March 6, 2005

Rev. Myrna Bethke

1. Who sinned?

John 9:1-12

(NIV) As Jesus went 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?"

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

Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent).

So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?" Some claimed that he was. Others said, "No, he only looks like him." But he himself insisted, "I am the man."

"How then were your eyes opened?" they demanded.

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."

"Where is this man?" they asked him.

"I don't know," he said.

Great news!! A man once blind is healed….he can see. Only no one seems very happy about it. I have a friend who is very big into gardening. She was very excited about finally having gotten a plot in the community garden where she had been on a long waiting list. Finally, she thought, she'd get her chance to dig in the dirt. But when she arrived at the garden to find rules, lots of rules. You must plant your rows in this direction, you must do this, you can't do that, and so on. Her lament was, "I only wanted to dig in the dirt." The great anticipation of finally having garden space was dashed by the rules of the community garden. We have all had the experience of having something wonderful happen, or of planning a great event only to have it dashed when in sharing the news it seems that everyone is putting your news down, or picking apart the event.

And so it is with our gospel text today. The religious authorities are angry, the man's parents are upset, the neighbors squabble. And the blind man….when blind he was not allowed to worship because of his blindness; now healed he was still not allowed in the temple. What should have been a great moment is dashed because everyone is more interested in the rules that were broken.

In so many places the church is caught in this trap even still. We have renewed calls to get back to morality, to remember our sins, to list the rules. While there is a place for behavior codes and morality, the danger is that we get so caught up in examining right doctrine and keeping people out who don't measure up that we forget about God's good news for us.

What the people in our gospel story missed….what we miss all too often is that Jesus is redefining sin……

2. Take responsibility

John 9:13-23

(NIV) They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath. 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."

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 do such miraculous signs?" So they were divided. Finally 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."

The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man's parents. "Is this your son?" they asked. "Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?"

"We know he is our son," the parents answered, "and we know he was born blind. 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." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. That was why his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."

How quick we are to run. The man's parents say, "He is of age, ask him." They don't want to risk association and be expelled from their temple. The attempt to disassociate the moment there is risk runs through the gospels. Pilate washes his hands, the disciples fall asleep, Peter stands in the courtyard and publicly denies being a disciple, and Judas turns Jesus in.

It is a dangerous thing to take seriously a relationship with God. When God calls us to new places, new relationships, we want to fall back to what is familiar…even if that wasn't the best place. Think of the Israelites complaining to Moses-they were willing to go back into Egypt because their wilderness journey was too frightening. Think of how many times in church life when something new is tried, and doesn't go all that well-how often have people tried to place blame? I wasn't in charge, if I were in charge it would have gone differently. Or, I knew that wasn't going to work out. Instead of celebrating the risk, the new opportunity, we wash our hands of the whole thing.

In doing so we miss the Good news that God is calling us to participate in. Following in the footsteps of Jesus is risky…in doing so we are asked to see the world with new eyes, to take responsibility in new ways…it is in effect being asked to grow up. In this season of Lent we are called to journey to the cross with all that means. Will we dare?

3. From the heart-a new relationship with God

John 9:24-41

A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God," they said. "We know this man is a sinner."

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!"

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

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?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.

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

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

Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

Back to sin….remember in part this story is about Jesus redefining sin. Elizabeth Kaeton, in The Witness magazine writes: "Sin is no longer as simple as keeping God's rules, one through ten, or a matter of a scrupulous following of the Levitical codes of what to eat or what to wear. Rather it is about the messy and confusing matter of being in relationship with God. It is about discovering what is "pleasing" to God, and seeking that relationship, first and foremost. Good behavior, solid moral conduct, will flow not from rules, but from that relationship. "You were once in darkness, BUT now you are light in the Lord."

The end of our gospel story presents us with a choice. The Pharisees ask Jesus if they are blind, essentially, have they closed themselves off from God. The man born blind has already proclaimed his belief. As we continue our Lenten journey we are called to live in the light of the cross that is less about following the rules and sin, and much more about the love of God. We are called not to set up lists of rules that define who is in and who is out…instead we are called to live in the example of Christ who approached all. God calls us to a life of love and light. Where is your heart found this morning?