First Reading: Isaiah 42:14-21
14For a long time I have held my peace; I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor; I will gasp and pant. 15I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn the rivers into islands, and dry up the pools. 16And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them. 17They are turned back and utterly put to shame, who trust in carved idols, who say to metal images, “You are our gods.” 18Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see! 19Who is blind but my servant, or deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is blind as my dedicated one, or blind as the servant of the Lord? 20He sees many things, but does not observe them; his ears are open, but he does not hear. 21The Lord was pleased, for his righteousness’ sake, to magnify his law and make it glorious.
Psalm 142
1I cry to the Lord with my voice; to the Lord I make loud supplication. 2I pour out my complaint before him and tell him all my trouble. 3When my spirit languishes within me, you know my path; in the way wherein I walk they have hidden a trap for me. 4I look to my right hand and find no one who knows me; I have no place to flee to, and no one cares for me. 5I cry out to you, O Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land f the living.” 6Listen to my cry for help, for I have been brought very low; save me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. 7Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name; when you have dealt bountifully with me, the righteous will gather around me.
Second Reading: Ephesians 5:8-14
8… {F}or at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9(for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
Gospel: John 9:1-41
1As {Jesus} passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud 7and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. 8The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” 12They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.” 13They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. 17So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.” 18The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” 22(His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) 23Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” 24So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” 25He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 28And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out. 35Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.”
Blind to the Obvious
How many have ever looked for something only to find it right in front of your face? Hunt frantically for your keys only to find them right on the counter. Search everywhere for your glasses only to realize they’re on top of your head. Sometimes the obvious isn’t so apparent. How many times did we hear our parents say, what’s the matter with you? Why don’t you ever seem to understand what I’m saying? Use your ears: you never listen when I’m talking to you? Are you blind? You have eyes: Why can’t you see that? At times we fail to see what’s right in front of us.
During the mid-80’s I was assigned to the 4450th Fighter Wing, a detachment based out of Nellis AFB, Nevada. At that time the F-117A Nighthawk aircraft was classified as Top-Secret, and we only flew the aircraft at night. Everything was guarded and when we opened the doors to the hangers, we worked in the dark; all we could use were small flashlights to do our work. What’s interesting was, the aircraft was built in a rundown looking facility in Burbank, California. Other than some carefully positioned security, and some extra fencing with barbed wire on the top, no one seemed to realize that the world’s most sophisticated stealth aircraft was being built right in front of them.
Other than an occasional C-5 aircraft backed up to the hanger, nothing seemed out of place. The Lockheed Martin workers would assemble each of the 64 aircraft to be made without the wings attached, would load them at night into the C-5, then fly them to a secret location for final assembly. It wasn’t until November 10, 1988, that the people in Burbank, California even realized what was actually happening right under their noses. The running joke in the 4450th was, if you want to keep something a secret, do it right in front of folks.
Our Bible lessons for today seems to be speaking directly to us. It’s as if it were written with us in mind. In Isaiah our prophet says, “He sees many things, but does not observe them; his ears are open, but he does not hear” (42:20). St. Paul tells the Ephesian church, “At one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the world” (5:8). And in our gospel reading for this morning Jesus tells the Pharisees, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains” (John 9:39-41). All these passages in some way make some reference to the problems of sight and blindness, darkness and light; they address the problem that plagues us.
Now it would be natural at this point to ask, how do these lessons apply to us today? Certainly, some of us don’t hear as well as we once did, or there may be one or two among us that could use a stronger pair of glasses, but none of us is blind or deaf. What does all this talk about the blind seeing have to do with us? When you stop and think about it, it has everything to do with us.
Oftentimes when we read the Bible or think about some of the stories in it, it’s temptation to think, well, that’s interesting, and it’s wonderful to know that God could do this for people long ago, however, none of this has much to do with me. But instead of simply reading these passages, we need to place ourselves into the story. We need to ask ourselves which character we are and how would I respond if I were this or that character.
We should place ourselves into the biblical account and see ourselves as the one to whom God is speaking and interacting with. I know that this can at times be challenging. At times it can make us uncomfortable. But when we do, it will force us to ask the tough questions and compel us to be honest with ourselves. It will force us to open our ears and eyes to the message God is trying to communicate. When we do this, we can learn a little bit about who we are by identifying ourselves with these people.
For example, let’s take a moment to consider today’s gospel lesson in this manner. By placing ourselves into the story, we’re compelled to first identify with the blind man whom Jesus healed. I read the story a moment ago. Jesus sees a blind man and for whatever reason the disciples ask Him, who sinned, the man or his parents? Jesus blows their minds with His answer; “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (vss. 3-5). The man was healed on the Sabbath, and Jesus healed him by smearing some clay over his eyes. I find this interesting but not surprising.
Jesus spat in the dirt, made mud, anointed the man’s eye and told him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam, which means sent. I believe Jesus did this as a way of setting up the events that occurred in the next several verses of this story. The pool of Siloam was located less than a Sabbath day’s walk from the Temple. This is probably why the reaction from the Religious Leaders to the healing seemed immediate. The Pharisees, who were some of Jesus’ main tormentors, heard or even witnessed, what had happened, and word gets back to the Religious Leaders, and they grill this poor fellow whom Jesus had healed.
Another thing I find interesting is that the Religious Leaders refused to acknowledge the healing; they refused to see what was right in front of them. They were blinded by the fact that Jesus healed on the Sabbath. This begs the question, what blinds us to God’s work in our lives? So, they grill the man about the nature of the miracle. They then level accusations against Jesus for working on the Sabbath, which was, of course, a sin for the ancient Jews. Just the same, the man whom Jesus healed stood his ground. “This is a great man,” he said. “He is a prophet (John 9:17).” And eventually he was ostracized and put out of the Temple for saying it. When you stop and think about it, this took a great deal of courage.
The people in power ridiculed the man and upended his communal life for his defense of Jesus and what Jesus had done for him. The Pharisees questioned him and his parents about whether he was actually blind and despite the overwhelming evidence, they tried to argue that the miracle was a sham. Yet the man stood his ground, despite his parents throwing him under the bus, and went so far as to confess that Jesus was from God (John 9:33). Of course, he paid the price. The Pharisees, in essence, took away his membership to the local Synagogue.
Another lesson we need to see in this passage is that this man whom Jesus healed demonstrated the appropriate gratitude to Jesus. When Jesus locates and questions the man, his response is to say, “Lord I believe”, and the man worshipped Jesus (vs. 38). In placing his faith in Jesus, the former blind man teaches us something about ourselves. Like him, we’ve all been touched by the good news and mercy of Jesus Christ. And because we have received that good news, we too have been healed from our blindness. This is the point St. Paul is making in our epistle lesson for today (Ephesians 5:8-14).
As recipients of God’s mercy, we are not in darkness; we are not spiritually blind anymore. We know everything necessary for salvation; we know that our justification depends on Christ. We are no longer spiritually blind. Much like that blind man in our gospel text, we are witnesses to our gratitude and our faith by our attendance here this morning. There is indeed a lot we can learn about ourselves from the blind man in this morning’s story. Perhaps we can learn more than we think. Listen to the rest of the story and see if we can gain further insights about who we are and what we’re called to do.
Immediately after standing up to the Pharisees, telling them what a great man Jesus is, and even enduring the Pharisees’ chastisement, the man healed of his blindness is found by Jesus. Jesus seeks the man out and asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man (John 9:35)?” The man looked at Jesus, even after having been healed by Him, and he said, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him (John 9:36)?” Jesus answered, “You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you (John 9:37).” Think about the man’s answer.
Here the answer is standing right in front of this fellow, the Son of Man. He’s been healed by Jesus. He has experienced His restorative power. The man who was healed can now see, yet he still doesn’t fully see Jesus for who He is. When you think about it, this man acts an awful lot like many people we know. Week after week, you and I assemble in this building. We come together to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Hopefully we also hear some of it in our own personal prayer life, our Bible study, and family devotions. But the question is, is it making a difference in our lives?
Week after week, we come together as the family of God. But our Christian community, the church, isn’t just a Sunday thing, it exists all week long. And one of its purposes, is to give support to each other, a gathering where we can lean on each when things are tough (1 Corinthians 12:12-26). This is an important and vital aspect of the church. Yet it seems that in many churches we find people more interested in being critical of their brothers and sisters in Christ. Gossip, backbiting, and infighting occur rather than the mutual support and uplifting of each other seems to be the norm. What makes this any different than secular gatherings?
St. Paul reminds us, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). And Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). But sadly, it seems that in some houses of worship, this part of the church is doing the opposite of what God intended it to do. Are they blind – or deaf? Have these people not learned a thing from scripture? And this disconnect between what the Bible teaches and how we live goes beyond our interpersonal lives, we also see it in how we live.
Time and time again they’ve heard the good news of how Jesus urges us to live by faith. How many times have we heard Jesus ask us to consider the lilies of the field, how they do not sow or toil, and yet how God provides for them (Matthew 6:28)? How many times have we been urged not to be too anxious about the future? Yet we keep on worrying about tomorrow. We pile up more things – more money, more stuff, yet we never seem to be satisfied. It’s as if we’ve never heard Jesus’ parables. Life is more than the things we accumulate. Our life is found in God. He is our hope. He is our peace. He is our future. This is the message we not only need to incorporate into our lives, it’s also the message the world needs to see and hear.
Yet how often do we share this good news? It’s a message so many people need to hear; the message that because of Jesus Christ, God has forgiven us, that He loves us despite our sinfulness – that we do not, or cannot earn His love? We cannot earn forgiveness. All we must do to receive God’s grace and mercy is to turn, repent, and believe. God loves us so much that He gave His own Son. The message of salvation is simple, God sent Jesus in the flesh. Jesus lived, suffered, died, and rose again to win our salvation and give us eternal life. This is the message the world needs to hear, and the message we need to live out for others to see.
Again, and again, the good news of God’s love for us and the promises He gives comes our way. It comes to us in God’s Word. We can see it, even taste it, in the sacrament of Holy communion. Yet it’s often like we’ve never “heard” about this Word, nor of the promises it gives to us. No, we too often are like the blind man whom Jesus cured. We have our eyes, but we cannot see. We too often are blinded by the world and cannot seem to recognize God’s love and what it could mean for our lives. We cannot seem to recognize that love, even though it’s right in front of our eyes.
The prophet Isaiah in our first lesson, says it all: “Who is blind but my servant, or deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is blind as my dedicated one, or blind as the servant of the Lord? [Israel] you see many things, but do not observe them …” (Isaiah 42:19-20). We see many things in our daily lives, but we don’t really observe them. The secret to life, everything that we need to live happy and fulfilled lives is right here. It’s here in the Bible. It’s here at the altar in the Holy Supper. It’s here in the word proclaimed from the pulpit. Isaiah was correct. We’ve seen and heard so much; yet it hasn’t meant enough to us in our lives. We have the eyes and ears we need in order to see and hear, yet we don’t always take the time to listen and observe.
Jesus said the same thing at the end of our gospel lesson about the healing of the blind man. Some Pharisees overheard Jesus’ conversation with the blind man whom He had healed, and Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains (John 9:41).” We say that we can see, but do we actuality acknowledge all God has given us? Are we, in reality, spiritually blind?
The good news for us, and for the world, is that God is with us and is eager to save. This is the information we need to share, each, and every day. It’s the message we will proclaim today during our Communion Rite; Christ has died. Christ has risen. And Christ will come again. Jesus is present with us. He’s here in the word proclaimed, in the hymns we sing, and in the meal we will share. It’s all here; we just need to open our eyes and ears to the secret of a good and happy life. It’s like the old Christian hymn that Paul sang in our second lesson says: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light (Ephesians 5:14).”
Amen.