"Now I See" - Sermon for Lent 4 2017

Sermon:

Text: John 9:1-41

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ who gives us Amazing Grace!

            This is a text about problems. It seems to be centered around blindness. The text starts and ends with the problem of blindness, but as we move through the story, the idea of what and whose blindness changes.

            It starts one way, with a discussion of whether sin causes blindness, and whether it would be this man’s or his parents. And ends with a talk about the blindness of the Pharisee’s and religious leaders.

            And we could talk all about whether the blindness is indeed the man’s fault or his parent’s fault, but that overshadows the fact that Jesus healed this man’s blindness!

            It’s astounding! Amazing! It’s a thing that still doesn’t happen to a full and complete extent.

            If you read the news, you’ll see some stories of people regaining sight from blindness. If you go to Wikipedia there are 3-4 cases mentioned, but most involved people who had a disease or illness take their sight, and through a surgery were able to have it restored to some level, but usually their brains were not able to cope with the change and things like perspective and depth field caused problems and they no longer could really figure them out. Other people who have been blind since birth have recently had sight restored in a way as a camera optic system was somehow implanted into their optical system, having to wear a pair of video cameras that sent info displayed on their optic nerves. That experiment was for 3 people. So even today, restoration of sight no matter from birth or later is not a common thing, and so it is a thing that should be celebrated.

            This man seems to understand how awesomely amazing this is, he’s telling everyone he can, Jesus restored my sight! I was blind, but now I see! He doesn’t seem to have any problems, so it’s not just optics restored, his brain understands it, he is fully sighted. 20/20 vision.

            You would then think that everyone else would be just as amazed at what’s going on. That everyone else would be falling over themselves to get to Jesus to have him heal their illnesses or problems. But, they don’t, not a single other person seems to even be remotely excited about what is going on.

            The townspeople are all just wondering, umm… is that the same guy? The guy who sat and begged? It’s me!  I’m the man!  No…. it can’t be. You must just look like him.  NO! It’s ME! I’m healed! Jesus restored my sight! He put mud on my eyes and told me to wash, and I did and my sight was restored!

            So, all the people bring him to the Pharisee’s, this man’s sight was restored. And what do the Pharisee’s do? Do they become amazed at this miracle? Do they praise God that healing had occurred?

            No, They hear that Jesus did the healing on the Sabbath and they begin to argue over the detail. He must be a sinner for doing work on the Sabbath, how can he be a sinner if he’s doing these signs. They even bring in his parents, is this your son, was he blind? How is he now not? Ask him!?   They bring in the man again, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.”  An idiom for, Don’t lie before God, what’s going on?

            And then the man responds with a line that becomes part of the great hymn, Amazing Grace, which we’ll sing today. I don’t know about being a sinner, all I know is that I was blind but now I see.

            And that’s what matters in this text. He was blind, but now he sees.

            Jesus ends the passage by saying, those who were blind now see, but those who could see are now blind.

            Jesus restores our sight. He gives us God’s vision. Where we were blind, now we see.

            But, what does that vision give us? There are some in our congregation who are or were blind, or may be facing the threat of such a future, but the rest of us are not. What does it mean to have Jesus restore our vision? It means that we see things as Christ. Jesus does not just restore this man’s sight, he restores him to society. He no longer has to beg on the side of the road. The people of that town, the Pharisee’s, even his own parents, still only see him as a blind beggar. Even after sight is restored, that’s all he is to them. He’s not a real person, he’s a person to be ignored on the streets. But, Jesus sees him, and knows him, and loves him. Just like Jesus saw and knew the woman at the well from last week, and Nicodemus the week before, Jesus sees this man, doesn’t ignore him, but restores him to fullness, makes him complete and whole again. Not in regards to his blindness, physical issues like that do not impact fullness, completeness or wholeness. To God things like blindness do not make you less, but when people put you down because of it, God says that’s not right, so Jesus restores him to society and worship.

            We started by talking of the sin connected to this passage. There is indeed sin here, but it is not the sin of this man, or his parents. It’s the sin of a society and community that would throw someone like the blind man on the streets as a beggar.

            In our own community, society, and nation, we see this sin all the time. And it’s to that which Jesus restores our sight. To not ignore those in need around us, to not be blind to those to whom God calls us to assist and help, the blind, the deaf, the poor, the ill, the outcast and downtrodden.

            When we as individuals or society throw such as those away, ignore their needs, cut their assistance, cause them to go hungry, require them to beg, we are no different than the Pharisees and townsfolk who despite their sight were blind.

            As Amazing Grace says, while I once was blind, now I see. It’s a twofold sight, we see the glory of God working in and around us, but it also means that we have to see and respond to the needs of the world that Christ now points out to us. Having sight restored, and then turning a blind eye to the needs around us is no sight.

            But, the good news is that Christ also gives us the strength, the courage, the ability, to reach out to all around us. Christ gives us the grace to be God’s people in the world.

Through many dangers, toils, and snares

I have already come;

’tis grace has brought me safe thus far,

and grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me;

his word my hope secures;

he will my shield and portion be

as long as life endures.

Amen.