Possibilities

Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?” Jesus said, “You’re asking the wrong question. You’re looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do (John 9:1-3).

We are exploring what it means that Jesus is Immanuel, “God with us.” In the Old Testament, light is an image that gets attached to Immanuel. In John’s gospel, this image explodes onto the page like a light bulb given power in a dark room. Our text is one of those detonations. The disciple’s understanding of the world is turned on its head.

The disciples ask, “Why is this man blind? Who sinned causing this blindness?” They are trying to understand the condition, meaning, and purpose of this man’s life. If he is blind, if he is disabled, isn’t it because he or someone has sinned? Why would he be this way if no one had sinned?

In their way of looking at the world, a problem like blindness was always the direct effect of someone’s sin. Today, we think such ideas are old fashioned. We are too educated for such simplicity. But just hold on. What is our gut reaction when someone is homeless or a refugee? For many of us, our first response is to ask why. To step back and analyze the situation. And isn’t that exactly what the disciples were doing? Analyzing the situation, making it fit into their worldview.

They don’t see a man in need of healing, do they? They’re blind to his pain. They want an answer to a theological question. Likewise, we try to explain what we see as unfortunate, lamentable, regrettable. But in doing this we place ourselves at the centre of our questions; God is put on the sidelines.

In our text, Jesus flips the disciples’ thinking on its head, as he so often does. In responding to their question, Jesus shifts their focus from the blind man to God and to Himself as the Light of the World. He says to them, “Don’t look for someone to blame. Look instead for what God can do. This man needs light and I am the light of the world.”

Jesus intends to point us beyond the problem to the possibilities it presents. When we see an afflicted individual, we should not start with blame, but rather how can peace, comfort, and healing for this person show the glory of the God. We should be about the business of bringing wholeness to them.

Jesus continues to rebuke his disciples when he says, "While it is still day, we must do the works of the one who sent me. Night is coming. Then no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” In other words, don’t let your opinions deflect you from the task that God has put you here to do. How often do we analyse and dissect rather than act to bring God’s light into the world? How often do we apply our theological minds to working out why something is the way it is, rather than doing what we can to right the wrongs we see? In being the hands and feet of Jesus, others discover through us that Jesus is Immanuel, God with us.

To paraphrase Jesus, “Whoever has eyes to see, let them see!”

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May your day end with rejoicing at the wonders he has shown you. May you rest in his provision as he brings night, and then new dawn.