Today's Gospel
What is the Worst Kind of Blindness
6 min
God hasn’t stopped speaking. We’ve Stopped Listening.
Bring The Three Ordinary Voices of God to your parish this Easter for as low as $2 a copy (plus FREE shipping!). Are you ready to hear God speak like never before?
Gospel
Jn 9:1-41
As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 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, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. 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?” Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 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.” They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 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.” 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. 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.” 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 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “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. 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.”
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.” He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 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?” Then they reviled 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, 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. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. 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.” They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out.
Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 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. 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.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.
Readings are from Dynamic Catholic’s New Testament Bible: RSV Catholic Edition
It’s time to take back your life.
It’s time to slow down to the speed of joy.
All revolutions have a moment when they begin. This is your moment.
Transcript
What Is the Worst Kind of Blindness
This is a stunning passage. It might even be the most fascinating one in the whole New Testament. It's certainly the longest. 41 verses in one story. And Jesus is missing in 27 of the 41 verses. This is a story about many things. First of all, this is a story about grace. This man, born blind, shows no faith at all. He didn't ask for any of this. At first glance, it looks like a story about healing. And there's a lot of those in scripture where somebody comes to Jesus in faith and asks to be healed, and voila, a miracle. But this man born blind, he's just minding his own business. Jesus just walks up and heals him. Boom. He didn't do anything. He didn't ask for anything. Jesus just does it. Pure grace. This is a marvelous message about the grace of God. Jesus can do whatever he wants. But this is also not just about grace. It's about pushback, about resistance, about hostility because this man is healed on the Sabbath. Jesus breaks the Sabbath rules to do what was classified as work. He uses spittle. He kneads it into clay, and he heals the man. So, this story really gets going there in verse 8. It gets going when the man returns home. Action. The man has been miraculously healed. His friends and neighbors, they want to put him on trial. There's no joy. There's no celebration. There's no, "Hallelujah. You've been healed after being born blind." There's no encouragement. There's just envy and pettiness.
This isn't a story about how to win friends and influence people. Then he goes from the frying pan into the fire when the Pharisees arrive. They come, and they say, "So you're the man born blind, huh? You want to tell us how this miracle happened? You know what happened on the Sabbath, don't you? Healing on the Sabbath, that's illegal. You know that too, right? This is all against law. Can't have that going on." This isn't a story about unity. This is a story about division. This is about how not to bring people together. Some of the people figured this was all a big hoax. They didn't actually believe he'd been born blind. We're going to go ask his parents. His parents say, "Yeah, it's our son, but this is his business. He was born blind. We know, but leave us out. We'd rather not get involved. He's a big boy. He'll speak for himself. Son, you got into this fix. You're on your own." When the going gets tough, this man is finding out who his friends and his family are. This is not a story about loving, supportive parents either. The man's parents betray him to save themselves from the Pharisees. So, the Pharisees scramble back to the man, and they go through the whole rigmarole again. Give God the praise, not this man, Jesus. "I don't know," he says. "All I know is I was blind, and now I see." And they say, "Well, what did you do? How did it happen?" And he says, "Well, I told you already. What's with you people anyway? Do you want to become disciples?" And that's when the wood blew off. They said, "We are disciples of Moses." What a story. The light of the world comes, and the next thing you know, this man can see. He doesn't boast. Then his neighbors are fighting. He's dragged before the Pharisees. His family deserts him.
I mean, who asked for all this? It's amazing. He says, "I don't know where it comes from. He just opened my eyes." And they said, "God doesn't listen to sinners." I don't know. God listened to him. It's never happened before. That's what's up. You were born in sin, and you're going to teach us. Cast this man out, pushback, hostility, even persecution. I mean, it's like winning the lottery, and suddenly everybody is your friend. You've become a famous singer. Everybody's always known you. But this man gets healed, and suddenly the whole world is against him. You mean to tell me the good news has enemies? You mean, some people not only don't believe the gospel, but they're going to go out of their way to deny it and crush it? Sadly, that happens often, doesn't it? When your faith deepens, sometimes the price is high. Sometimes your own family and friends aren't happy about it. And sometimes even the religious authorities, the religious leaders can be an obstacle to your faith. This is a story about grace. This is a story about pushback. And it's a story about a man given a great gift. Before he was blind, he had neighbors who barely knew him. He was ignored by the religious authorities, and he had only his family. But notice the spiritual progress that happens in this story in the Gospel of John. Step one, the man only knows this was a man called Jesus. Step two, he says that Jesus is a Prophet. Step three says, “Jesus must come from God.” And then finally, this man says, "Lord, I believe." This man meets Jesus, and he loses what little he had.
In verse 35, when Jesus comes back in the story, he says, "Do you believe in the Son of man?" The man born blind says, "Who is he?" Jesus says, "It is I." The man born blind says, "Lord, I believe." There's no questioning, no wondering, no whining. Just Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him. After all this, the man has more faith than when he began. When the day began, he had never even heard of Jesus. By the end of the day, he had lost what little he had in this world. He stood alone. He had lost it all, but he had gained eternity. Do you ever feel like the blind man? You've been healed, and you're making some progress even in the face of pushback from the people around you. Stay the course. Trust Jesus that what he is giving you is far greater than whatever you may lose. You ever feel like the skeptical neighbors? You just have a lot of questions. You want some questions, and you just can't quite get out of those questions. You can't move forward. Please understand that God is mysterious, and he is wonderful. Can you identify with the judgmental religious experts? You know the religious rules. You know what's supposed to be done, how it's supposed to be done, where it's supposed to be done, and when. And you want everything to conform to those rules. Maybe the time has come to entrust the Lord with your heart every bit as much as you do with your head. Let go, and let God. Or do you see yourself in the fearful family? You're afraid of what might happen if you're open to the work of God in your life. Know this, faith overcomes all fear. Great things lie ahead. Something wonderful is about to happen. Hear the words of Jesus when he says, "For judgment, I came into this world that those who do not see may see and that those who see may become blind."
