“Blindness Takes Many Forms”  (Return to Sermon Page)

March 2, 2008

John 9: 1-41                                   

In John’s gospel, Jesus is in control; he has no doubts; he has “known it all from the beginning”.  He is very nearly divine, hardly human at all. 

Throughout the whole book is an underlying question: Who is Jesus?

The gospel is John’s answer to that question:  Jesus is the Messiah .

The Samaritan woman asks:  are you greater than our ancestor Jacob?

Are you a prophet?  Are you the Messiah? Jesus answers:  “I am he!”

In many of John’s stories are these cascading titles voiced by various characters

that give us a window into the complexity of understanding at the time.

You can almost hear the debate in the Christian community.  Who is this man?!

The story of the blind man begins with the declaration:  “I am the light of the world.”  Others struggle: he is a prophet, a sinner, sent from God, the son of Man.

All John’s stories are to teach us something about Jesus so we will know him, see him and believe.  In John, seeing is believing.  Although those who believe without seeing are especially faithful, meaning John’s community who were born after Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Here’s a True or false test about the story of the blind man: 

Jesus wanted people to know that:

Physical problems are not necessarily a sign of sin                 T        F

His powers are from God, very nearly the powers of the Creator      T        F

He can even bring sight to one born blind, not just healing, but changing creation

The Pharisees are wrong                                                                   T        F

Spiritual blindness is worse than physical blindness             T        F

What makes for blindness?  The list is endless isn’t it?

Life goes by too fast, everything is a blur. 

We really don’t see what’s right in front of us.

We know how something gets done and we don’t think about it anymore.

          We’re closed minded and don’t even realize it.

We’re blocked by old tapes, previous experiences, unwritten expectations;

We see what we expect to see.

We are wounded and pain, disappointment or anger cloud everything we see.

I realized the other day that where we are most blind is to ourselves. 

We can’t even see our own bodies without a mirror and even with 3 mirrors we can’t see all of ourselves at once.  This is also true relationally. 

We don’t see directly how we come across to other people, unless they tell us.

And some of them are looking through distorted glasses.

We all of us have our different lenses.  What can you trust what they tell you?

          When I was growing up there was a proverb:  there are none so blind as those who will not see.  They have decided on the answer before they look. 

They are so sure that they are right that new information cannot come in.

They are the Pharisees in this story, but we know when we’ve hit that brick wall.

How do we gain our sight, increase our spiritual awareness?

I think the first step to ‘sight’ is owning our own blindness. 

Spiritual insight comes as a gift, but it comes when our trust is grounded in Christ

When our security is in the Lord, then we can cease to cling to the things the world tells us make for security: money, institutions, law, convention, tradition.

The process of learning to lean wholly on Christ takes practice, patience and time.  It isn’t fast--unless perhaps you have been in a crisis.  Sometimes then you can see clearly for awhile; but just as often a crisis confuses everything.

So I suggest the following—practice………

1)     open your eyes.  Stop thinking about what you think you see and look

2)     develop what eastern religions call the 3rd eye, the inner eye

a.     God is all around in all things, settings and people

b.     Start with nature—that’s easy

c.      Remind yourself that Christ is in every person--that’s hard

d.     Believe that God is speaking to you in every moment            

e.     John says: believe in Jesus.

3)     listen.  Listen with your heart. 

a.     Listen to what isn’t said as well as what is.

b.     Listen for the voice of God whispering through nudge or intuition

c.      Listen for the pain, for where the pain is, the love is also

And beware--when you start to see, other people may be threatened, disbelieving.  As it was for the man born blind,

when you start to see, the world changes—at least for you. 

But the world has not changed for others and they can’t always adjust.

There are times when strain to see as we might, we cannot see the way forward.

          When that happens, hold on to Christ.

Trust that God in Christ is acting; that help and hope and light are on the way.

Christ is the world’s light.  Christ will light the way. 

In those times, by faith we sing:

Open my eyes that I may see,

Glimpses of truth thou hast for me

Open my eyes illumine me, Spirit Divine.