What did we see?

Today’s story relates to a blind beggar, or does it? Yes, they are a principal character but possibly we are drawn to them for another reason, a deeper reasoning. What happens to them? No, not just their sight restored [late spoiler alert] but something else. What did we see in this story as it unfolds?

John 9: 1-5

What sort of response is that from the disciples that they ask Jesus “Why was this man born blind?” : was the blind man in earshot? The response confirms that what they have done in their life wasn’t the cause of his blindness. Have we ever associated the life that’s been, with what we see in front of us? Were those poor folk always going to be poor because of where they live, or can we see that there’s potential for them to flourish if we, as society, just permitted that potential to grow? Do we make judgemental statements when we see someone, something? The person coming towards us, what they are wearing, how they appear to be acting? Surely, we can tell everything we need to know about them from this…even refugees as they get off a boat, sodden and cold.  What did we see?

John 9: 6-11

There is another healing in John 5 which closely resembles this healing story – worth a read if you have time. There the lame man is healed by what Jesus said, here, it is materia medica. In John 5, the lameness was due to what the man had done, not so here. 

Perhaps we might get drawn to the scientific response, focussing upon the healing salve, when the metaphor is staring right at us. The man goes off to the Pool of Siloam and the man is healed and can see. He is so different that passers-by seem not to even recognise him. Have they had their blinkers also removed? Where once they saw the blind man, a beggar, but now can see an ordinary human being? The man, once blind, knows it was a man called Jesus, having not seen him before.

And those watching the scene – that would be us – we may still be questioning things. Now that sort of blindness isn’t physical or mental but a form of spiritual blindness. The man is now wondering around, amazed at what he can see, trying to put together all the mental images he has had since birth and equate them with what he can see today. Those around him are trying to equate what they have grown accustomed to seeing, with the amazing change in this man. 

John 9: 12-16a

The Pharisees enter stage right…or are we know in the Court Room. Many believe that this is a text which describes the extended trial of Jesus. The Pharisees probably always have been there, watching Jesus, we just never saw them. They blended in. They demand an explanation but instantly decry any response because the law they truly hold onto so tightly has been broken – healing on the sabbath is wrong. 

The Pharisees were only focussed upon the boundaries they perceived were set for everyone. Jesus, constantly, seeks to push those boundaries.

As a teacher once said, “the walls are made out of rubber – keep pushing”.

Kerry

But why?

Because Jesus is speaking of allowing the life of this man to flourish. His boundaries are now removed, his life has dramatically been changed. Ok, he won’t beg for money from now on, he will have to work for it; but he is part of society now, not isolated and marginalised.

Which one brings life?

The man, and his parents, are brought in front of the Pharisees who repeatedly challenge his account of the healing – because obviously the man couldn’t see what had happened… What do we see?

Might we think of situations in our life where we couldn’t see what was right in front of us. We have already spoken about seeing God where we are, in the people, in the situations which we ‘see’ each and every day. Perhaps we may too be bound by laws, rules, some devised by ourselves, and so this keeps our understanding hidden, in the dark perhaps. Maybe we don’t overthink situations, or fear the future, or compare ourselves with others, or worry about what we can’t control – just follow Jesus? May be if we could be more like the blind man: hopeful, trusting, amazed, and willing to see God in our lives, our own life might also be transformed. What do you think?