20/20?

 

John 9:1-41        

 When I turned 45 years old, I went to my medical doctor for a check-up and he suggested I read the eye chart, “just for fun.”  I did so, and he asked me if I drove to my appointment.  He was not joking.  He was alarmed.  I always had 20/10 sight and considered it to be superior because I could see things at a great distance away.  I did have to use pharmacy reading glasses a bit, but never believed that my eyesight was affecting my driving, something in which I also prided myself on being superior.  I was so convinced that my sight was good, and that any close calls on the road were due to the bad drivers around me, until that day.  I went and got glasses. 

 First Jesus’ disciples were looking for who to blame because this man was blind.  Someone must have sinned in order for this man to be thus afflicted.  Him?  His parents?  Who was to blame?

Jesus gave the answer that it was in order to show God’s works.  A near lifetime of blindness so that God could have Jesus heal him?  Hmmm

Jesus did heal him, though.

Then his neighbors took their turn and expressed their surprise that he was once the blind man who begged from them, even in disbelief that he could be healed.

 Then the Pharisees used it for political gain, claiming that Jesus must not be of God because He did not observe Sabbath Laws and dared to heal this man on the Sabbath.  They did not believe it and sent for proof that he had been blind and now could see.  His parents were afraid to get caught up on the political struggle, and deferred to their son for an answer.  They provoked him by saying that Jesus is a sinner for having done this on the Sabbath.  The man formerly blind said, “One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”  He bantered with them, they doubled down on their differences with Jesus and then called him a sinner also.

 The man formerly blind confessed his faith in Jesus.

Jesus shared His purpose in terms of helping others to see who have not seen the Kingdom of God, and that those who think they see it may be exposed for their blindness of sin.

 When we find healing, it is because things are right for us to find healing.  It is the Kingdom of God way that we should be whole.  It is the Kingdom of God way that we should be complete and have well-being.  If we are not whole and do not have completeness or well-being, something is wrong in our lives.  What is wrong is not our sin, but that the world is imperfect because of SIN itself.  What is wrong is that some will claim that they are without sin and that their appearance of wholeness somehow proves that they are spiritually superior to others around them who are not whole.  They claim those who are not whole to be sinful in order to make themselves appear to be more righteous by comparison, rather than having and sharing compassion with those who are not whole.

 All who believe themselves to be without sin and therefore to be superior to others who struggle in life are truly sinful.

All who blame the victims for their lack of wholeness in a world that creates people who lack wholeness are truly fools.

All who live their lives striving to appear to be superior to others in any way are not following Jesus.

 In an imperfect world such as this, stuff happens that makes people suffer a lack of completeness, wholeness and well-being.  It could happen to anyone.  Instead of asking, “Why me,” perhaps a better question to ask when afflicted would be, “why not me?”  Instead of believing falsely in some personal superiority as a reason why any of us are not afflicted, perhaps we should then ask, “Why me?”  The truth is that the answer may be unflattering.  Perhaps it is out of the oppression of others, the ruthlessness of ourselves or our adherence and promotion of systems that keep some in poverty, illness and life trauma that we seem to have it so much better than those others.  Perhaps our appearances hide deeply internalized evils that we continue to perpetuate on others around us in order to make ourselves feel superior and blessed.  Perhaps our privilege, entitlement and advantages over others are showing when our lives go smoothly as others struggle just to survive. 

 Or perhaps it does not matter who suffers and who skates through life seemingly unscathed.  Perhaps it is rather about our relationship with God and Neighbor about which we should be most concerned.  If we truly love God and love Neighbor, perhaps we will not react by looking for blame, blaming the victims, refusing compassion or empathy, refusing help when we have the means, creating conditions and systems that cause harm to others or looking for reasons why the victims of this world’s cruelty have it coming to them.  Perhaps we, out of love for God and Neighbor, will suspend our value statements around the plight of others and simply love them, care for them and strive to help them have completeness, wholeness and well-being in life.

Perhaps we will insist that every resource be used to bring people to that well-being in life.

 Perhaps what we believe we see clearly is truly our blindness, and acknowledging that we do not see it all clearly will help us come to see.  By claiming to see we put ourselves in a place of blindness to the plight of others who God loves, and by claiming our blindness we open ourselves up to God for insight on faithfulness to God and Neighbor.

 So, how is our sight?