This sermon was delivered to the congregation in St Oswald’s in Maybole, Ayrshire, Scotland on the 3rd April 2011: by Gordon McCulloch (A Scottish Episcopal Church in the Dioceses of Glasgow and Dumfries).
Summary: A man who was once blind can now see and this is only a small part of a horrible story where the man lost all the people he knew because his sight was restored. This is a lesson on social skills and people that is a must read.
1 Samuel 16:1-13 Ephesians 5:8-14 John 9:1-41 Psalm 23
Prayer: "Gracious God - bless now the words of my lips and the meditations of our hearts. Breathe your Spirit into us, and grant that we may hear; and in hearing be led in the way you want us to go. Amen.
Gospel reading
Our reading this morning is taken from John Gospel chapter 9, verses 1 to 41. Please be seated as I read. …
Introduction:
That was a long gospel reading; in fact Gospel readings in Lent tend to be longer. I think it is to test our endurance and patience, and give us the feeling we are closer to God.
Anyway, that was a wonderful narrative story, the story of Jesus healing a blind man. I have heard this story many times and the first time I heard it, I was young and probably in the form of the children’s address, where it came across in a pleasant manner: the story about a blind man who was suddenly cured by Jesus and was able to see.
It was such a miracle that his parents, his friends and his neighbours could hardly believe his good fortune; that they had to take this man to the Pharisees’, (the ministers of the day), to see what they had to say about God’s glory being revealed in Jesus through this poor man.
Well let me warn you here and now, this is could not be further from the truth, and this sermon is not going any where you may think it is going; so hold on to your seats
Yes it is indeed a story about healing; but it is also a story about wrong theology; a story of blame, a story of fear and manipulation, and worse, a story of jealousy, shame and rejection.
Yet it is truly one of the great point by point stories told in the New Testament, and the writer of John’s gospel wants us to be sure we understand the horrible side of human nature, or the human spirit as I have called it previously, with a small “s”.
So let us look systematically at this story and you will see why I have used the word horrible.
The story starts with Jesus out walking with his disciples when they come across this man who has been blind from birth.
The disciples:
Now I belief the disciples did feel sorry for this man and as they were learning from Jesus they suggest a possible cause of this man’s condition. They say, verse 2 "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?"
This was the normal thinking in their day, typical Old Testament teaching that if someone is suffering, then they are being punished for something; and I must say at this stage that if that is what you are thinking also, then you do not understand Jesus nor the New Testament.
Anyway, verse 3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him”.
There is a whole chorus of characters in this story asking the blame question. First the disciples: to them, bad things like blindness and aids and cancer and things like that, do not happen to good people. Somebody did something to deserve this man’s blindness. Is this man himself to blame for his blindness, or are his parents to blame?
Jesus says “neither are to blame”. This man was born blind. It happens, so get over it. I have tried the blame strategy myself, much to my shame and it does not work.
However you may address this; if you are still talking blame, and if somebody must be blamed, then somebody must be punished; that is to make things better.
Question; if this man’s parents were to blame, and they were punished as the disciples wanted; would this mans sight have been restored. I think not! It needed God working through Jesus to do that.
To move on, Jesus heals the man. No big deal, Jesus takes a little mud, a little spit, and rubs it on the man’s eyes. He sends the man to wash and now the man can see. Amen, but that is not the end of the story, more the beginning and where things start to get interesting.
The man’s neighbours
The blind man’s neighbours and friends are confused, verse 8 “The neighbours and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?"
They obviously had the same theology as the disciples in that how can something good happen to someone who sits about all days and beg? Not like us by the way, who are out working and trying their best to get on.
Clearly the neighbours did not like to see this man healed. They went on to say: verse 9 "Is it is he." Others were saying, "No, but it is someone like him." He kept saying, "I am the man."
Something serious is wrong here, and I mean serious. The neighbours have been blaming the man or his parents, saying that he deserved to be blind for some reason, and he certainly does not deserve to have his sight restored.
This is an appalling dose of jealousy; the neighbours are not happy with this healing, this miracle just does not fit with their view of the world.
The once blind man tries to tell them about this wonderful thing that has happened to him; about Jesus; but the neighbours do not want to hear.
They have been blinded by denial, which is a form of blindness when we are not willing to see what is real. Denial is essentially disbelief. In Psychology, denial is a defence mechanism as it enables people to resist change. It is a coping tool that people use to reject the truth, either about themselves or someone else.
There is also another process going on here, the process of the pecking order. This poor man was clearly at the bottom, and the people all accepted this, now that he can see, and now that he has been blessed by God, this put him above the neighbours.
This they did not like; and so they huckled him off to the Pharisees hoping they could nullify this promotion.
The Phasisees
Well there is no way the Pharisees could bless this man, because to do so they would have to bless Jesus; and they did not like Jesus.
Some of the Pharisees said, verse 16 "This man (Jesus) is not from God, for he does not observe the Sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And so they were divided, either way they did not appreciate the fact that Jesus violated their Jewish laws.
His Parents.
This man was again huckled off, this time to his parents. Now there must have been quite a crowd by now, with the Pharisees leading the way; and I am sure more joined in to see what all the commotion was all about.
Could the parents, the very people so many were wanting to blame for his blindness help? I quote their answer: verse 20 "We know that this is our son and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes.”
All their lives, they have been hiding from the blame of his blindness, now they are getting blamed for his healing as well.
So they think quickly, let us disown him.
And the bible says in verse 23 and I quote his parents reply, “Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."
Unfortunately, this happens to us also, as there are times when rules prevent us from reaching out to others or denying us the opportunity of being agents of God’s grace.
Anyway, to continue, confusion is everywhere now, the crowd do not accept this healing, the Pharisees do not accept Jesus and now the parents distance themselves from there own son.
It cannot get much worse for this poor man, yet it does; and this now is where the real venom is dished out.
They now try to get the man to witness against Jesus. They try to link Jesus with God in a blasphemous way, saying that Jesus is a sinner just like them, and therefore cannot approach God, but the man simply says in verse 25, "I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."
A fair enough answer, but that answer is enough for the Pharisees to recognise that he supports Jesus, and so they try to trick him further. Verse 26, they said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" He answered them, "I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?"
“Do you also want to become his disciples?
The man is now totally lost and demoralised. He now knows these Pharisees are out to get him, and Jesus also. The man said Jesus was good in restoring his sight, but now he sees the fear, the hatred and the jealousy of his fellow man. He sees that this crowd are totally against Jesus and they do not for one second, see the good in his man’s sight being restored.
The bible goes on in verse 28, “Then they reviled (hate and criticised) him, saying, You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man Jesus we do not know where he comes from. The man answered, Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes”.
The man picks up courage and says: “Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."
This was a step to far for the Pharisees. The man has crossed their line; I mean you can almost feel their rage in the next verse, when they go in for the kill, verse 34, “They answered him, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?" And they drove him out”.
What a horrible story, and a horrible ending to this poor man. Blind all his life, he is made ecstatic because he suddenly receives the gift of sight from someone he does not know; but then this ecstasy is short lived as he is ostracised by his neighbours and friends; then rejected by his parents, and excommunicated by his church; (or what ever the term is in Jewish law for being thrown out of the Jewish community, whatever it is it is severe and brutal). What a horrible thing to experience; but can you relate to this story, even in a minor way?
Imagine how this man now felt. Where was he to go? To whom was he going to mix with, and to whom was he to worship? Just how was this man going to recover, because all he knew was how to beg, and now his affliction, his blindness, his livelihood was taken away from him when he gained his sight. He was truly on his own, and that is the best place to be when you meet Jesus.
Well the man did meet with Jesus again, and I will try and put a picture in your mind of the conversation that took place.
The man must have said to Jesus, everything was fine this morning, and then I received this great blessing of sight. I thought it was great at first but now I have been thrown out of my community and my church. I have even been disowned by my family. Could you not make me blind again? Could you not put things back the way they were.
Could you not put things back the way they were. How often have we heard that expression?
Jesus must have replied, (in Scottish of course), see when God opens a door, go through it. Don’t look back at the door which has just been closed. Go forward, and go through that new door that I have opened for you.
See your so called friends and neighbours over there, the ones who worship at the synagogue, well they are not really your friends. They didn’t have your best interests at heart; look how quick they were to put you down and reject you when good fortune came your way.
They could have shared in your joy. Some friends eh! Look at your parents; they too sided with them in fear of being rejected also. And look at the so called leaders of the church, they threw you out and encouraged the others to have nothing to do with you.
Jesus went on, and I quote from the bible this time verse 35: "Do you believe in the Son of God?" He answered, "And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him." Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he." He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped him.
Back in Scottish terms, Jesus would have said, “see the messiah that all those people are praying for. That’s me. I am the one that they all want, but their blindness refuses to let them believe it is me. Verse 39, “Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind."
Jesus must have gone on to comfort the man, and we can have a good idea how he did this according to his further teachings. Jesus would have told this man that he was truly free. He was free from his blindness. He was free from his so called friends and family.
He was free from the strict religious leaders who condemned his every action. He was free from law of sin and death, and finally he was free to worship the one true God through Jesus Christ himself.
And I finish with three very quick verses from scripture.
The first is in John 8:32 which tells us that “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free”
You may then ask two questions.
1. What is the truth?
John 14:6 tells us that Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life:” and that “no man will come unto the Father, except by me”.
2. and the second question is how free are we?
And John 8:36 tells us “If the Son set you free, you are free indeed.” What more do you want/
Amen.
Let us pray.
Father,
I thank you for Jesus.
I thank you for his death on the cross that we may live.
I thank you for the freedom that his death gives us, even though we do not always understand.
Father the human spirit without you can be horrible, and I thank you for the man who was set free from his captors, which in effect they were.
We too are under such domination though we may not know it, and I ask you this morning that our eyes too may be open to the source of such fear and intimidation.
Father I ask further that you give us the strength to break free from these bonds, and live a life worthy to bring honour and glory to you.
We ask in Jesus name,
Amen.
