Sermonette: March 23, 2020

One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see. — John 9:25

Time after time as I have visited with people, I have been told that sometimes an experience is so powerful that it supersedes all rational thought. I think a major theme in the story of Jesus healing the man born blind recorded in John 9 is the difficulty that everyone had with the experience of this blind man.

It began with the disciples trying to answer the theological question of whether the man’s blindness was the result of his own sinfulness or that of his parents. Since they knew he was born blind, if his blindness was the result of his own sins, that would have raised other questions. Jesus refused to attribute the man’s physical condition to either his sins or those of his parents. All such maladies were opportunities for the compassion of God to be displayed. It seems to me that the challenge for the church is not in providing a rationale for human suffering but to respond to it with a compassion that reveals the love of God.

This powerful experience of the power of God to heal the blind man occurred outside the framework of the traditional religious understanding. The Pharisees were offended and challenged the source of the man’s healing. Because the healing took place on the sabbath, they said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath” (John 9:16). It raises the question of how we react when our experience of God challenges the orthodox standards of our faith.

The Pharisees brought the parents in on the dispute, but his parents refused to be triangled in the argument (something we modern folk haven’t practiced too often). “He is of age; ask him,” they said (John 9:23). The Pharisees returned to dispute with the man who rested his case on his own personal experience. “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25).

Then, as an example of the frequent use of irony by the evangelist we call John, the formerly blind man proceeded to instruct the Pharisees in theology. “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will . . . If the man were not from God, he could do nothing” (John 9:30-31, 33). The Pharisees were as offended as many theologians would be today if a person with fewer letters after their name tried to instruct them in their discipline. “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” the Pharisees questioned (John 9:34).

It seems to me that at the very least this is a story that is intended to encourage us to “see” the power of God in our world. And as we experience those things that go beyond our rational thought, we are counseled by this story to trust that God often reaches beyond our traditional framework and challenges our assumptions. I pray that, indeed, we will see God’s gracious and amazing power in our world. Glory be to God!