The Light

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:

1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was.

Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”

But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”

10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.

11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”

12 “Where is this man?” they asked him.

“I don’t know,” he said.

13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”

16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”

But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided.

17 Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”

The man replied, “He is a prophet.”

18 They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. 19 “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”

20 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”

25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

27 He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”

28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”

30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.

35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”

37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”

40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”

41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. (John 9:1-41, NIV)

REFLECTIONS:

This isn’t going to come as a surprise to anyone, but I’m a church girl. I grew up going to church. I was in the preschool, children’s, jr high and high school departments of the same church. When I moved away to college, I found a new church, and I was in the college department, followed by the “young married” department and then when Greg started working at churches I bumped back to jr high and high school again, this time as a teacher. The way I figure it, I’ve spent about 42 years of Sundays in church, allowing for vacations, sick days and stubborn days. But if you add back in Sunday nights, Wednesday nights and ol’ fashioned revival weeks, plus summer camps and retreats, I’ve more than likely been in church over half of my 44 years. I say all that because it still surprises me when simple truth rings true once again. You’d think I’d catch on by now.

If you’re like me you’ve heard some version of this a whole lot. It’s always easier to be the one saying it than the one who needs to hear it, isn’t it? It’s hard when you’re struggling again with the question of “why me?” Why can’t I get past this unbecoming part of myself that keeps me from joining the ranks of “normal”? In John 9, we meet a man who is literally named by his struggle: the man blind from birth; and we read a vivid example of how Jesus’ power was on display BECAUSE of the man’s struggle, and not IN SPITE OF it.

Apparently the question had been asked before, “Why was this man born blind? Was it because of his sin or his parents’?” His parents, when asked were quick to disavow: “He’s a grown up, ask him!” Imagine living in a culture where you were condemned for your weakness and need. Oh yeah, we do. Often you and I put on our Sunday smiles and hide our binge-eating, lonely, angry, insecure, needy, anxious, addicted selves because… well, why do we do it?

When Jesus enters a story, He uses even the worst struggle for good. How fitting that Jesus used a man who had never once seen light to introduce Himself as The Light. When He delivered the man from a lifetime of darkness He symbolically showed that where He is, there is no darkness at all, and that some who think they see clearly are blind.

Let’s take a lesson from “Man Blind from Birth.” His affliction was obvious. What do you hide that you could bring to The Light to use as He will? Jesus attended to a lot of people but it seems like the most desperate of situations were of special note… a woman who bled for years, a beloved child, lepers, a woman caught in adultery… not all were healed physically, some had more pressing spiritual needs, but they were all changed and used to show God’s power.

WHO AM I?

I am Leigh Anne Bland and today I am thinking deeply about the loss of a friend, David Droman. Though David’s body failed, he determined to let his heart become more and more whole throughout his illness. Tomorrow is David’s memorial service, and though certainly I will miss him, my loss is nothing compared to that of his family. Please pray for Steph, John Eliot and Jonah.