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 our current readings, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem (beginning with this reading).   He has been in a dialogue with the leadership begun on the last day of the feast (the eighth day), which began with this reading and continued over the subsequent three readings.  Finally, we read His last reply in yesterday's reading:   "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?"  Jesus answered, "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."  Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon!  Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.'  Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?  And the prophets are dead.  Who do You make Yourself out to be?"  Jesus answered, "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."  Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You 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.  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."  Chapter 9 of John's Gospel gives us further events at the Feast of Tabernacles.  Here is Christ's sixth of seven signs in this Gospel, the healing of a man blind from birth.  Of all of the miracle stories of the Bible, this is the only one in which the person was blind from birth.  My study bible tells us that this blind man is symbolic of all humanity:  in need of illumination by Christ, the Light of the world.  This sign is also an illustration of baptism, which is also called "holy illumination."  We read in this passage that Jesus rejects the assumption, common to the ancient world, that all troubles or illnesses are necessarily the consequences of personal sins or the sins of parents (see Exodus 20:5, Deuteronomy 5:9, contrast with Ezekiel 18:19-21).  Suffering can certainly be the result of consequence of personal sin, but this is definitely not always the case.  Jesus makes the case here for quite the contrary:  this man's blindness provides the occasion for the works of God to be revealed.  It was not related directly to any personal sin.

"I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work."   My study bible comments that the work that people do consists of faith (6:29), good deeds (5:29), and repentance (12:40).  The night that comes refers both to the time after a person's death and to the age to come, when there is no longer an opportunity to express faith.  My study bible cites John Chrysostom, who comments that on that day there will not be faith, but all will submit, whether willingly or unwillingly.

"As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." In the spiritual history of Judaism, we look at this unprecedented healing of a man born blind.  It puts in context Jesus' statement that He is the light of the world.   Light figures prominently throughout John's Gospel as an image of Christ (for example, in the Prologue). See also 8:12, in which Jesus makes the same statement.

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.  My study bible refers us to St. Irenaeus, who sees in this mixture of clay and saliva a type of the creation of humanity from the earth (Genesis 2:7).  Christ reveals His own divinity through this restoration of creation -- using the same material with which He created humanity in the beginning.   It is an expression of His absolute creative power, and a restoration of humanity, both physically and metaphorically.

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.  We remember that the pool of Siloam is featured in the the events of the feast, especially on this last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, in which there is a commemoration of the water that poured from a rock struck by Moses.  The pool was on the outskirts of Jerusalem, a considerable distance from the temple.  From this pool water was taken for the rites.  Siloam, translated, Sent, symbolizes Christ -- the One who was sent by the Father (5:36, 20:21).  My study bible says that just as the healing of the blind man confirmed Christ's claim to be the light of the world (8:12), so also, His making use of the pool of Siloam confirms that He is the true purification of the temple and those who worship in it.

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."   John's Gospel once again offers us the differing opinions of the people there for the feast at Jerusalem.  But the formerly blind man's testimony is true, as to what he knows and what he doesn't 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."  My study bible says here that just as the Pharisees had ignored the healing of the paralytic and focused only on the perceived violation of the Sabbath (5:10-16), here many of them cannot see the glory of God, due to their own prejudices.  It's also a revival of the earlier disagreement with Christ, rather than a clear examination of what has happened.  And again we're treated to a picture of the disagreements that surround Christ and His work and ministry, the divisions among the people and the leadership.  The formerly blind man also testifies to the best of his ability and understanding.  For now, he believes that Jesus is a prophet, and will not deny Christ's holiness to please the leadership.

The healing of the man blind from birth is important in a  number of ways to our understanding of Christ, who He is, and what He does, as my study bible explains.  The man blind from birth is a symbol of afflicted humanity.  The disagreements among all those at the Feast, including the healed blind man's still-partial point of view, give us a picture of what it is to struggle in our own blindness or partial sight on a spiritual level.  And that partial sight or blindness of course affects all of our lives and all  of the choices we make, how we live.  Christ as the light who comes into the world and shines in the darkness is the one way to truly see.  It is His light that must illumine us.  There is nowhere else to turn.  He is the One, as St. Peter said, who has the words of eternal life.  It's as if all the people in this story are struggling to see.  Some are blinded by their own prejudices and fears.  Some struggle to find Him, although one has been clearly touched and healed by Him.  And still the road leads forward, and it is only His light that can clear up the darkness, or the dimness that remains of it.  Light is in some way the entire focal-piece of John's Gospel.  And it is clearly Christ who is the Light that shines in the darkness.  His words are light, and they are spirit.  He asks us to abide in Him and He in us, to participate and be illuminated also by His light, so that we may in turn shine that light in the world.  The darkness may always be there somehow, and it may always be uncomprehending of the light.  But the light shines, and must shine.  It will remain true to its Source, and so must we in the same purpose!