| The Rev. Catharine W. Montgomery | Fourth Sunday in Lent |
| Grace Memorial Episcopal Church | Year A |
| March 2, 2008 | RCL |
Rabbi, his disciples asked, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? The blind man was assumed to be a sinner. There was a Hebrew tendency to give God credit for everything good and bad. If an adult suffered, they must have done something to make God angry. If a child was born with an affliction, the sins of the parents must have come upon the child.
Keep in mind, the blind man’s situation would be hopeless. In those days, blindness was common. There were hardly any treatments for eye disease - conditions were unsanitary. There were no Braille books, no seeing-eye dogs, no social services for protection and support. No thoughts of marriage, no social honor. To the very self-righteous authorities the man was blind because he was a sinner.
Listen with your ears, your mind and your heart to what Jesus says, Neither this man nor his parents sinned. Jesus rejects simple connections between sin and physical affliction or sickness. Jesus saw the encounter with the blind man as an opportunity to (1) respond to the man’s need and heal him and (2) to show what it means to be the light of the world and share that light with those who are in spiritual darkness.
Then he went to work on the blind man. Children always ask why Jesus mixed saliva with mud and smeared it on the mans’ eyes (yukky). In those days, saliva and earth were thought to have medicinal power. Dust and ashes and water and yes, even spit had symbolic purposes. The man went and washed in the pool of Siloam as Jesus said …and he could see. End of story? Hardly.
The rest of the story is almost like a comedy as neighbors see the man and can’t believe their eyes. Imagine the man – blinded by light…dazed…seeing faces for the first time. It is almost like the Paparazzi following a movie star. “Who is it ? It is he! No, it is not him, just someone like him.” “How were your eyes opened?” “It was Jesus.” The man replies. The neighbors then take the man to the religious authority - the Pharisees - “How did you regain your sight?” And he has to tell the story all over again. Some Pharisees decide Jesus is a sinner because he heals on the Sabbath. Then they start arguing among themselves - some think Jesus may have come from God. Finally, they question the healed man - “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”…. “He is a prophet,” says the man.
That was not enough…Then they call in the man’s parents. “Is this your son?” How does he now see?” “We don’t know, ask him.” say the parents who were afraid of being thrown out of the synagogue and looking bad to their neighbors. So the healed man was summoned again and ordered to give God the glory for his sight - not that sinner, Jesus. The man looks at them and says, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
The Pharisees keep pushing, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” Suddenly there are no more one-sentence answers. It is as if a floodgate had been opened in the healed man. “I have told you already and you would not listen!” And he goes on and on about what Jesus has done for him. He gets thrown out of the synagogue.
He was healed of his physical problem, but then he was thrown out of the very community which should have been his source of support. Was he thinking… “Maybe blindness is better?” Jesus heard what happened and once again he came to the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” The healed man answered, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshipped Jesus.
There is a progression of faith in this story. The man’s confession - his testimony, his witnessing opens his eyes from, “It was Jesus”…to “He is a prophet.”… to “He must be from God” …to “Lord, I believe.” Each time he told what Jesus had done for him his eyes were opened more and more. The light of Jesus began pushing away his darkness.
“Go wash,” Jesus told the man. “Go wash and be healed.” That healing and washing is like our baptism. Jesus comes to us one by one; he marks us and makes us disciples. Most of us have perfectly good eyes, but we are all blind in one way or another… If we will let him, life in the company of Jesus and each other will heal the things that are killing us and blinding us. As we see more and more of the light of Jesus, we become a light to show the way to others.
Jesus says, “I am the light of the world, I will be with you.” “We have to do the work of him who sent me.” Jesus created the community that would do his work – we call it the church. There are people who long to hear a healing word or feel a healing touch - they may be right here or in your workplace or anywhere you might happen to be. There are people who need to be invited in to hear some good news - you can show them the way.
Not sure how to talk about God’s grace in your life? Let me ask you today…What gives you life? When have you experienced forgiveness? What acts of kindness have healed your hurts? Who are the people who come to you when you need them? The Gospel calls us to follow the lead of the man born blind, and tell what Jesus has done for us. Are we willing to walk as children of the light?