12^th April 2011

Rev Dr Max Champion at St John's UCA Mt Waverley Sunday 3 April 2011

Lessons -- Isaiah 42:1-9; John 9:1-41

Jesus said, 'For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not
see may see, and that those who see may become blind.' (John 9:39 NRSV)

Wherever Jesus went he caused division. People had to decide / judge where they stood in relation to what he said and did. No fence sitting! He offends those who think they are 'enlightened' but delights those thought
to be 'living in darkness'.

With brilliant dramatic effect, John conveys the unexpected joy of a 'sinful outcast' and the equally unexpected anger of some 'righteous insiders' at what Jesus says and does. The passage is deeply ironic. The spiritual experts, who should have seen God in Jesus, are blind, while an innocent sufferer, with no spiritual authority, sees clearly. The irreligious man is not cast out by Jesus but the religious men who 'cast
him out' (v34) exclude themselves.

At the outset Jesus makes it clear that blindness is not the result of sin (vv 2,3). This is good news as far as it goes. But Jesus seems to spoil it by implying that God creates people with disabilities only so that he can show off his power.

Faith Bowers, mother of a child with Downs Syndrome, says that she was revolted by that idea until she realised that the phrase 'God's works might be revealed in him' (v3) also applies to what God is able to do 'in'
the lives of disabled people despite them suffering afflictions that are not God's will. She says that she was able to accept her son's disability only after seeing a man with Downs Syndrome portray Christ's agony on the cross with such empathy that she and the audience were moved to tears -- and faith.

David Hart puts it like this: 'I can imagine no greater comfort in times of suffering than the happy knowledge that when I see the death of a child I do not see the face of God, but the face of His enemy.' (First Things, vol 151, 6- 9.) The point Jesus is making is that God's will is active through Christ in the lives of the disabled and able-bodied alike as a 'sign' of God's opposition to all kinds of evil and affliction -- including physical blindness.

Jesus came to bring 'light' wherever the forces of darkness afflicted human life (9:3,4). He makes of this man a new creation by re-enacting the first creation where, using symbolic language, we are told that God moistened dust to create a man (Genesis 2:5-7). The blind man is a 'brand new person' who now sees the Light!

As usual, most of the spectators do not know what to make of Jesus.

* Some see him as 'a sinner' for healing on the Sabbath (vv 16a,24).

* Some think that such a man may be 'from God' (vv 16b,31-33).

* Only the sinful outcast 'sees' who Jesus really is! This happens gradually. First he calls him 'a prophet' (v17), a higher title of honour than the 'Rabbi' used by Jesus' own disciples (v2). Then he enrages the hostile Pharisees by saying that Jesus, far from being a sinner, is 'from God' (v33). And, at the end, after being 'cast out' by them, the light fully dawns on him. He says 'I believe!' that Jesus is the 'Son of Man' -- the Redeemer (v35) and 'Lord' (v38) who is to be worshipped as God.

No wonder that these pious leaders, like all who try to make Jesus fit into their scheme of things, were scandalised. How ironic that those who ought to see God in Jesus see a sinful man, while an untrained person, whose affliction supposedly was proof of great sinfulness, sees God's presence. How comical and tragic it is when a 'sinful outcast' accuses 'upright insiders' of also being deaf -- rubbing salt into the wound by sarcastically asking whether they too want to become Jesus' disciples (v27).

Tragically, ironically, these righteous leaders, having excommunicated a 'sinful outcast', are excluded because of their sinful rejection of God's presence in Christ. The tables are turned. The faith of the (so-called) sinner exposes the sin of the (so-called) faithful! The contrast between his joyous faith and their smug religion is the difference between light and darkness -- between seeing in Jesus, the light of the world, the very Being of God and being blind to God's transforming presence in him.

In this dramatic episode Jesus warns all who think they 'see' what faith is about may in fact be 'blind' to the reality of God. Unlike physical blindness, which is an affliction not attributable to sin or God, 'spiritual blindness' is a voluntary action for which we are responsible.
'If you were blind you would have no sin. But now that you say, "We see,"
your sin remains.' (v41)

This is strong stuff! If we refuse to 'see' the presence of God in the healing power of Jesus then we too are 'without excuse'. Particularly open to Jesus' harsh judgement are the religious leaders who should have insight into the things of God. Already prophets like Isaiah had expressed dismay that Israel's leaders, who are charged with 'seeing' that God's mercy and justice are upheld, are in fact like 'blind' men groping along a wall (Isaiah 56:10; 59:10). Instead of being a 'light to the nations'
(Isaiah 42:6) they are blind to God's presence.

'Spiritual blindness' certainly is not confined to the past.

* It is very distressing today to see that Jesus is often seen as a 'sinner'.

Many Jews, Muslims and Christians see it as an affront to God that Jesus claims to be of One Being with God. They see him as the enemy of God.

Many atheists and secularists see the weak, crucified Jesus as the enemy of what is noble, heroic and passionate in life. They see him as the enemy of humanity.

* It is also very distressing when popular religious figures, who are typical of many church leaders, members and the general public, see Jesus merely as a prophet of tolerance or a teacher of eternal spiritual and moral truths. Though trained to 'see' that God's healing love is embodied in Jesus, they insist that true 'enlightenment' is to be found in rejecting the Incarnation. They are 'blind' to the Gospel -- and without excuse!

No. Blindness is not confined to the past! But neither is insight into the truth. Many who have been blind to the very presence of God in Christ now see -- their lives have been illuminated by grace and re-created by the power of God's healing touch. As the converted slavetrader John Newton put it in his immortal hymn, 'I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind, but now I see.' (Australian Hymn Book No. 56, v1)

We too are invited to 'see' in Jesus the embodiment of God's healing love.
We are invited to 'see' Jesus from the perspective of the blind man who was seen to be sinful and who received from Jesus a new vision of life.

If we accept the invitation, we shall see the true miracle and the tragic irony of this multilayered story. We shall see that in Christ God is uniquely present, shedding light in the darkness, healing our blindness and re-fashioning our broken lives.

The question for us -- as individuals, congregations and church leaders -- is whether we see the need to revise our views of God and Jesus in the light of the blind man's joyous confession of faith? Our prayer should be that the 'Lord will open the eyes of the blind' (Psalm 146:8) that all nations will delight to acknowledge Christ as the Lord of heaven and earth
-- the Son of Man who has come into the midst of a dark and broken world to redeem humanity and draw all people into fellowship with God the Creator.

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Rev Dr Max Champion is minister in the St John's Uniting Church, Mt Waverley, Victoria, Australia. Dr Champion is Chair of the Assembly of Confessing Congregations within the UCA.