby with the bathwater; they are now worshipping the tub.”And a final letter:
“I am uncomfortable with the concept of a church that has God ‘taking a back seat’ to spiritual questing and community development. God is the subject of my spiritual quest, and my community is a community of Christian worship. At my yoga studio, I experience a sense of the spiritual and of community, but it is not a church.”
“In my 84 years, I have never doubted that fact that God is. Many times I have had the assurance of God’s love and care during my life’s journey. I know that my redeemer lives!”
“So let’s say I order a ham and cheese sandwich but say, ‘Leave out the ham.’ Is it still a ham and cheese sandwich? Let’s say I call myself a Christian but say, ‘Leave out the Christ.’ Am I still a Christian?”
“Neither spirituality nor sacredness defines the church. So what is it? The answer can be found in Connie denBock’s column in the same issue: “Without Jesus, there’s not much to justify church.”My friends, in this season of Lent, we have the opportunity to look truthfully within ourselves, to approach God with repentance and gratitude and to draw closer to and follow Jesus Christ. As I conclude this message, let us renew our hope in God as we anticipate the joy of Easter by confessing together that “We are not alone, we live in God’s world.”
Please turn to page 918 in Voices United and stand as you are able.
We are not alone,May this confession be so for you and for me.
we live in God's world.
We believe in God:
who has created and is creating,
who has come in Jesus,
the Word made flesh,
to reconcile and make new,
who works in us and others
by the Spirit.
We trust in God.
We are called to be the Church:
to celebrate God's presence,
to live with respect in Creation,
to love and serve others,
to seek justice and resist evil,
to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,
our judge and our hope.
In life, in death, in life beyond death,
God is with us.
We are not alone.
Thanks be to God.
Rev. Chris Miller,
Lent 2, March 27, 2011
OYM Oriole-York Mills United Church, Toronto
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