John 9:1-41   NT p. 97 or 1315

[1] As he walked 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] Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him.

[4] We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.

[5] As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

[6] When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes,

[7] saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.

[8] The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?"

[9] Some were saying, "It is he." Others were saying, "No, but it is someone like him." He kept saying, "I am the man."

[10] But they kept asking him, "Then how were your eyes opened?"

[11] He answered, "The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' Then I went and washed and received my sight."

[12] They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know."

[13] They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.

[14] Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.

[15] Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see."

[16] Some of the Pharisees said, "This man 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 they were divided.

[17] So they said again to the blind man, "What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened." He said, "He is a prophet."

[18] The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight

[19] and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?"

[20] His parents answered, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;

[21] but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself."

[22] 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.

[23] Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."

[24] So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, "Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner."

[25] He answered, "I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."

[26] They said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"

[27] 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?"

[28] Then they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.

[29] We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from."

[30] The man answered, "Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.

[31] We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will.

[32] Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.

[33] If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."

[34] They answered him, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?" And they drove him out.

[35] Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"

[36] He answered, "And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him."

[37] Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he."

[38] He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshipped him.

[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."

[40] Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not blind, are we?"

[41] Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.

[NRSV]

INTRODUCTION:

There's an old story about Arnold Palmer. It seems he was invited to come to a convention of blind golfers. He was curious and asked the golfers how they knew what direction to hit the ball. One blind golfer explained that a caddie went out into the fairway or onto the green, depending on the hole, and rang a little bell. Then the blind golfer would then hit the ball toward the sound of the bell.

Palmer was pretty impressed and asked how well it worked. This blind golfer said that it worked so well he was willing to play Arnold Palmer in a round of golf. And just to make it interesting, he was even willing to bet $10,000 he could beat Palmer.

Well, this just blew Arnold Palmer's mind. $10,000 is a lot of money? Palmer tried to talk him out of it but the man insisted so they made the bet. Then Palmer said, "O.K. What time do we tee off?"

And the blind man said, "10:30 . . . tonight!" (1)

I guess you could say Arnold Palmer got blind sided. Blindness is really nothing to joke about. I would hate to lose my sight. I like to read too much. I couldn't see the computer monitor or Mary's beautiful face or look at pictures of my grandson. Physical blindness would be horrible.

But there are other kinds of blindness. And that's what this passage today is all about. This passage isn't just about the man born blind. It's about the moral and spiritual and social blindness that surrounded Jesus. As we read this story we find out that the only one who could really see, besides Jesus, was the man born blind. Everyone else, every other character in this story is blind in some way. Let's look at those characters.

I. THE DISCIPLES:

A. Let's look at the Disciples first. Here they were, walking with Jesus when they all saw a man who had been born blind. Obviously, he was a regular fixture. No one was surprised to see him there. This must have been his spot. He had the ancient equivalent of the "will work for food" sign, a begging bowl, in hand.

The Disciples stop right in front of him and begin a theological discussion about his condition without even acknowledging his presence or who he was. They didn't see All the saw was the blindness. But only seeing his blindness lead to their own blindness.

We might be able to excuse the Disciples a little because the question they asked Jesus was a very important question. They asked: "Who sinned? This man or his parents?" That's sort of a weird question from today's point of view. But through their world view, through their theological perspective and from what was being taught this was a very pertinent question.

You see the prevailing point of view of the day was that disease was caused by your sinfulness. Or the sinfulness of your parents. The prevailing philosophy of religion at the time was simply: God blesses the faithful and punishes the sinful. If you were wealthy, it was because you were faithful and God favored you. And the flip side of that was "God's going to get you for that."

So, it was a pertinent question. But because of the prevailing thought, the Disciples didn't see the man. They had no compassion for him because they immediately labeled him as a sinner.

B. But Jesus turned it all upside down. He sees the man born blind and see the man. Jesus saw the person inside. Jesus saw the man cut off from society and meaningful relationships by his affliction. Jesus had compassion for the man. And then he says something astonishing he says: "This man was born blind so that God could be glorified and revealed through him."

And then Jesus spits in his hand, grabs a little dirt from the road, mixes it all together, smears the mud on the man's eyes and tells him to go wash it off in the Pool of Siloam. And when this man born blind does, he can see. He has been healed.

The healing wasn't the important event. It was simply a teaching tool. The important part was what Jesus taught. And that's very simple. Are you listening. I don't want anyone to miss it.

God does not cause tragedy. Let me repeat it. GOD DOES NOT CAUSE TRAGEDY.

God doesn't punish us for inconsequential infractions. God doesn't give us cancer because we speed. God doesn't deliver heart attacks because we failed to be consistent in our morning devotions. God does not cause tragedy.

Life causes tragedy. Life itself is an uncertain and fragile thing. It is a precious gift that gets abused. And sometimes my life or your life intersects another life in a tragic way. Sometimes someone else's freewill choices conflict and crash into mine or yours. Like September 11th.

Who sinned there? Was God punishing the guy on the 45th floor because he cheated on his taxes? Was God punishing the secretary on the 60th floor because she had an affair? Was God punishing the man on the 100th floor because he was gay? God didn't cause that tragedy. Sinful, misguided men caused that tragedy.

And yet in the midst of that tragedy we have seen and heard so many testimonies of how God was there. From the people who escaped. There countless untold stories of the heroes of that day. There are the letters and prayers and outpouring of love and compassion. God was there. Crying with the fallen. Mourning the loss of the innocent. Reaching out to the dying. Holding up the workers. Holding up a nation. God didn't cause the tragedy but God sure caused an awful lot of good to come of it.

That's what the Disciples didn't see.

II. THE PHARISEES:

A. And the Pharisees. They suffered from the worst case of what the comedienne Rita Rudner calls refrigerator blindness. She says that's when guys open the refrigerator and can't find something that is sitting right in front of them.

Here was Jesus, the Messiah, standing right in front of them; teaching, healing, performing signs fulfilling every aspect of the Messiah which the prophets had foretold and they still couldn't see Him.

Even after the witness of this man born blind who could now see. Not once but twice they interviewed him. And twice they came to the same conclusion. This man born blind who could now see, had to be a sinner. And this healing had to be a sin caused by the chief sinner, Jesus. Why? Because the healing had taken place on the Sabbath. God forbid that God's work should be done on God's day.

You've heard the phrase "Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind"? Well it has a different connotation here. The Pharisees were out of sight (insight that is) and they were out of their minds with rage because they'd been shown up by a blind man. They truly were the Blind Leading The Blind

B. A quarter of a century ago, we saw a good example of blindness at PARC, P-A-R-C, the Palo Alto Research Center, owned by Xerox. It was established by Xerox to do cutting edge research, to lead Xerox into the future. The corporate executives in Stamford, Connecticut did a good thing. They located PARC in California, as far away from corporate headquarters as possible. They wanted the people at PARC to feel free to innovate. They didn't want PARC to end up under the corporate thumb, which was very good thinking!

And it worked! The people at PARC invented some wonderful things. In 1977, four years before IBM came out with the PC, PARC conducted a "Futures Day" where they showed off their inventions to the Stamford execs. Guess what they had invented:

They invented the personal computer. They called it the Alto.

They invented the mouse. You could use their mouse to draw pictures on their computer.

They had come up with other ideas for the corporate office, too. Networked printers, electronic file servers, the ability to send files around the world electronically.

But the Stamford execs didn't care much for what they saw. They were copier people. They had a great business going. What did they know about computers? Who would buy one of those things anyway? Why would anyone make it possible for employees to doodle on a computer screen with something called a mouse? And why would you call it a mouse? Mice are pests! If you have mice, you call an exterminator!

Some of the Stamford men had brought their wives to "Futures Day" and their wives loved the computer and the mouse. Many of them had been secretaries, and they could see how the computer and mouse would transform a secretary's life. It would transform the whole office environment. But the execs, who wouldn't listen to the PARC people, wouldn't listen to their wives either. And so they left the computer, and the mouse, and all the other ideas on the table.

A year or two later, a couple of kids working out of a garage in San Jose and another kid by the name of Gates, picked up those ideas put them to work. Neither of them had much money, but they had their eyes open. They had a vision. And the personal computer industry was born! And Xerox? They kept on making copiers and pretty soon they were struggling.

They had seen the future but and left it on the table. They had owned the future, and let it slip through their fingers. Sometimes the really smart people are the last to see. That is how it was with those Xerox executives. That is also how it was with the Pharisees.

III. THE TOWNSFOLK:

Even the Townsfolk were blind. They couldn't explain his healing without accepting who Jesus was which would have gotten them in trouble with the religious authorities. They couldn't explain it. So instead of trying to understand and accept what had happened and who Jesus was, they kicked out the man born blind, the man now healed. They kicked him out. He was an embarrassment because he had been healed. They kicked him out of the synagogue.

Those townsfolk remind me of a story that took place almost a century ago. An old man was traveling on a train in France. A much younger man, sitting across from him in the same compartment, watched as the old man reached into his traveling case, took out a Bible, and began to read. After a while, the younger man decided to strike up a conversation.

The young man asked, "What are you reading?"

The old man replied, "I am reading the sixth chapter of Mark in the New Testament."

The younger man asked, "What does it say?"

"It is the story of the miracle of the loaves and fishes. The Gospel writer is telling about a vast crowd that had followed Jesus because of the signs he was performing for the sick. Jesus then preached to the crowd until it was dark, and they were hungry. With only five barley loaves and a couple of fish, Jesus fed the entire crowd of five thousand people. When the people had finished eating, the leftovers filled twelve baskets."

The younger man asked, a bit scornfully, "Do you really believe that?"

The reply came back, "Yes, I do."

The younger man answered, "Well, I can see that you have been brainwashed by ancient superstitions. That could never happen to me. You see, I am a scientist. Everything that happens in this world can ultimately be accounted for. What you are saying is sheer fantasy, give me facts, provable facts. As a man of science, I have no faith in miracles, but I cannot expect you to understand that."

At that point, the train began to slow down. The young man said, "Here is where I get off, Mister, I'm sorry, I did not get your name." The old man handed him his calling card bearing the name of Louis Pasteur, one of the greatest scientists our world has ever known. (2)

The townsfolk's preconceived notions, their inability to explain the seemingly unbelievable miracle and their unwillingness to accept the truth that was staring them in the face caused their blindness.

IV. US:

The passage talks about the blindness of the Disciples, the Pharisees and the Townsfolk. The only one who really saw was the one who couldn't see. The only one with any insight was the one who started without sight. And yet the whole purpose of Jesus coming was to open the eyes of us all.

For us, this passage is a challenge to look at the world and each other with different eyes. You see, sometimes we're just as blind as the Disciples, the Pharisees and the Townsfolk. Sometimes we're blind as bats and can't see the truth.

Sometimes we look at others and see only the color of their skin. Or the odd way they dress. Sometimes all we see is that they aren't from the same social strata. We look at a person with a handicapping condition and only see their problem not their person.

We see the poor and they become like this nameless blind man given sight. We talk about them, not to them or for them.

We can be just as blind as the Disciples, the Pharisees and the Townsfolk. Jesus wants to use us to reveal God's work in the world. Jesus came to bring sight to the blind. But in order to be given sight, in order to be of any use, we have to step of our preconceived notions and look at the world through the eyes of grace, the eyes of Christ. And that sight comes not from the eyes but the heart. A heart changed through salvation by the grace of God in Christ.

CONCLUSION:

When William Montague Dyke was ten years old, he was blinded in an accident. Despite his disability, William graduated from a university in England with high honors. While he was in school, he fell in love with the daughter of a high-ranking British naval officer, and they became engaged.

Not long before the wedding, William had eye surgery in the hope that the operation would restore his sight. If it failed, he would remain blind for the rest of his life. William insisted on keeping the bandages on his face until his wedding day. If the surgery was successful, he wanted the first person he saw to be his new bride.

The wedding day arrived. The many guests, including royalty, cabinet members, and distinguished men and women of society, assembled together to witness the exchange of vows. William's father, Sir William Hart Dyke, and the doctor who performed the surgery stood next to the groom, whose eyes were still covered with bandages. The organ trumpeted the wedding march, and the bride slowly walked down the aisle to the front of the church.

As soon as she arrived at the altar, the surgeon took a pair of scissors out of his pocket and cut the bandages from William's eyes.

Tension filled the room. The congregation of witnesses held their breath as they waited to find out if William could see the woman standing before him. As he stood face-to-face with his bride-to-be, William's words echoed throughout the cathedral, "You are more beautiful than I ever imagined!" (3)

When we put our lives in the hand of our Savior; when we give all that we are to His service our blindness is healed. We are given sight and we are allowed to see through His eyes. eyes of grace and eyes of love. We no longer see as the world sees. We see as Christ sees.

But the only way to have that sight is to give Him your heart. And that's the challenge.

Have you given your heart to Christ? Can you look at the world through His eyes? Jesus wants to use you to Glorify God. He wants to empower you to do the work of God in the world. But first, you have to give Him your heart.

As they used to say, "Here's Mud In Your Eye." Like the man born blind, may that mud heal whatever blindness there is in your life that keeps you separated from the grace and forgiveness of God bought for you on the cross of Christ.

Have you given your heart to Christ? If not, then now is the time to do it. If you have, then now's the time to renew it.

1. Parables, Etc. (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651; 970-785-2990), December 1981

2. The Pastor's Story File (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651; 970-785-2990), April 1988

3. Kent Crockett, MAKING TODAY COUNT FOR ETERNITY Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2001, pp. 101-102.

4.

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