As I was reflecting and praying on the
scriptures for this morning, the imagery from the gospel of blindness stayed
with me. There are many things to focus on here; I'm going to just address
three of them that I think tie it together.
Firstly, we know that in biblical times, any illness or disease was understood
to be a punishment from God - so the man's blindness was perceived that way.
AND - even worse - that sin didn't even have to be your own, you could collect
punishment from your parents' sins. Hmm. And that's what was thought of this
blind man - as his blindness was not gradual, but from birth - WOW. Either mom
and dad were REALLY bad, or he sinned so horribly in the womb that he deserved
this blindness.
Really.
Either you are suffering for something that happened before you were even born.
Or, you were a sinful little baby-bump while in utero.
Aren't we all glad that God has blessed us with increasing knowledge of how
things work like genetics - and how things don't work like these superstitions.
But -
and this is important to the story. Based on the working knowledge of sin at
that time, the poor blind man was left incapacitated and alone. Excluded. Not
helped. Considered unclean.
How
devastating that a person should be castigated because of the uninformed
stereotypes which make them "the other" or "them" or
"those people"...
Thank
goodness our society doesn't judge entire groups of people based on such
prejudicial standards! Hmm. I'll let you think about that one.
For
my second point, I want us to consider the gospel's cure for the blindness.
Because here's the catch: it's not hard. Or, rather: it shouldn't be hard. All
the man has to do is to go to the pool of Siloam - which translates as
"sent" - and he'll be cured. This is powerful: healing comes from
God, to the one who has been sent, and who goes, following the Word of God.
That
too, should be simple.
And
yet - there's where it gets complicated. Because the Pharisees are not able to
see beyond the rules, the traditions, the boxes and categories into which they
have divided society - to see (or remove their blindness) the power of God in
their midst.
The
blind man was an outcast. He was not welcomed in society - he likely had to
beg; he was not able to contribute to the family. He couldn't provide for, and
therefore likely did not have, a wife and children of his own. A misfit -
- a homeless beggar - - a dirty sinner - - a man who knew enough that he was
unwelcomed at worship - - a man... a man whom Jesus loved, and healed.
A
man, not unlike any of us today, who was a victim of being judged, and
criticised for something he really had no control over. A man who was deemed by
arbitrary culture norms to be not good enough to be part of the mainstream. A
man who was a victim of circumstance, and who was denied mercy and help by the
religious people who should have been the first ones to offer help.
A man
who, by responding to the call to be washed and healed by the power of Christ,
overcame that which would hold him back.
And
sadly, so sadly, society still rejected him. They refused to recognise the
miracle they had witnessed, as it had not come in a way that they expected.
Sudden vision from a simple wash - you can almost hear the Pharisees declaring
"that's not how WE would have done it!" And so they ridiculed him,
they offended him, they ostricised him even more.
How
devastating that a person should be castigated because of their life doesn’t
conform to the dominant perception of how things should be done.
Thank
goodness our society doesn't judge people based on such superficial standards!
Hmm. I'll let you think about that one.
So now for my third point. I'm going to get a little bit "Discovery
Channel" now... let's talk about that willful ignorance that the Pharisees
have. Let's consider that intentional rejection of one reality simply because
it doesn't fit with the preconceived notions of what's right and wrong. The
sticking of one's head into the sand as an act of defiance.
Yes,
I'm referencing the ostrich. That mighty and flightless bird, that lays huge
eggs and can run so fast its predators can't catch. And, they stick their heads
in the sand to hide. Right? Actually, I've learned, they don't.
Ostriches, with their long necks and big bulbous backsides tend not to hide
from enemies, but to face them head on. Ostriches, it turns out, are not the
bird to be messing with - they will fight back; often they will win.
The
myth of the head in the sand, then, is just that: mythical. Maybe it's because
they bury their eggs in the dirt instead of a nest, and have to dig around to
flip them over. Maybe it's because they forage for grubs and other bugs in
bushes. Whatever the cause, the myth has been around for centuries: and it's
simply not true.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Sounds like every other part of this gospel
message. What is believed is sometimes based on a myth, not on the truth. And
it becomes so shocking that even when the truth is made known, it's too much or
too inconvenient to take in. Or possibly, it's just that the traditional
ways of thinking and responding are so ingrained that even when the eyes are
opened, it's difficult to truly see.
The
Pharisees continued to stick their heads in the sand, to see the blind man as a
sinner, even once the blindness was gone; it was part of their belief
structure.
How
devastating that a person should be castigated because of the popular unwillingness to learn and grow.
Thank
goodness our society doesn't judge people based on preconceived myths, even
when we know the truth is a different reality! Hmm. I'll let you think about
that one, too.
And now I'll pull this all together simply. The gospel message for this morning
is a call for vision, a call for us to be willing to open our eyes to the truth
that God is showing us. And as a result of that newly seen truth, to change, to
learn, and to adapt.
The
gospel calls for us to see - truly see - not based on past ideas or popular
thought or outdated information or whatever happens to best suit our own
individual way of thinking. The gospel calls for us to be willing to open our
eyes and engage with the world around us: to acknowledge our own privilege, to
recognise our abundance, to assist those who need it, to cast aside what's
popular for what is right. The gospel is an invitation for us all to receive
the healing of Christ, to understand that we are being sent as to a pool of
sending, and to change our world to embrace all others as they too gain spiritual
sight.
May
we see God's patience with us through our blindness; may we see God's
graciousness to us as we learn to see; may we see God's support as we challenge
and change the systems that would deny abundant health to any of our brothers
and sisters.
