1 Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13; Psalm 22; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38
Grace and peace to you dear brothers and sisters in the Lord.
One notable characteristic of the Gospel of John is that it presents us with many accounts of Jesus’ one-to-one encounters with people. Last Sunday, we read of His encounter with the Samaritan woman, and today, we have the account of His encounter with the man born blind and of the confusion of identity that this healing caused his neighbours, the tense interrogation by the religious leaders which led to his ex-communication, how Jesus received him and revealed Himself to the man and how the man ended up worshipping Him.
Even from this summary, you can see that there are so many dimensions to this beautiful narrative. In this homily, I will share five points.
- Who sinned?
The disciples saw this man as an unresolved puzzle, a subject of theological discourse. They wanted to know if it was his sin or his parents’ sins that caused him to be born blind.
This kind of connection between sin and suffering was very common among the Jews. This was how the friends of Job understood his suffering – he must have committed some hidden sins. In the case of this man, we may wonder how could he have sinned if he was born blind? Well, the answer is rooted in the Jews’ understanding of reincarnation – the man may have sinned in his previous existence. They also believed that a child could sin in the womb or even that this man was suffering because of the sins of his parents.
Jesus introduced a dimension that they had never thought of. His sickness was not because he or his parents had sinned; it was for God’s glory. This doesn’t mean that God caused Him to be blind to use him as a specimen. No -Jesus shifted the discussion from causality to purpose.
Many of us still have this mentality – whenever something happens to us or someone else, we keep asking. “What have we/they done wrong?”
The lesson for us is that it is not every suffering or cross we/others carry that is a consequence of our/their sins. Only God can make that specific connection; none of us can. However, we are serving a God who turns what we are going through into a breakthrough, a God who has the power to use our tragedy for His glory and our good. Whatever God allows in our lives, He wants to use for our good. Such is the power of God, He turns what appears to be evil into good. He works in ways we cannot fully comprehend. We may not immediately understand the good in something seemingly so evil or painful but in time or eternity, we shall understand and praise the wisdom of God.
- Fearless witness.
This man was interrogated by the powerful religious leaders. Far from being intimidated, he challenged their theology, and shared his story – “I was blind and now I can see.” He knew they hated Jesus and all who believed in Him but the man would not stop telling them that Jesus must be a prophet approved by God, otherwise He wouldn’t be able to cure him. They threatened him but he rooted for the man who cured him.
In the face of hostility, opposition, and threat, can we stand for Christ who has shown us so much love, mercy, forgiveness, and grace? Can we witness to Him who has changed our lives and given them meaning?
- The Method.
Jesus healed people in different ways and using different methods. Some He spoke to, others He touched. Some sought Him, some He sought. Some He healed in public, some in private. Some He told to tell no one, and others He commanded to go and tell their people.
In the case of this man, Jesus spat on the ground, made a paste with the spittle, put this over the man’s eyes, and said to him, ‘Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam.’
This is to teach us that God approaches each person differently. He is also a God of mystery. We cannot reduce Him to a formula or method. We must therefore be open to how He works in our lives and the lives of others, and we must not try to limit Him or invalidate other people’s experiences just because they differ from ours.
- Siloam.
Jesus sent this man to the pool of Siloam which means “sent.” Let’s look at what is happening here. It was called Sent or Siloam because the water was sent into the pool through Hezekiah’s tunnel from the Gihon valley. For the Jews, the pool came to symbolise the blessing of God sent to Israel. That’s why during the Feast of the Tabernacles, the priests pour water from Siloam at the base of the altar in the temple.
Jesus sent this man to the pool of Siloam and he was cured. He did this to testify that He is the true blessing of God SENT to Israel; He is the Light SENT into the world. In the previous chapter, Jesus described Himself as sent from God (John 7:16, 28-29; 8:16, 18, 26, 29, 42). This means anyone who doesn’t accept Jesus, doesn’t accept the one sent by God and such a person remains in the darkness. It means the religious leaders in today’s Gospel were spiritually blind.
It doesn’t end there – our mission is to see how we can bring people to know Jesus as the One sent by God to bring us light and peace and to give our lives meaning. Again, we are called to pray for people who do not know Jesus to come to experience Him as the light.
- Expelled from the temple.
The man was expelled from the temple made by human hands. Jesus saw him and revealed Himself to him and the man called Him “Lord” and worshipped Him.
The man was driven out of the temple made by human hands but he was welcomed to worship Jesus who is the True Temple. He was rejected by the leaders but accepted by the Lord. Jesus doesn’t reject anyone – no matter who has rejected you, God will accept you.
Also, take note that the healing of this man led him to worship. Every blessing we have received from God ought to lead us to recognise Jesus as the Lord and lead us to worship Him.
Like this blind man, may the Lord touch us and heal us of every form of blindness in our lives. May we encounter Jesus as the Light and the One sent to heal and save us. May we witness to Him even in the face of opposition, may we grow in our knowledge of Him and may we worship Him as our Lord and Saviour.
Here is the Good News I bring you this day.
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on March 19. 2023.