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, "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

Last week, we read through chapter 6 of John's Gospel, in which Jesus taught that He is the bread of life.  In Friday's reading, we read that Jesus taught, "My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.  He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.  As the living father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.  This is the bread which came down from heaven -- not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead.  He who eats this bread will live forever."  On Saturday, we read that many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"  When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?  What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.  And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."   From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"  He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.  Today the lectionary begins again where we left off before last week, at the beginning of chapter 9.

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.  We recall that Jesus is in Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles, an eight-day autumn harvest festival which commemorates the time that Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai.  They dwelt at that time in temporary shelters - tents or "tabernacles."  Jesus has just come from disputing with the leadership, who have tried and failed to have Him arrested.  He has just walked out of the temple.  See this last reading from chapter 8, in which Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."  The healing in today's reading comprises the sixth sign of seven in John's Gospel.  Of all the miracle stories in the Bible, this is the only one in which the person was blind from birth.  The blind man, according to my study bible, is symbolic of all humanity:  all need illumination by Christ, the Light of the world.  This sign is also considered an illustration of baptism, which is also called "holy illumination."

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."  Importantly, Christ rejects the assumption (which was common in the ancient world) that all troubles and illness come as the consequence of personal sin or the sins of one's parents (see Exodus 20:5, Deuteronomy 5:9; contrast with Ezekiel 18:19-21).  Clearly, suffering may be the direct result of personal sin, but it is not always the case.  In this instance, this man's blindness, in the words of Jesus, provides the occasion for the works of God to 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."  My study bible tells us that the work people do consists of faith (6:29), good deeds (5:29), and repentance (12:40).  The night refers both to the time after a person's death and also to the age to come, when there is no longer an opportunity to express faith.  My study bible cites St. John Chrysostom, who writes that on that day there will not be faith, but all will submit, whether willingly or unwillingly.  The "illumination" of the eyes of the man born blind since birth is the sign that confirms Christ's claim that He is 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.  St. Irenaeus sees in this mixture of clay and saliva a type of the creation of humanity from the earth as one reads in Genesis 2:7.  Christ reveals His divinity in restoring part of creation using the same material with which He as Lord created humanity "in the beginning" (Genesis 1:1, John 1:1). The pool of Siloam was on the outskirts of Jerusalem, and a considerable distance from the temple.  Water was taken from this pool for rites connected with the Feast of Tabernacles (such as commemorated the time Moses struck the rock, from which flowed water in Exodus 17:1-7).  On the last day of the feast, water would be taken from the pool and mixed with wine, to be poured at the foot of the altar as purification and remembrance.  Siloam translated, Sent, symbolizes Christ, who was sent by the Father (5:36, 20:21).  My study bible tells us that just as the healing of the blind man confirms Christ's claim to be the light of the world, so also, His use of the pool of Siloam confirms 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, "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."    The Pharisees have so far ignored the signs Jesus has performed, including the previous healing of the paralytic in order to focus on the perceived violation of the Sabbath (5:10-16), and here they continue the same pattern.  We note the testimony of the formerly blind man.  He says what He knows, but his knowledge of Christ is partial.  In future readings, he will provide a model for witnessing.

What is it we can say about the blindness of (some) of the Pharisees?  Surely blindness is linked to stubbornness, a kind of refusal to see or to be further illumined.  They hold all the keys here, they have the information and the answers.  They know the law.  And this sense of their own knowledge and faith in its completeness leaves them blind to what is happening before their eyes.  Where are their priorities?  How do they value what is happening here?   The Gospels tells us that Pilate understood these men, that they will hand Jesus over because of envy.   But at this point in John's Gospel, we have to ask ourselves what is happening.  This healing of the man blind from birth is the sixth of seven signs in John, performed by Jesus and indicating the presence of the kingdom of God.  For these Pharisees, the healing of a man blind from birth was an astounding spiritual act, unheard of in all of Scripture.  Yet some appear not to ask themselves anything about this astonishing event, in just the same way that they appeared not to notice the basic goodness in the healing of the paralytic.  Their concern is, specifically, their concern -- that is, their role as guardians of the Law and the Scriptures.  These are their expertise, and they will not give up their focus on that authority even for an astonishing revelation.  What counts for them is the violation of the Sabbath, their particular "jurisdiction," so to speak.  The rest is irrelevant to them.  We read in the text that there is disagreement among the Pharisees.  Others among them take note and must ask, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?"  At this point we must ask ourselves, then, what is it that occurs in the thinking of these men?  We know the point of view of the Gospel, and the outcome of this story.  But if we're tempted to think that this is the only point, we fool ourselves.  The Gospels give us a universal story.  They tell us about ourselves and our own ways of thinking -- and how we, too, get "stuck" within our own understanding, our own guardianship of our personal authority, and what we think is important and good.  Unless our hearts are open to the work of God in the world, which can always be "eye-opening" and revelatory, we just might miss something important that will broaden our own understanding of God's work in the world and ways in which we, too, may serve God in our lives.  Whatever we know as good and important may remain so, but God who is spirit will always be at work to push us to growth.  Even more importantly, God will always be calling us into active living relationship.  Jesus says to these men repeatedly, that if they had the love of God in their hearts, they would "know" Him as Son.   In the midst of the present scene, we have to ask ourselves when we have found ourselves playing the same role as the Pharisees who can only see the violation of the Sabbath.  Chances are that at another time we are those among the Pharisees who raise a question against those who wish to censure Christ.  We can each find ways in which we relate to the characters in this story.  Always we ask ourselves, how can we serve Christ in this picture of ourselves playing the same roles.  How does the heart teach us the love of God and how that love calls us forward.  These aren't easy questions and there aren't necessarily easy answers when we apply the questions to our own lives.  But there is an answer; it comes from the love of God, and it's always calling us forward -- into the light and our own need to see.  With the healed blind man, we will see a gradual growth in understanding, and so it is with us all.