Now I See

“I ONCE WAS BLIND”
John 9:1-41 (from the Message)
FAITH UNITED
March 2, 2008

It is dangerous to see things
that others can’t see
It’s not easy to be the person that has to point things out
to others so that they, too, can see them
Especially if it’s something unpleasant
Like the family member or friend
who sees that someone has a problem
that they need help
well, none of us like to be told that we need help,
even if we do
and anyone who would have the guts to point that out
is not the most popular person
Or when we are so sure of what we believe to be true
and someone else points out something else
that contradicts or challenges that point of view --
well, that ticks us off, doesn’t it?
Even if we suspect they’re right
it’s hard for us humans to admit
that maybe we didn’t see something as clearly
that we might actually be blind to something
Just try to tell a parent
that their beloved child is having problems at school
or needs some help in some area
or is responsible for something bad that happened
Not my kid!
Parents can be blind
Anybody can be blind
we see sometimes only what we choose to see
and sometimes we choose to NOT see
what is actually true
We all do it
It’s human nature
And don’t you hate it sometimes
when someone ELSE gets something good
that maybe you wanted?
It’s really hard to celebrate with them, isn’t it?
When I was in college, my roommate got engaged
to my ex-boyfriend
She wanted me to be excited for her
but it was really difficult
I ended up being a bridesmaid in the wedding
and the groom’s family all kind of joked with me,
‘so you’re the EX girlfriend, eh?’
It was really hard for me to celebrate with the bride and groom
Not that I WANTED the guy, mind you,
it was just humiliating….
so it was not a fun day for me
But isn’t it wonderful when something really great happens to you
or you get something you really wanted--
and I’m not talking an X box or Wii
or whatever the latest thing is --
I’m talking about when you get something REALLY good
like a good grade, or a part in the school play
or a trip you’ve always wanted to take
or some form of recognition
that makes you feel like you’ve accomplished something
The kind of stuff that lasts…
Doesn’t it feel wonderful when someone else
can truly, sincerely be excited FOR you?
When they can celebrate with you
and say, “whoa, good for you!”
Joy is much better when it’s shared
when someone loves us enough
to feel good when something good happens to US
Too often,
other people get jealous
or question how you even got it
or maybe even suggest that you don’t deserve it
That really stinks
They take something away from the event
with their jealousy
It’s hard, isn’t it, to celebrate someone ELSE’S good fortune?
Especially when you’re thinking of how their gain
is somehow indirectly YOUR loss…
We’re good at making things about us
when it has nothing at all to do with us

This story is crazy!!
But, unfortunately, realistic…
This poor guy-- we don’t even know his name --
just walking along, minding his own business
shuffling his way forward, perhaps using a stick
to help him find things that are in his path
He’s blind
He can’t see
He’s never been able to see
He’s never seen color
never seen the sunset
or sunrise
never seen the green of the trees or the blue of the skies
never looked into the eyes of another human being
and seen love or tears or laughter
He’s never seen the beauty of a little child playing
or dancing or giggling
He’s never looked on two people in love
walking together,
oblivious to the rest of the world
But he doesn’t know what he’s been missing
He did know that he couldn’t make a living
all that he could do was sit and beg
because that’s what blind men and women did back then
that’s all they could do
Just sit and hope that someone would have mercy on them
give them a bit of something to eat
a coin to get them by the next day
They were just a part of the scenery,
along with all the other beggars
who were beggars for various reasons
some of them through no fault of their own
except to be born with a handicap
“Teacher,” one of the disciples said casually,
“what happened there?” and he pointed to the blind man
trying to find his way
“Who’s at fault there? Who sinned?
Was it him or his parents who caused him to be blind?”
Jesus winced, I’m sure
We humans tend to think there MUST be a reason
for all the things that don’t make sense
in the world
We want to blame somebody or something
because if there’s just no good explanation
no clear cut reasoning
than maybe that means any of us
could fall victim to something terrible
and that’s just too frightening
It sounds like a stupid question on the part of the disciples
but we all do it, we all want to know
whose fault is it
when something bad happens?
What did my son or daughter do
to deserve getting killed in Iraq?
What did I do to make God so angry
that he could take someone that I love?
In the 80s, the Church had a way of dismissing
any need to address the AIDS epidemic
when some parts of the Church
believed that it was a punishment from God
against homosexuals
I hope we’ve gotten over that
Some people said that 9/11 happened
because of various sins in our country
and that GOD made 9/11 happen
as punishment for those sins
That God blew up those buildings….
It’s a way of trying to make sense
out of something that ultimately does not make sense
But we do want to blame somebody, don’t we?
“Who sinned, Jesus?
This boy or his parents??”
And Jesus, as I said, winced
Jesus refuted in that moment
that bad things happen to good people
because they’ve done something bad
Jesus refuted that suffering always happens
directly because of sin
Granted, sometimes it does
there are causes and effects in the world
We know if we smoke,
we are at risk for lung cancer
if we drink too much, we’re at risk
for alcoholism, liver problems
or major family problems
If we drive too fast
we may hit someone or hit a tree
There are natural causes and effects in the world
But there are also plenty of things that happen
that aren’t necessarily anyone’s fault
Jesus didn’t try to explain why an otherwise healthy young man
was born without the ability to see and therefore make a living
Instead, he said,
“why don’t you look at the good that can come out of this?”
And he invited the man over to him
Jesus spit in the dirt
and made some clay
and put it on the young man’s eyes
It was believed back then,
that saliva had medicinal purposes
(maybe that’s why Mom always gives us that dreaded spit-wash
that we always hated!)
After Jesus spread the clay over the man’s eyes,
he told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam
I don’t know how he got there
I’m hoping that someone else guided the blind man
to the pool
and helped him to the edge to wash his face
Meanwhile, Jesus and his disciples went on their way
While the man stooped toward the water to wash his face,
he leaned back to take a breath
and his eyes automatically fluttered open
Suddenly he saw blue above him
the brown of the dirt beneath his knees
the droplets of water falling off his face into the pool
he leaned over and saw his own reflection
his own look of surprise
he wiped the excess water off of his face
and any other traces of mud that was left
and he looked all around him
at the people, the children playing in the streets
some of them splashing in the water
the reflection of the sun off the water
and suddenly he had to shield his eyes
he kept blinking
as more and more came into focus
He looked at buildings, at plants,
at people, the things they wore, the expressions
on their faces
He got up and started walking
gingerly, at first, carefully
staring at everything in front of him
After awhile, some of his relatives
and others in the community
saw him
Then they looked away
but then they looked back
‘Wait a minute, isn’t that…
where’s his walking stick?
Why is walking, standing up straight
with no help?’
Where’s his bag
that he put all the coins in that people threw at him?
That IS him, isn’t it?
Naw, it just looks like him, others said
yeah, it IS him!
But how???
“Some guy put mud on my eyes, and told me to go wash,” the man said
After I did, I could see!” he shrugged
Where is this guy? they asked
“I don’t know….”
Nobody said, “Wow!”
Nobody said, “that’s amazing! that’s wonderful!!”
Nobody clapped him the back
or hugged him or playfully hit him in the arm
or held up three fingers to see if he could see them
Instead, they take him by the arm
and drag him to the religious authorities
The authorities collectively
raised one eyebrow and said to him,
tell us what happened
He told them
Well, he can’t be from God!!
Today’s the Sabbath,
he shouldn’t be making mud on the Sabbath!!
You gotta be kidding me
No, this man can’t be from God if he doesn’t keep the Sabbath
But how, others said,
how could a bad man do good things?
How could he do something miraculous,
something God-like, if he isn’t from God??
What do YOU say,
they said to the poor blind guy who unfortunately now
could see the nastiness in the faces around him
“I think he’s a prophet,” he said.
Well, what does HE know??
They bring in the parents, grill them
shove microphones in their faces
what do you think?
Is this your son?
Wasn’t he born blind?
the cameras flash
the reporters crowd in
Yes, yes, they say, he is our son
we don’t know why he can see,
why don’t you ask him?
‘Ah, we did ask him,
we didn’t like what he said!’
By the way, where is Jesus in all of this?
Gone
Moving on down the road
while this poor guy gets interrogated
I’ve always wondered,
why did he leave?
Why didn’t he stay with him
surely he knew this would happen!
Someone pokes the man in the shoulder, says
this Jesus is an imposter,
he can’t make the blind see,
he’s a fake, what are you trying to pull?
Before all this happened
before Jesus had come upon the man in the street
he’d just narrowly escaped having been killed
He said something about existing before even Abraham
and something confusing like that
and the religious people
picked up stones to throw at him
with the intent to kill him
Maybe that’s why he got lost after healing the blind man
knowing that he could get killed
The young man put up his hands,
“I’m not a scholar,
I don’t know all the religious language
or all the rules and regulations,
all I know is that I was blind,
and now I can see… that’s all”
yeah but, yeah but….
The man was ready to get on with his life
go take a bath
get some clean clothes
see what the rest of his life would look like
now that he could see
“Again, I don’t know anything else.
I don’t know much about God
but I do know that God listens to those
who do what is right
Have you ever heard of someone healing the blind?
of course not, it’s never been done
If this man isn’t from God,
I wouldn’t be looking you in the eye right now….”
You’re nothing but dirt, they said
because they couldn’t think of anything thing better to say
They threw him out
they excommunicated him
His only sin was being healed
touched by the hands of Jesus
and he was no longer allowed in the synagogue--
not that he would have allowed before
being a blind beggar
so really, it was no big loss to him
He was blind, and now he could see
After the religious people went away
Jesus showed up again
Of course, the man didn’t recognize him
because the last time Jesus was there
the man couldn’t see him
“Do you believe in the Son of Man?” Jesus said to him
Tell me who he is, I’ll believe
“You’re looking at him,” Jesus said, smiling
And those were very significant words
because the blind man had never looked at anybody before
I believe, he said
“I am the light of the world
I will up the darkness,” Jesus said,
“I will bring things to light that need to be out in the open
I will make things clearer for those who want to see
but those who THINK they can see
are fooling themselves,
and I will reveal them as blind…”
Turns out the religious folks hadn’t gotten too faraway…
they whirled around-- “what,” they said,
“are you saying we’re blind?”
Oh, these guys are smart!!
“If you think you can see,” Jesus said,
“then you are accountable for what you see and what you don’t see
And I think Jesus is saying,
that we can’t turn a blind eye to the world
and what’s going on
because we have been given eyes to see
We can’t pretend we are blind,
any more than we can pretend to see
when we don’t see at all…
“all I know,” said the blind man
is that once I was blind, but now I see…”
He knew who gave him life
he knew who it was that opened his eyes
and he would find, just as he did that day
that having your eyes opened is wonderful
but he would also have to see the ugly
that he’d never had to see before
but I bet he saw what the religious people didn’t see
He saw the blind beggars or the crippled beggars
on the side of the road--
and I bet he helped them
He saw all the ones that the religious people didn’t see
because they were blinded by their religion
But he’d had a powerful encounter with Jesus
and he didn’t know much
he didn’t know all the religious language
or where things were in the Scriptures
But he knew who saved his life
and that was enough
and he was committed, I bet, for the rest of his life
to keep his eyes open
and to share the grace and the life that he’d been given
at the hands of Jesus