As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). so he went and washed, and came back seeing.

Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, "Is not this he who sat and begged?" Some said, "This is he." Others said, "He is like him." He said, "I am he." Therefore they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?" He answered and said, "A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed, and I received sight." Then they said to him, "Where is He?" He said, "I do not know."

They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see." Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" And there was a division among them. They said to the blind man again, "What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."

- John 9:1-17

In recent readings, Jesus has been at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. He went up in secret to the festival, but about midway through the seven or eight-day feast He began to preach in the temple. The leadership sent officers to arrest Him who came back empty-handed. And He's engaged in dialogue with the leadership, the subject of the past several readings (see yesterday's commentary for a synopsis). In yesterday's reading, we heard Jesus tell the leadership: "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear because you are not of God." At this point, they told Him He was a Samaritan and had a demon. Jesus told them, "I do not have a demon, but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges. Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death." They told Him that Abraham and the prophets are dead. How can He claim to be greater than they? Who does He make Himself out to be? He told them, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." They replied that He wasn't yet fifty years old, how could He have seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. My study bible introduces us to the following passages, which will continue through tomorrow's reading: "Of all the miracle stories in the Bible, this is the only one in which the person was blind from birth. This man is symbolic of all humanity: all need illumination by Christ, the Light of the world. This passage is also a picture of baptism, which is also called 'holy illumination.' This healing is the sixth sign of Jesus in John's Gospel." In the ancient Church this passage was read the night catechumens were baptized, the Saturday night of Easter. My study bible adds, "It reiterates the paschal themes of washing, illumination, healing, faith, conversion, and salvation."

And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" The disciples reflect the common assumption in the ancient world that all malady or trouble was a consequence of personal sin. It opens up an opportunity for teaching and "illumination."

Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him." Jesus refutes the common assumption. Rather, this is an occasion for the glorification and revelation of God! My study bible adds, "There would be no sickness in the world if there were no sin, but by no means is all sickness the result of a specific person's sin."

"I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." In recent readings, Jesus has said that He is the light of the world as He taught in the temple. But here the statement is given more urgency; His time in the world is short.

When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). so he went and washed, and came back seeing. My study bible notes: "St. Irenaeus sees in this mixture of dust and spittle a type of the creation of humanity from the earth (Gen. 2:7). Jesus reveals His deity by restoring part of creation in the same way He had created humanity in the beginning." Jesus has already made a kind of reference to the pool of Siloam at the Festival, when He said, "If anyone thirsts, let Him come to Me and drink." During the Festival of Tabernacles, libations were carried from this pool to commemorate the water from the rock that came through Moses for ancient Israel in the wilderness. The pool of Siloam was on the outskirts of Jerusalem, a considerable distance from the temple, notes my study bible. So this man would have been quite a spectacle, covered in mud, making his way across the city from the temple to the pool. It's an image to remember when we pray for any sort of healing in our lives: we are often asked to walk in faith as if feeling our way through life, perhaps stumbling, and not necessarily knowing what is to happen as a result of His healing love. It is a picture of the Israelites in the wilderness. The name of the pool affirms to us Jesus' identity; He is the One who is Sent.

Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, "Is not this he who sat and begged?" Some said, "This is he." Others said, "He is like him." He said, "I am he." Therefore they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?" He answered and said, "A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed, and I received sight." Then they said to him, "Where is He?" He said, "I do not know." Gradually, the man who received his sight begins to perceive and experience the world around him. The world debates what has happened, who is he, who is the One who healed him? But that the eyes of the blind are opened gives to us the words of Isaiah: "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped." This becomes an occasion for many blind and deaf to see and hear. Any revelation is a turning point, a cross-roads, a time for a choice. My study bible points out: "As the story progresses, the once-blind man gradually comes to all awareness of who Jesus is, while the Pharisees lapse into deeper darkness."

They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see." Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" And there was a division among them. They said to the blind man again, "What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet." My study bible points out that the authorities first try to discredit the miracle by discrediting Jesus. It notes, "They claim that because He works on the Sabbath, contrary to their law, he cannot be from God." So we immediately see the emphasis: they once again fail to note the importance of making a man whole over the violation of Sabbath rest. Jesus has been through such an accusation before, when He healed the paralytic. But this time, the authorities are already seeking to have Him arrested and put to death. And now there is also a division among the leadership. Some ask how a sinner can do such signs.

Jesus stirs up trouble. Every revelation - every sign - brings with it a new set of circumstances from which people have to choose. Is He a prophet? Is He a holy man? Is He sent from God as He says? Or is He undermining their law, their system, their values? Is He disrupting worship or the practical order of things? Certainly He has also disrupted things when He cleansed the temple. In John's Gospel, this comes early in His ministry, and sets the tone. But the Pharisees -- the whole of the leadership -- are also divided now among themselves. How can a sinner do such things? Every revelation of God becomes a crossroads, a time of choosing. Some will go one way -- into greater spiritual darkness -- and others will become illumined in ways that were not possible before grace intervened. And so it is within ourselves. Grace is active in the world through the work of the Spirit, who brings us Christ into our lives. None of this work is done or finished. The world continues, and faith continues. But each step becomes an opportunity for choice. In John's Gospel, we read: "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” These are Jesus' words to Nicodemus, a member of the Council. We are all chosen for that wind to blow through our lives in one form or another, however subtly, and grace is always an occasion for choice. It begins with God's love for the world.