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 

 

We are currently reading through the section of St. John's Gospel that covers events which occurred at the Feast of Tabernacles, an autumn harvest festival (John 7-10:21).  This Feast commemorates the time that Israel followed Moses in the wilderness, and dwelt in tents (or tabernacles).  It is now the final year of Christ's earthly life.  At this festival He has been teaching and disputing with the religious leaders.  Yesterday we read that Jesus taught, "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."  As we begin chapter 9, after His disputes with the religious leaders, Jesus encounters a man at the Feast of Tabernacles who was blind from birth.  Here Christ rejects a common assumption for the time that all troubles and maladies are the consequence of personal sin, or possibly the sins of one's parents (see Exodus 20:5; Deuteronomy 5:9; contrast Ezekiel 18:19-21).  Although suffering may be the direct result of personal sin, this is not always the case at all.  In this particular instance, this man provides the occasion for the works of God to be revealed, and was not directly related to the man's personal sins.  

 

 "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 states that the work that people do consists of faith, good deeds, and repentance (see John 6:29; 5:29; 12:40).  The night that comes, it says, 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.  According to St. John Chrysostom, on that day there will not be faith, but rather all will submit, whether willingly or unwillingly.  

 

 "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."  In the previous chapter, Jesus made this same claim, "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12).  We should remember that all of Christ's teachings are linked to the backdrop of the events and commemorations of the Feast of Tabernacles, one of which is the remembrance of the great pillar of fire, acting as a torch which gave the light to led the Israelites through the night (Exodus 13:21).  Jesus' proclamation declares that He is that light; moreover the healing He will do will affirm that He is the One who gives light, even to eyes blind from birth.

 

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."  My study Bible tells us that St. Irenaeus sees in this mixture of clay and saliva a type of the creation of humanity from the earth (Genesis 2:7).  Christ reveals His divinity by restoring part of creation using the same material with which He created humanity in the beginning.  The pool of Siloam was on the outskirts of Jerusalem, a distance from the temple.  This pool is also connected to the rites of the Feast of Tabernacles, for water was taken from it, mixed with wine, and poured at the foot of the altar, both as purification and in remembrance of the water that flowed from the rock which Moses struck (Exodus 17:1-7).  Siloam, when translated, means Sent, is a symbol of Christ, who is sent by the Father (John 5:36; 20:21).  My study Bible comments that just as the healing of this blind man confirmed Christ's claim to be the light of the world, so also, as He uses the pool of Siloam it confirms that He is the true purification of the temple and those who worship in it. 

 

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."   Just as the Pharisees had ignored the healing of the paralytic and focused only on the perceived violation of the Sabbath at the earlier Feast of Weeks (John 5:1-16), so here my study Bible notes that many of them can't see the glory of God through their own prejudices.

 

 Today we read about the sixth of seven miraculous signs reported in St. John's Gospel.  My study Bible tells us that of all the miracle stories in the Bible, this is the only one in which the person was blind from birth.  It says that this man is symbolic of all of humanity; we all need illumination by Christ, who is the Light of the world.  Moreover, this sign is an illustration of baptism, which is also called "holy illumination."  It's interesting to think about the way that Jesus "bathes" this man's eyes in order to heal them, and allow the light of his illumination to enter, which as it turns out, will be both physical and spiritual.  As we go through the continuing story in this chapter, his transformation will include body, soul, and spirit.  In some way, the 're-creation' of His eyes involves both the earth and also that which divinity has touched, the incarnate Son's spittle and the dust of the earth.  It's, of course, significant that the word anointed is used repeatedly for what Jesus does to heal this man's eyes.  Just as Holy Baptism prepares us for a life of faith in which our spiritual completeness may be sought as union with Christ, so the anointing of this man's eyes becomes the beginning, the opening of the door to a transfigured life.  Thus, we have a metaphor in the clay of the Incarnation.  Christ became human so that we all may be healed through One both fully divine and fully human.  The mixture of spittle (which proceeds from His mouth) and dust of the earth will act as the transformational beginning for this man's new life of faith.  Of course, the metaphors of blindness and sight are important here, for blindness can mean darkness and limited understanding, while sight is possible through the perception of light, illumination, and is therefore analogous to spiritual sight.  As we will see, the formerly blind man will continue to grow in his faith as the story progresses in the Gospel.  Let us look to our own growth in faith through the light of Christ as our guidance in the world.

 

 

 

 

For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind

 

 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight.  And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind?  How then does he now see?"  His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know.  He is of age; ask him.  He will speak for himself."  His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.  Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."  So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory!  We know that this Man is a sinner."  He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know.  One thing I know; that though I was blind, now I see."

Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you?  How did He open your eyes?"  He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen.  Why do you want to hear it again?  Do you also want to become His disciples?"  Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples.  We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from."  The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!  Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.  Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.  If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."  They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?"  And they cast him out.

Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"  He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"  And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you."  Then he said, "Lord, I believe!"  And he worshiped Him  And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."  Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?"  Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.'  Therefore your sin remains."

 

- John 9:18–41 

 

In our current readings, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, and it is the final year of His earthly life.  He has been disputing in the temple with the religious leaders, who sought to arrest Him and to stone Him, and failed to do either one.  Yesterday we read that, 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."

 

 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight.  And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind?  How then does he now see?"  His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know.  He is of age; ask him.  He will speak for himself."  His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.  Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."  So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory!  We know that this Man is a sinner."   My study Bible comments that, with Jesus not present, the Pharisees call Him a sinner, but earlier when He asked them face-to-face, "Which of you convicts me of sin?" (John 8:46), they evaded the question.  Give God the glory! was an oath formula which was used before giving testimony, according to my study Bible.  But nonetheless, God truly give God glory.  The more he's pressed, the more fervent his faith grows, and at the same time, the Pharisees lapse into deeper darkness. 

He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know.  One thing I know; that though I was blind, now I see."  In giving this testimony, the healed man becomes a model of Christian witness.  My study Bible comments that many people do not bear witness to Christ because they are afraid they will be asked questions which they cannot answer.  But this man's answer to people who are more educated  than he is provides the right solution:  he admits what he does not know, but follows up with what he does not know, but yet follows up with what he does know.  My study Bible says that the formula, "That I don't know, but what I do know is this," is foundational to witnessing one's faith to others.

Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you?  How did He open your eyes?"  He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen.  Why do you want to hear it again?  Do you also want to become His disciples?"  Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples.  We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from."  The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!  Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.  Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.  If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."  They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?"  And they cast him out.  Since Christ had opened this formerly blind man's eyes, He also opens his heart and illumines his spirit.  The man has moved from knowing almost nothing about Christ (verse 25), through the understanding that Jesus could not possibly be a sinner (verse 31), to confessing that Jesus must be from God (verse 33); and finally to see Christ as the divine Son of God and worship Him (John 9:38).  Since the Pharisees once again cannot refuge the man's logic nor the truth of what he reveals, they once more resort to personal insult ("You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?"); see also John 8:48.  Additionally the unprecedented nature of opening the eyes of one who was born blind, my study Bible comments, is a confirmation of Christ's divinity.  This was one of the signs of the coming Messiah (Isaiah 35:5; 42:7) and a prerogative which belonged solely to God (Psalm 146:8).

Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"  He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"  And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you."  Then he said, "Lord, I believe!"  And he worshiped Him  And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."  Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?"  Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.'  Therefore your sin remains."  My study Bible notes here that the Lord's coming brought judgment to the world, not because He came to judge (John 12:47-48), but because of our accountability to Him.  It says that those who see and hear Him but do not believe are judged by their own faithlessness. 

 

Today's reading is marked by issues of "sight."  How do we see?  What do we see?  Are we responsible if we say we see?  Jesus has healed this man blind from birth, a miraculous healing that is singular in all of Scripture -- for never was there a report of a person whose sight was restored from blindness at birth.  Of course the religious leaders are even more zealously going to go after Christ now.  They were already after Him after He healed a paralytic on the Sabbath.   Now this stupendous miracle of healing a man blind from birth has also happened on a Sabbath.  The religious leaders begin by questioning the formerly blind man's parents, who are so terrified to respond that they say, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know.  He is of age; ask him.  He will speak for himself."  It's a little like the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, only the inverse.  There we also read about sudden sight; we're told, "Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings."  God asks them, "Who told you that you were naked?"  Adam first blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent.  They will all pay the consequences, and we the inheritors of the earth live with the same.  But in some sense, in this healing, Jesus reverses what is sometimes referred to as the Fall.  There is no shame in this act of this man's eyes being opened.  On the contrary, Jesus has declared, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him."  Here this man's eyes having been opened in the sense of physical sight, we see his spiritual sight gradually grow as well.  Again, the themes of sight and sinning reverse themselves from the Genesis story.  The religious leaders swear him to an oath, significantly, "Give God the glory!"  And they go on to claim about Jesus, "We know that this Man is a sinner."  The roles are reversed; here it is God Himself in the Person of Christ the Son who is declared a sinner by the religious leaders.  The formerly blind man answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know.  One thing I know; that though I was blind, now I see."  It's truly powerful that my study Bible declares this the model of Christian witness or testimony of faith; it is both about seeing and telling the truth one knows, and that leads to a greater and expanding vision of truth.  This in turn leads to a greater revelation of faith; Jesus finds and asks the man if he believes in the Son of God.  Then He reveals to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you."  Then the man declares, "Lord, I believe!" His spiritual sight being truly opened, he then worshiped Christ.  This is the restoration of the relationship between God and Adam and Eve in the Garden, where this healed man may now speak with and fully engage in worship with God.  But there's a deeper story than the simple reversal of the Fall; it is a picture of this world in which Christ has entered.  And Jesus declares this new state of the world, this new age, in the following open way for all of us:  "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind." This seems a paradoxical statement, but it is both further illumined and made more complex in Christ's next statement to the religious leaders, who still quite evidently don't see, ""If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.'  Therefore your sin remains."  They cannot admit to their blindness and repent; but they declare they see, so their sin remains.  This is the state of the world in which we live now, this age which the coming of Christ has inaugurated for judgment.  At the Last Supper, Jesus will say to the disciples, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged" (John 16:7-11).  So we dwell in this place where so much depends upon our sight, on how we rely on faith to open our sight, or not:  sin, righteousness, and judgment all live there.  How will we play our part?  To whom shall we turn for our illumination, our sight, so that our eyes are washed in the living water He offers to restore? 

 

 

For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind

 

 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight.  And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind?  How then does he now see?"  His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know.  He is of age; ask him.  He will speak for himself."  His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.  Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."   So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory!  We know that this Man is a sinner."  He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know.  One thing I know:  that though I was blind, now I see."  Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you?  How did He open your eyes?"  He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen.  Why do you want to hear it again?  Do you also want to become His disciples?"  Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples.  We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from."  The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!  Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.  Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.  If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."  They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?"  And they cast him out. 

Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"  He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"  And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you."  Then he said, "Lord, I believe!"  And he worshiped Him.  And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."  Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?"  Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.'  Therefore your sin remains.

 

- John 9:18-41 

 

In our recent readings, Jesus has been at the Feast of Tabernacles, an autumn harvest festival, and it is the final year of His earthly life.  He has been disputing with the religious leaders, and given many teachings.  Because of His declaration of equality with the Father, they tried to stone Him, but Jesus went out of the temple.  Yesterday we read that, as Jesus passed by, He saw a man 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 this 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."

 

  But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight.  And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind?  How then does he now see?"  His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know.  He is of age; ask him.  He will speak for himself."  His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.  Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."  So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory!  We know that this Man is a sinner."  My study Bible comments that with Jesus not present, the Pharisees call Him a sinner, but earlier when He asked them face-to-face, "Which of you convicts Me of sin?" (John 8:46), they evaded the question.  Give God the glory! was an oath formula used before giving testimony.  Nonetheless, the healed man will truly give God glory in his dialogue with Jesus further on in our reading ("Lord, I believe!").  The more he is pressed, my study Bible notes, the more fervent his faith becomes, while the Pharisees lapse into deeper darkness.  To get an idea about their use of power, note how the parents of the formerly blind man fear to say anything to them, referring them only to their son, who will understandably come to rely on Christ,  "He is of age; ask him."

He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know.  One thing I know:  that though I was blind, now I see."  My study Bible says that this healed man becomes a model of Christian witness.  Many people do not bear witness to Christ because they fear they will be asked questions they cannot answer.  This man's answer to people who are much more educated than himself provides our solution:  he admits what he does not know, but follows up with what he does know.  My study Bible tells us that this formula, "That I don't know but what I do know is this," is foundational to witnessing one's faith to others. 

Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you?  How did He open your eyes?"  He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen.  Why do you want to hear it again?  Do you also want to become His disciples?"  Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples.  We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from."  The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!  Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.  Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.  If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."  They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?"  And they cast him out.  My study Bible asks us to see the evolution of the faith of this man.  Having his eyes opened by Christ begins a process of healing whereby his heart and spirit also become illumined.  Here he moves from knowing almost nothing about Jesus, through the conclusion that He could not possibly be a sinner, to confessing that Jesus must be from God -- and in dialogue with Jesus a little farther on in today's passage, to seeing Him as the divine Son of God and worshiping Him.  As the man says, it was unprecedented that the eyes of one who born blind would be opened.  This is a confirmation of Christ's divinity, and also a prophesied sign of the coming Messiah (Isaiah 35:5; 42:7), a prerogative belonging solely to God (Psalm 146:8).  Note the process of the man's logic which the Pharisees cannot refute, neither can they dispute the truth of what he reveals to them -- therefore, characteristically, they again resort to personal insult (see John 8:48). 

Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"  He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"  And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you."  Then he said, "Lord, I believe!"  And he worshiped Him.  And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."  Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?"  Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.'  Therefore your sin remains.  My study Bible says that Christ's Incarnation brought judgment to the world, not because He came to judge (John 12:47-48), but because of humankind's accountability to Him.  Those who see and hear Him but do not believe are judged by their own faithlessness.  

What does it mean to truly hear and see Christ, and yet reject any faith in Him, to reject belief?  What is it about being exposed to the deity in the expression and works of Christ which is potent enough to render judgment in those who cannot accept them?  It tells us something not only about Christ, but also about our own capacities for knowing God.  For, unless we were capable of communing with God, of recognizing spiritual truth within ourselves, how could our rejection be that powerfully condemning?  What we receive from this understanding is not simply the depth of our freedom (for how deep must our freedom be to be capable of such potent rejection?), but also the nature of truth itself, and our own internal capacity to participate in it, and the dynamic internal call to faith.  We might think it a no-brainer to accept Christ should we be standing in the shoes of any witnesses to this stupendous healing of a man who was blind from birth.  But if so, then we fail to understand our own capacity for rejection and selfishness.  For clearly, the religious authorities do not want to relinquish any of their own authority which they would have to do if they recognized Jesus as the Christ.  This capacity for self-delusion which is ultimately self-serving is something that perhaps should never surprise us, if we but look around in our world.  But the figure of Christ adds an extra dimension to this question.  His presence tells us at once about the compelling nature of spiritual truth, and also of our own capacities for rejection of it, for fooling ourselves, and for our own blindness to anything but our own immediate gratification.  For we should consider what it might mean for the Pharisees, like Nicodemus who is one of them, to accept Christ among them.  At this time in history, Israel was suffering and on its way to terrible defeat and dispersion, even the horrific destruction of the temple and the Siege of Jerusalem that would come in a generation.  Who knows what path was possible should these men have recognized and accepted Christ?  The same is true for our lives as well.  It is hard for us to see beyond our immediate grasp of circumstances; we are blind to the future.  So often we fail to calculate where our path is taking us.  This happens because we fail to acknowledge our own ignorance and blindness.  It happens because we think we know more than we really do.  And it happens because we have our own course we'd rather pursue than face where a spiritual truth will take us, and there is the real crux of the matter.  Like these Pharisees, we fail to see and note our own blindness and limited capacity for understanding the powerful forces that surround us spiritually and are invisible to us.  We fail to see where our own misguided selfishness and even corruption is leading.  But most importantly, a rejection of Christ (that is, of the spiritual truth He offers) has its own capacity for disastrous consequences, for plans that go awry, for the wrong-headed pursuit of a dead end or one that leads to destruction.  In today's reading, a man blind from birth receives his sight.  But as my study Bible pointed out, this "sight" isn't merely physical; it also, of necessity, becomes a healing of soul and spirit, a granting of sight also on these levels of personal life for this man.  Let us consider this man a stand-in for ourselves; perhaps he has the great advantage of knowing he is blind, when we do not -- and we are capable of fooling ourselves enough to believe that we know more than we really do.  For today, let us consider what we miss when we fail to sit up and take note, to find the truth in Christ standing before us, even within us and among us (Luke 17:20-21).  What we fail to see might be the very thing we need, the one thing necessary, without which we might be among the blind led by the blind.  But it is the deliberate blindness of those who should know better which should give us all pause, for it is something of which we are each capable.

 

 

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

 

 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man 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 this 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 recent readings, Jesus is attending the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, and it is the final year of His earthly life.  He has been disputing with the Pharisees and others among the religious leaders.  In yesterday's reading, He told them, "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 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."  Today's reading gives us the sixth sign of seven recorded in the Gospel of John.  Let us note first that this man was blind from birth.  Of all the miracle stories in the Bible, my study Bible says, this is the only one in which the person was blind from birth.  Here Jesus also rejects the assumption, which was common in the ancient world, that all troubles and maladies are necessarily the consequence of personal sin or even the sins of one's parents (see Exodus 20:5, Deuteronomy 5:9; contrast with Ezekiel 18:19-21).  Although suffering can be the direct result of personal sin, my study Bible reminds us, this is most certainly not always the case.  In this particular instance, the man's blindness provides the occasion for the works of God to be revealed, and was not related directly to the man's (nor his parents') personal sins.

"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 (John 6:29), good deeds (John 5:29), and repentance (John 12:40).   It says that the night that comes 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.  On that day, according to St. John Chrysostom, 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."  We should recall that, as Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles, this is the last, eighth day of that feast.  On this day the great lamps were illumined at night in an outer courtyard of the temple, a commemoration of the pillar of fire which guided the Israelites at night as they followed Moses.  These huge oil lamp menorahs burned so brightly and with so much fire that they illumined great sections of Jerusalem at night.  In this context, Jesus makes this claim, and will go on to bring "light" and sight in an unprecedented way to the eyes of one who was born blind as a manifestation of what is true for all of us. 

 

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 notes the commentary of St. Irenaeus, who sees in this mixture of clay and saliva a type of the creation of humanity from the earth (Genesis 2:7).  It says that Christ reveals His divinity by restoring part of creation using the same material with which He created humanity in the beginning.

 

 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 this 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."  The pool of Siloam was on the outskirts of Jerusalem, so Jesus has directed this man to go a considerable distance from the temple.  Water was taken from this pool for the rites which were connected to the Feast of Tabernacles, to purify the altar and as remembrance of the water flowing from the rock struck by Moses (Exodus 17:1-7).  Siloam, translated Sent, is a symbol of Christ, the One sent by the Father (John 5:36, 20:21).  As the healing of this blind man confirms Christ's claim to be the light of the world (John 8:12), so also, my study Bible comments, His making use of the pool of Siloam confirms that He is the true purification of the temple and those who worship in it. 

 

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 notes that just as the Pharisees had ignored the healing of the paralytic and focused only the perceived violation of the Sabbath (in John 5:10-16), here many of them cannot see the glory of God through their own prejudices. 

Today's reading gives us the sixth sign of seven in John's Gospel, the restoration of sight to a man born blind.  My study Bible says that this man is symbolic of all of humanity:  all need illumination by Christ, who is the Light of the world.  It says that this sign is an illustration of baptism, which is also called "holy illumination."   We get other suggestions of baptism in the reading as well, as the man is told to go wash his eyes in the pool of Siloam (meaning "Sent"), the waters of which were also used in the temple ceremony at the Feast of Tabernacles for purification of the altar.  There are ties between baptism and this pool also in addition to its aspects of purification, in the context of restoration and rebirth.  The pool was used for ceremonies commemorating the water flowing from the rock struck by Moses.  But Christ has already taught that, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38).  This living water is the Holy Spirit, which grants a rebirth in baptism, and ongoing regeneration.   Therefore in the granting of sight to the man blind from birth, we see a kind of baptism, of illumination as well as the Lord's gift of the Holy Spirit to the faithful.  Christ as Lord is also clear in the symbolism of the clay made from earth and His saliva.  We know that figures of clay were made into false idols, supposedly given life in pagan ceremonies, but dead and lifeless.  It is only the Lord who can give life, and it is He who through the clay gives life more abundantly to the blind man, illumination in the restoration of his sight.  The magnificent lamps of the temple courtyard illumine Jerusalem in commemoration of the pillar of fire that went before the Israelites as they followed Moses.  Here, the healed blind man grasps for an understanding of who Jesus is, and tells the people who question him that Jesus must be a prophet.  But He is more than a prophet, and this we know, and the blind man, in his ongoing illumination on a number of levels, will also come to know.  Christ is the Lord who sent the pillar of fire to illumine the way for Israel through the darkness, and He is the light who shines in the darkness for us (John 1:5).  In all of these ways, we can come to understand the symbolism present, which, particularly to ancient eyes, and throughout the understanding of the Church, is a means whereby we perceive the poetry of God, the meanings and substance that echoes and manifest through these images.  Let us consider their powerful message, and seek Christ's light for ourselves -- and to live out the promise of our baptism.  We should note how Christ leads the disciples with His light shed on the man's blindness from birth.  Moreover, as the Cross will be transfigured by His Passion, so this man's blindness becomes occasion for the works of God.  Let us seek that same light that transfigures our lives and our own circumstances, and gives us insight into things we are otherwise blind to.

 

 

One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see

 

 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight.  And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind?  How then does he now see?"  His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know.  He is of age; ask him.  He will speak for himself."  His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.  Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."

So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory!  We know that this Man is a sinner."  He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know.  One thing I know:  that though I was blind, now I see."  Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you?  How did He open your eyes?"  He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen.  Why do you want to hear it again?  Do you also want to become His disciples?"  Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples.  We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from."  The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!  Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.  Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.  If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."  They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?"  And they cast him out.

Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"  He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"  And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you."  Then he said, "Lord, I believe!"  And he worshiped Him.  And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."  Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?"  Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.'  Therefore your sin remains."

 

- John 9:18–41 

 

In our current reading, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem (a section of John's Gospel which began with chapter 7).  Yesterday we read that as Jesus passed by, going out of the temple, 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."

 

  But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight.  And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind?  How then does he now see?"  His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know.  He is of age; ask him.  He will speak for himself."  His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.  Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."   In John's Gospel, we already understand that the terms the Jews is most frequently used as a political one, to designate the religious rulers in the temple, and not the people.  Unless specifically indicated otherwise, all the people in John's Gospel are Jews, including Jesus and the man that was born blind, as well as the author of the Gospel.  Here the religious rulers quiz the parents of the man who had received his sight from Christ's healing (see yesterday's reading, above).  The Gospel notes the fear of the parents, who simply reply, "He is of age; ask him.  he will speak for himself."   In a sense, the healed man is on his own, and must testify for himself.

So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory!  We know that this Man is a sinner."  My study bible comments that with Jesus not present, the Pharisees call Him a sinner, but earlier when He asked them face-to-face, "Which if you convicts Me of sin?" (John 8:46), they evaded the question.  Give God the glory! was an oath formula which was used before giving testimony.  But this healed man will indeed give God the glory -- the more he is pressed, the stronger his faith seems to become, while the Pharisees dig deeper into their own self-deception. 

He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know.  One thing I know:  that though I was blind, now I see."  Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you?  How did He open your eyes?"  He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen.  Why do you want to hear it again?  Do you also want to become His disciples?"  Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples.  We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from."  The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!  Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.  Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.  If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."  They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?"  And they cast him out.  The formerly blind man who is now healed become a model of Christian witness.  My study bible says that many people do not bear witness to Christ because they fear they will be asked questions they cannot answer.  This man's answer to people who are far more educated than he is provides us with the correct solution:  he admits what he does not know, but follows up with what he does know.  My study bible says that this formula:  "That I don't know, but what I do know is this," is foundational to witnessing one's faith to others.   Note that for his honest testimony, he has been cast out of the temple.   My study bible also adds that the unprecedented nature of opening the eyes of one who was born blind is a confirmation of Christ's divinity.   This was understood as one of the signs of the coming Messiah (Isaiah 35:5, 42:7), and a prerogative which was considered to belong solely to God (Psalm 146:8). 

Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"  He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"  And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you."  Then he said, "Lord, I believe!"  And he worshiped Him.    My study bible comments that, having opened the blind man's eyes, Christ also opens his heart and illumines his spirit to the truth of Jesus' identity.  This healed man has moved from knowing nearly nothing about Jesus to the conclusion that He could not possibly be a sinner, and then through confessing that He must be from God (see the verses immediately preceding these), to finally seeing Him as the divine Son of God and worshiping Him.

 

And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."  Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?"  Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.'  Therefore your sin remains."   The transformation the formerly blind man has gone through, subsequent to Christ's healing him, is also a process of illumination.  But here Christ shows the Pharisees have lapsed into a deeper and stubborn darkness; they are therefore deliberately spiritually blind.   Christ says, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."  In this passage, we have observed how this happens.  Christ's coming into the world brought judgment to the world, not because He came to judge, my study bible says (see John 12:47-48), but because of our own human accountability to Him.  Those who see and hear Him but who do not believe are judged by their own faithlessness, their response to Christ and His word.

The presence of Christ Himself acts as a kind of pivot point.  The man who has been healed of his blindness gravitates toward faith, which we can observe through the events of this chapter, and especially in today's reading.  Gradually, as things progress, and as he's pressed to find his own answers, he comes to a deeper and deeper faith.  He does this specifically by relying upon his own experience.  That is, upon what he knows to be true.  The religious leaders also come with their own assumed truths to this discussion.  Jesus is already their enemy; they already seek to take Him and prosecute Him (see, for example, this reading, in which the temple officers have been told to arrest Jesus and they fail to do so).  Moreover, the religious leaders must protect their positions, which they think Jesus, with His growing following of disciples, threatens.  The divisions among them, and among the people, which John has documented throughout his Gospel and especially in the scenes from the religious festivals in Jerusalem, also add to the unease of the religious leaders.  So they are already inclined to seek ways to dispute that anything good can come from Jesus, or that He could be truly a Man from God.  As we observe their responses to Jesus, in contrast to the healed blind man, we can see them digging more deeply and firmly into their own blindness to Christ and what He does.  We must make the observation that this is how judgment works.  It is not about Christ coming into the world to declare who is who.  It is all about our responses to Christ, His teachings, His word, His work in the world -- all of which is given by the Father (see, for example, Jesus' testimony to this in John 5:19-30).  It is not therefore a question of Christ imposing judgment, but rather of our response to the truth of what Jesus does and teaches, and in the word He gives -- all of which is from the Father, the fount of all that is.  As Jesus indicates in today's reading, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."   And in His word to the Pharisees and their deliberate and chosen blindness:  "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.'  Therefore your sin remains."   A true blindness is one thing, but one chosen despite greater awareness is another.  These religious leaders know full well the Scriptural truths and spiritual history of Judaism which Christ fulfills, but they choose, in their knowledge, to find ways to deny it, and to deny the witness of what is before them.  Let us note the contrast with the healed blind man, who sticks to the truth of his own experience and the reality of what has happened to him.   The presence of that experience is important, its immediacy informs the healed man what is true, and to what it is that he testifies.  Let us notice, also, how this experience has pulled him out of his environment.  He is brought into a place in which his identity as an individual is shaped and formed, and inadvertently brought out of a collective identity, as he is cast out of the temple by the religious leaders.  This is a form of martyrdom, in which his testimony to his experience of Christ gives his life shape and distinction; he is no longer simply of the world or of his time and place, but has been drawn, in a sense, out of the world (John 15:19).  His own testimony, his experience of being grilled by the religious leaders, further hones that process, as he sticks to the truth of his experience, and the humility to admit what he doesn't know.  Another important aspect of this testimony is simply how the healed man is riveted in the here and the now, so to speak.  To get down to the brass tacks of experience requires us to truly connect with the presence of what exactly we know, what has happened, and to focus on the present without distraction.  In the face-to-face encounter with Christ, and our retained experience of it, we find ourselves.  At the same time, we observe the religious leaders shrinking from that acknowledgement of what is immediately in front of them.  Let us witness this healed man's witnessing and consider our own lives.  What is your experience of Christ?  Could you testify to God's love in your life?  How does that bring you completely "present" right now?  How does that take you out of "the world"?

 

 

 

 

Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?

 

 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 

 

On Saturday, we read that many of Christ's disciples, when they heard Jesus' teaching about eating His flesh and drinking His blood, 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.

 

 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.  For the mid-Lent week (which has just passed), we were given readings from John chapter 6, a parallel to the Exodus story.  Today's reading begins where we left off before last week, and picks up from the final reading in chapter 8 (see this reading).  In chapters 7 and 8 we read about events at the Feast of Tabernacles, in which Jesus healed a paralytic, and we continue readings from this event in today's lectionary reading.  This first verse of chapter 9 gives us the framework for the sixth sign (of seven) given in John's Gospel.  Out of all the miracle stories in the Bible, my study bible says, this is the only one in which the person was blind from birth.   This blind man, it continues, is symbolic of all humanity:  everyone needs illumination by Christ, who is the Light of the world.  This sign is an illustration of Holy 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."  Christ rejects the assumption, which was common to the ancient world, that all troubles and illnesses are necessarily the consequence of personal sin or even the sin of parents (see Exodus 20:5, Deuteronomy 5:9 -- contrast with Ezekiel 18:19-21).  My study bible notes that although suffereing can be the direct result of personal sin, this is not always the case!  In this instance, the man's blindness, as declared by Jesus, provides the occasion for the works of God to be revealed, and was not linked directly to this man's personal sins.  

"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 explains that the work that people do consists of faith (John 6:29), good deeds (John 5:29), and repentance (John 12:40).   The night that comes, it says, 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.  On that day there will not be faith, but all will submit, according to St. John Chrysostom, whether willingly or unwillingly.

"As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."   My study bible comments that the unprecedented healing of the man born blind is a confirmation of Christ's claim here that He is the light of the world (see this reading from chapter 8).   This is the second time at the Feast of Tabernacles that Jesus has made this statement (see John 8:12).  

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.  In the mixture of clay and saliva, St. Irenaeus sees a type of creation of humanity from the earth (Genesis 2:7).  My study bible adds that Christ reveals His divinity by restoring part of creation using the same material with which He created humanity in the beginning. 

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.  The pool of Siloam was on the outskirts of Jerusalem, and it was a considerable distance from the temple.   At the Feast of Tabernacles (which Jesus is presently attending), water was taken for the rites connected with the feast.  Siloam, which the text tells us is translated, Sent, is symbolic of Christ, who is the One sent by the Father (John 5:36, 20:21).  My study bible comments that just as this healing of the blind man confirms Christ's claim to be the light of the world in John 8:12, so also, Christ's making use of the pool of Siloam is a confirmation that He is the true purification of the temple and of those who worship in it. 

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."   As we have come to observe, John's Gospel gives us the voices of the many varieties of witnesses to the miracles of Christ, and the varied testimonies.  Here the neighbors and others who knew this man was blind speak to one another.  Some answer that he looks like him.   The blind man affirms he is the same.  He testifies to what Jesus has done.  

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 comments that just as the Pharisees had previously ignored the healing of the paralytic (at the Feast of Weeks -- see this reading) and focused only on the perceived violation of the Sabbath (John 5:10-16), here many of them cannot see the glory of God through their own prejudices.   Once again, John's Gospel gives us the varied testimonies midst the questioning and debate of the religious leaders, and the division among them.

It's interesting to observe the witnesses and others who hear about Christ's miracles.  It seems to be given as a truth that people will look for their own explanations.  The healed blind man concludes about Jesus that He is a prophet, when the Pharisees quiz him.  The Pharisees declare that Christ is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.  Others ask how a sinner can do such signs.  Some of the neighbors declare the healed man simply looks like the one who was blind.  Everyone must find a way to explain what they are seeing, what they observe.   But with Christ, as the text indicates, there is nothing that is conventional or expected.  This is a first, this healing of a person who's been blind from birth.  Moreover, Jesus turns conventional expectations upside down.  There is no sin to blame for the blindness.  Neither this man, nor his parents sinned in a way to cause his blindness.  So Jesus also dispels this conventional understanding.  Here is His surprising statement, that this man is blind "that the works of God should be revealed in him."  This turns the conventional thinking of the time truly topsy-turvy:  a condition that one would normally mourn exists so that God's work should be revealed.  It is akin to St. Paul's thinking, when he writes, "And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.  And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).   The way of the Cross seems to be a way in which times of mourning might be turned into joy or celebration, a sense in which even when we feel we have a loss, there is also a sense of gain -- an opportunity for the Lord to work in our lives.  This is what a sense of grace does when we come to realize that God can create opportunities out of what would conventionally be seen as tragedy or occasion for grief or mourning of some kind.  An unhappy childhood may be the impetus for finding a deep relationship with the Lord, and being blessed with that gift of communion that so many seek.  A time of loneliness can be turned into revelation, as we take time for a deeper search for God with prayer and meditation.  Even the enforced quarantine period we've spent with the COVID-19 virus has proven to be an occasion for many for a deeper time of study and reflection.  Lent is conventionally called a time of "bright sadness" in the Eastern Church, as fasting traditions are understood in the light of preparation for Easter, a time of joy and celebration for the time we are ultimately united with the Bridegroom (Matthew 9:14-17).  By fasting we learn a discipline that helps us to serve and focus upon the Lord, and to share in the expressions of Christ's transcendence.  There are countless stories of saints whose occasions for loss or sadness turn into joy through the work of the Lord.  This is simply one aspect of the power and revelation of Christ:  that He brings the unexpected.  Things which were previously assumed and understood now can't cover the mysterious grace that is at work.  Conventional explanations and reasoning no longer suffice for what is given.  God will always be a step beyond our own boundaries and assumptions, and cannot be confined to barriers we impose.   As the story of this healed blind man continues, so will the revelation Christ offers for our faith, and so that all of us may have our eyes opened to what is possible with God.

For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind

 

 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight.  And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind?  How then does he now see?"  His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know.  He is of age; ask him.  He will speak for himself."  His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.  Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."

So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory!  We know that this Man is a sinner."  He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know.  One thing I know:  that though I was blind, now I see."  Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you?  How did He open your eyes?"  He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen.  Why do you want to hear it again?  Do you also want to become His disciples?"  Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples.  We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from."  The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!  Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.  Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.  If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."  They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?"  And they cast him out.

Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"  He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"  And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you."  Then he said, "Lord, I believe!"  And he worshiped Him.  And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."  Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?"  Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.'  Therefore your sin remains."

- John 9:18–41 

 

In our current readings, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem.  Yesterday we read that 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." 

 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight.  And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind?  How then does he now see?"  His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know.  He is of age; ask him.  He will speak for himself."  His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.  Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."   We notice in these verses the place of the formerly blind man.  His own parents fear the leadership and being ostracized from community by being put out of the synagogue.   They insist that he will speak for himself.   As witness, the healed man will have to testify alone and of himself.

So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory!  We know that this Man is a sinner."  My study bible points out that with Jesus not present, the Pharisees call Him a sinner, but earlier when He asked them face-to-face, "Which if you convicts Me of sin" (8:46), they evaded the question.  Give God the glory! was an oath formula that was used before a person would give testimony.  Nonetheless, this healed man will indeed give God glory, as we'll read further down.  The more he is pressed, the more strongly he expresses his faith, while the Pharisees lapse into greater darkness.

He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know.  One thing I know:  that though I was blind, now I see."   Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you?  How did He open your eyes?"  He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen.  Why do you want to hear it again?  Do you also want to become His disciples?"  Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples.  We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from."   My study bible tells us that this healed man has now become a model of Christian witness.  It says that many people do not bear witness to Christ because they fear they will be asked questions they cannot answer.  But this man's answer to people far more well-educated than he is provides the correct solution.  He admits what he does not know, and follows up with what he does know.  My study bible says that the formula, "That I don't know, but what I do know is this," is foundational to witnessing one's faith to others. 

 

The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!  Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.  Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.  If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."  They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?"  And they cast him out.  My study bible comments that  the unprecedented nature of opening the eyes of one who was born blind is a confirmation of Christ's divinity.  This was one of the signs of the coming Messiah (Isaiah 35:5; 42:7) and a prerogative which belongs solely to God (Psalm 146:8).  Let us note that successful witnessing does not mean necessarily converting others to one's way of thinking or winning them over somehow.  The more this man tells the truth, the more infuriated the leaders become.  They cannot refute his logic or the truth of what he reveals.  Therefore they resort to insult and they cast him out.   What is clear is their injustice and unrighteous behavior.

Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"  He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"  And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you."  Then he said, "Lord, I believe!"  And he worshiped Him.   My study bible makes note of the gradual spiritual illumination of the blind man which follows the physical opening of his sight.  It reminds us that he moves from knowing almost nothing about Christ, through the conclusion that Jesus could not possibly be a sinner, through confessing that Jesus must be from God, and to finally seeing Christ as the divine Son of God and worshiping Him. 

And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."  Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?"  Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.'  Therefore your sin remains."  My study bible says that our Lord's coming brought judgment to the world, not because He came to judge (12:47-48), but rather because of humankind's accountability to Him.   It says that those who see and hear Him but do not believe are judged by their own faithlessness.

The references to light in the recent passages, especially regarding the healing of this man blind from birth, are very important.  Historically, it is said that blindness is akin to darkness in physical and spiritual terms, and that the healing of a blind eye "lets the light in."  Illumination is an important concept that relates both to the physical healing of this man by Jesus -- think of it, who has never seen light in full -- and to the spiritual enlightenment of the man that follows.  By contrast, the religious leaders become increasingly stubborn in their blindness, clinging to their darkness, not wanting to know, embroiling themselves finally in insult and imposing hardship on the healed man by casting him from the community -- a kind of death.   In the end, Jesus says, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."   Once again Jesus extends the metaphor of light and blindness, but this time there is a different tenor to the message, an even more sobering one.  At this time, and in light of the behavior of the religious leaders, Jesus not only speaks of judgment, but indicates that judgment is His purpose in coming into the world.  This mysterious statement is an indication that those who seem to dwell in spiritual darkness may be enlightened through His work and mission, and those who are supposed to be illumined and knowledgeable are rendered blind.  This is precisely what has happened in this story in the examples of the man who was blind and now sees, and in the leaders who increasingly retreat into the darkness of ignorance of Christ and His works -- even the stupendous and beneficial miracle of healing right before them.  They hear Christ's words and ask, "Are we blind also?"  Jesus makes an even deeper affirmation of judgment by saying, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.'  Therefore your sin remains."   In other words, their insistence that they know better only renders them more culpable.  They have simply added to the cost of their denial of what is before them.  How often we may pause to ask ourselves what it means to be responsible for something we know or claim to know, something we have been told or witnessed and yet refuse to honor or take in.  There is a kind of deliberate ignorance which we can observe in the world, that has to do with a refusal to acknowledge something that is true.  Jesus contrasts this with people who don't know better, who haven't had an advantage of being taught something.  A deliberate ignorance, a shutting out of the light and of the truth is something altogether different from simple unawareness.  This has to do with a preference for darkness; and in the case of Christ's works and words, a preference for spiritual darkness, for the work and influence of one whom Jesus has recently called the father of these men.  In 8:44 Jesus said, "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."  The entirety of John's Gospel is concerned with judgment; it is concerned with truth and light, and the darkness that opposes them.  This is the darkness that prefers ignorance and lies, half-truths and deception, and Jesus rightly calls the effects and aim of such to be murder.  To deny truth is to murder:  it is to seek to destroy reality, the truth, the things necessary for real life, the energy and abundance of love, the things that nurture human life and the life of the world.  In this strategy of denial that is born out of selfishness to hang onto position and place, we find an investment in anything that hangs on to the status quo and prevents change borne of the light, and a refusal to heed God's word for fear of where it might lead.   It is this refusal of the light that will lead to the Cross, in a desire to shut it out for good.  In our personal lives, we may be faced with many crises, and it is easy for us to sink into deep denial of something we need to face.  This is a human response to change.  But God calls us forward, and we need to accept that this, also, is the place of the Cross, and the crosses we might bear in life.  We allow our Father and our Lord to take us forward; and the work of the Holy Spirit to work in us change at levels deeper than we know.  To refuse the gift of light is to refuse God's work, to hide what needs to be healed.  It means we reject His life.  These are themes that run straight from the beginning of John's Gospel, and will continue.  But Jesus is the One who always faces the real struggles of the world, for He knows also the beauty and truth of God toward which He seeks to lead us.