The Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 10, 2002
11:00 a.m.


Chapter nine of John’s gospel is a masterpiece of dramatic writing. The evangelist, by interpreting the meaning of the cure of a man blind from birth, gives us a story of how a man is brought by Jesus from physical blindness to sight, and from spiritual ignorance to insight. It is also a story of how those who thought they were spiritually knowledgeable and enlightened – namely the Pharisees – blinded themselves to the truth and to God.
The story is so rich in insight and irony that one hardly knows how to begin to speak about it. But several things always catch my attention, and here are but a few of them.
This is the only story we have in the gospels of someone being healed who was blind from birth. The fact that this man was born blind is the occasion for Jesus’ disciples to ask him about the prevailing theology of the day regarding the connection between physical sickness or infirmity and sin. “Rabbi, did this man sin, or his parents, that he was born blind?” In an effort to explain human sickness and suffering, there was a Jewish belief that sickness was the result of or a punishment for sin. That explanation was easy to apply in the case of an adult. However, since this man was born blind, how could he be culpable? A passage from Ex. 20:5gave the basis for an explanation: “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation.” Some of the rabbis interpreted this to mean that the sins of parents could be visited upon their children while they were yet in the womb; or an infant could sin while still in its mother’s womb. This is how physical illnesses deformities, and infirmities at the time of birth could be explained as a result of sin. Thus, the disciples want to know whether this man’s blindness was the fault of his parents, or his own fault, by having sinned while in the womb.
Jesus’ response denies any necessary direct casual relationship between sin and sickness. “Neither this man sinned nor his parents…he was blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.”
We could quickly dismiss this theology of a direct relationship between sin and sickness as primitive and “unenlightened, “ but the truth is that we are all too prone ourselves to ask, “Why did this happen to me?”, when sickness and suffering enter our lives. And we are just as prone to ask ourselves, “What have I done that this has come upon me?” It must be a universal human tendency to want to explain by cause and effect everything that happens to us. But in view of Jesus’ response to his disciples new need to be cautious about trying to explain our own sickness and suffering, or that of others, as always or necessarily coming from some sin that we or others have committed.
Although it is true that unhealthy and sinful habits and behavior can and do cause human sickness and suffering, it is not true that all human sickness and suffering are directly the result of a person’s sin. Although there are times when we can see clearly that our behavior or another’s behavior is the cause of sickness and suffering, there are also times when the cause has no explanation in a person’s behavior. Like the case of Job, or the case of the man born blind. In these cases, it is wise and prudent of us not to look for an explanation, but simply to accept our inability to know why.
Notice that in the case of the man born blind, Jesus shifts the focus of the discussion from the cause of the man’s blindness to the purpose that it can serve: “He was born blind in order that the works of God might be revealed in him.” Regardless of the cause of sickness, infirmity, and suffering, it can be used to reveal his presence. When we are afflicted, when we find ourselves in a vulnerable state, instead of asking, “Why did this happen to me?” it may be more faithful to ask, “How can God use me in the state of my affliction? How can God’s purposes be served in and through me?”
The man born blind is in many ways a model for us in allowing himself to be used by God, and being open to growing in his faith. From the beginning of this story to the end, the man born blind is a humble character. He displays an openness and willingness to learn more about Jesus, to receive what Jesus has to give; and he is not afraid to profess his ignorance when questioned by his neighbors and the Pharisees. Although the blind man knows little at the beginning of the story, he learns much by the end. His attitude is in marked contrast to the Pharisees who think they know everything and can be taught nothing.
In most gospel accounts of healing, the sick or afflicted person asks Jesus to be healed. But the blind man does not. Jesus takes the initiative by anointing the man’s eyes with mud and telling him to wash in the pool of Siloam. Without knowing anything about Jesus, the man trusts him enough to obey him. From the very beginning of his encounter with Jesus, h e acts in blind trust. Pardon the pun. Then follows a series of interrogations of the man born blind in which he becomes the center of a controversy about Jesus. The man’s healing is the beginning of a series of difficulties and trials; but it is also the beginning of his faith journey.
The interrogations with the Pharisees clue us in to the controversies about Jesus, some of which occurred during his lifetime, and some which were current in the evangelist’s community at the end of the first century. The expulsion of the man born blind from the synagogue at the end of the story refers to the attempt in 90 A.D. to throw out of the synagogue all Jews who believed Jesus to be the Messiah. Thus the story outlines for us the hazards and difficulties faced by Jewish Christians in the first century as they progressed in their understanding of and faith in Jesus as God’s Messiah.
The journey of the man born blind from ignorance of Jesus to insight about Jesus is a type of parable for us all. He reminds us that the ability to trust God for guidance, direction, and sustenance in our lives is not a once and for all event, but a process of choosing again and again to be open to how God would guide us, and what God would give us. The man born blind was teachable. Unlike the Pharisees, he did not presume to have God all figured out; to know everything he needed to know. He was not afraid to profess his ignorance. Indeed, his ability to day, “I do not know,” was an indication of his humility.
His journey of faith reminds us that our journey is lifelong. We never reach a stage where we know all we need to know of God. We never graduate from the school of faith on this side of the grave. Christian discipleship in not primarily learning about God. It is living in relationship with God. Relationships require care, attention, and nourishing in order to remain alive and grow stronger. Becoming a disciple of Jesus is a life-long process. The word, “disciple” is derived from the word for “pupil” or “learner”; and the word “discipline” means training. We are in thislife pupils in training for what it means to be a follower of Christ.
The story also reminds us that the life of faith, coming to trust in God, is not the end of our difficulties and trials. It was after his healing that the man born blind became the center of controversy. And it was through his increasing trust in Jesus during those trials that his faith was strengthened.
It is no different for us. Our trials present us with the challenge of increasing our trust in God’s guidance, direction, and strength. Our trials present us with the challenge of increasing our trust in God’s guidance, direction, and strength. Our trials present us with the challenge of increasing our faith.
Remember that when the man born blind suffers the indignity of being excommunicated from his community of faith, he does not seek Jesus, but Jesus comes seeking him. The shepherd goes out to search for his lost sheep. The man is not abandoned; he is found. We, too, may find that our trials are the means by which God comes seeking us. We too, may find that our trials are the means whereby we come to a deeper and fuller, more personal and abiding trust and assurance of God’s guidance and love for us.

The Rev’d Pamela P. Snare
Senior Curate


The Rev’d Pamela P. Snare is Senior Curate of Christ Church, Covington

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