In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
John 9.1 – 38
At that time, as Jesus passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him. We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day; night comes, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” As he said this, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man’s eyes with the clay, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar, said, “Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?” Some said, “It is he”; others said, “No, but he is like him.” He said, “I am the man.” They said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash’; so I went and washed and received my sight.” They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.” They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. The Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put clay on my eyes and I washed, and I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” There was a division among them. So they again said to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.” The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight, and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself.” His parents said this because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess him to be Christ he was to be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, “He is of age, ask him.” So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give God the praise; we know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “Whether he is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you too want to become his disciples?” And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Why, this is a marvel! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe”; and he worshiped him.
Our Gospel reading begins with a question that the disciples ask of the Lord: why was this man born blind? And they suggest two answers: because of his own sin; or because of the sin of his parents.
Both suggestions are peculiar. The man was born blind. How could his blindness be a punishment for any sin he had committed? And why should a child be punished in such a way for the sins of others? Both would be manifestly unjust.
Additionally, as the Fathers point out, it is clear from what we read elsewhere in the Gospels that Jesus has already taught them that such suggestions are wrong. This is not how God operates. So why do they ask it?
Well, you may recall that last Sunday was that of the Paralytic, the man who sat in the porticos of Bethsaida, hoping to be healed when the angel came and stirred up the waters of the nearby poor; but in the all the years he waited he could never get the pool first.
Instead, his faith and patience was rewarded by Jesus, Who healed him. And after He had healed him, Jesus warned him to sin no more, lest worse happen to him. What our Lord meant by this, of course, was that even all this man had suffered much in this life, sin could bring far worse in the next.
But the disciples didn’t understand. And the Fathers tell us that they Instead thought that Jesus meant that the suffering he endured was punishment for his sins in this life. This why they ask their question and give the suggested answers that they do.
But Jesus has his own answer. Which was that the works of God might be manifest in him. The Fathers explain that what is meant by this is not the works of God the Father, which were already manifest; but rather those of the Son. Jesus at that moment is leaving the Temple, having yet again been rejected by the Jews. And seeing the Blind Man, he intends to give them a great Sign, to give them every opportunity to know who he really is, the Son of God, God incarnate.
Now, we might wonder, given that we know that Jesus had already made many who were blind see, why He thought that healing one more blind man would be considered so remarkable. Yet, the reaction from the people make it clear that it is far from an ordinary healing. The Blind Man himself says of it that ‘Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind’. And when Jesus later stands before the tomb of Lazarus, weeping, some in the crowd murmur that ‘could not He Who opened the eyes of the Blind Man kept this man from dying?’
So it is seen by all as an extraordinary miracle. The reason why, the Fathers tell us, is this was no ordinary blind man. He was blind because he had been born without eyes. This act of healing was more than just repairing eyes that were damaged; it was the creation of the eyes themselves.
Little wonder that the Blind Man says that it something unheard of since the beginning of the world; and little wonder that people think that if He could do something as amazing as that, healing a sick man should have been easy for Him.
The reaction to this great Sign is telling. Some, of course, believe. Others come up with all kinds of reasons not to believe. This isn’t the man born blind, it’s somebody else. He wasn’t born blind in the first place. Why should we trust anything this man says, he’s a sinner. It was done on the sabbath, so it means nothing – a good man would never do such a thing.
Sadly, there are always those who will reject the truth because it doesn’t suit them to believe it. The religious leaders then were afraid He would undermine their authority and cause trouble with the Romans. So, despite the evidence, they said He couldn’t be the Messiah; and He absolutely couldn’t be God.
Today, we have those who say that, of course, He is God; but He couldn’t possibly expect us to believe or follow so many of His teachings or those of His Church. I do not steal, they say, I do not murder. What more could He want of me? The answer, of course, is to obey His commandments, all of them: for it those who do so who love Him. I pray that you are such a one now. And always will be.
Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Amen.
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