"5 Blind Mice" - April 3, 2011 Sermon

Listen to the Sermon

Watch the Sermon

Scripture: John 9:1-41

I remember reading a story about a man who visited a school for the bling one day. After being there for awhile, he remarked, "It must be terrible to go through life without your eyes." One of the students quickly responded, "It's not half so bad as having two good eyes but still not being able to see!" The point was well made! There is more than one kind of blindness. Perhaps none is more tragic than that which affects "the eyes of the heart!"

This morning's lesson identifies several forms of blindness, only one ofi which is physical. And that one, of course, was the problem affecting the beggar who was ordered brought to the Temple. The writer of John, in verse one, says he was a man "blind from birth." As a person blind from birth, he had never seen the faces of friends, he had never seen the soft beauty of flowers, not once did he ever see the smiles upon children's faces. I recall a class I had in high school when the teacher asked a couple of students to stand up, pretend they were talking to someone who was born blind and describe the color green to them. It was an impossible task to accomplish. If you are born blind, your whole understanding and concept of the world around you is fashioned from sound, smell, taste and touch! So the color green is a meaningful concept only to those who have seen it.

Another type of blindness in this story is theological. Popular understanding in Jesus' day decreed that suffering was the result of sin. you remember how Job's associates accused him of being a sinner? They were sure no one would be so terribly afflicted unless God was punishing them for some unspeakable sin. Their God was a God of Judgment, not mercy! In fact in Exodus it says that God remembers, "the iniquity of parents to the third and fourth generation" of their children. That could be why genealogy is so popular... Everyone wants to know what it was that their great grandparents did to cause them to suffer so much! In some ways that point of view has credibility today. Babies are born deformed and afflicted because of conscious decisions of one or both of the parents. Some examples are babies addicted to heroine or cocaine, babies born with AIDS because one of the parents was an intravenous drug user.

The disciples certainly believed that children could inherit sin and guilt from their parents, because when they were confronted with the beggar at the Temple door, they asked Jesus, "who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" What they had missed, was the compassionate nature of God that Jesus had been trying so hard, through his repeated references to God as Father, to get them to understand. Jesus had labored very hard to teach them about mercy and grace, and how God wanted only good for His children, whether they deserved it or not. So the disciples, at least at this point, were theologically blind.

Another type of blindness is Prejudicial blindness. This is found in the neighbors and worshipers who had seen the beggar at the Temple door every day for many years. They were unwilling to concede that he could ever change. Even after he was touched by Christ, and his eyes were opened, "It is not him but someone like him." They were unwilling to alter their opinion, once it had been formed.

Another blindness is Emotional blindness. This reflects the attitude of the parents. You recall how they responded to his healing. The man himself gave credit where credit was due. Jesus had opened his eyes, and he proclaimed to all who would listen, "He is a prophet!" But the Pharisees, who wanted to discredit Jesus, challenged the man's parents to offer an explanation for what had happened. Now most moms and dads would have been laughing or crying for joy. Not this mom and dad! Instead, they were nervously counting "the cost of discipleship." How much did they stand to lose by being honest? They knew the Sabbath laws, and that Jesus had broken them. They knew their son's standing in the religious community was in jeopardy because of his praise of Christ. They also knew that they would be cut off from their friends and the synagogue if they defended Jesus. So what did they do? They took the cowards way out!! they said "We do not know how it is that he now sees nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is of age. He will speak for himself." They were short-sighted in their self-centered-ness. They could only see as far as their own interests, their own security. How tragic it is, "Having two good eyes but still not being able to see."

The last blindness I want to talk about is Spiritual blindness. This is evident in the Pharisees. Jesus had become a threat to them. He was saying things that they had not said and doing things they could not do, and many people were listening to him. Jesus even caused problems among themselves. Verse 16 says, "And they were divided." The Pharisees were convinced that Jesus had to be silenced. It was the Sabbath when Jesus healed the blind man, and that was the ammunition they needed. You see, the legalists were more concerned with religious rules and regulations, than with love. They were looking for a public stone to throw at the Rabbi from Nazareth and they found it. "Jesus is not from God," they said, "for he does not observe the Sabbath."

The Pharisees were so bound by their adherence to the Law that the pain and disability of a blind beggar at the Temple door was ignored. Ritual took precedence over compassion! They were spiritually blind!

How easy it is for us to look at other persons and not see them in their true light. How easy it is for us to misjudge others because of external issues like age, race, economic status, gender, political affiliation, or even something as superficial as the clothes they wear! The Pharisees looked at the Messiah and saw Him as a threat instead of a blessing. The neighbors at the Temple looked at the man who had been healed and said, "It is not him, but it is someone like him." Having eyes, they did not see.

You know, it is easy for each of us to become blind to the truth about ourselves, unless we allow Christ to "Open our eyes that we may see." Only then can try transformation take place. JESUS DOES THAT FOR US, EVEN AS HE DID FOR THE BLIND BEGGAR! He opens our eyes that we may see others as children of God, and that we may see ourselves, not only as we are, but as we may yet become, in Christ!

What Jesus did for the beggar, he can do for us! He can open the eyes of our hearts that we may no longer stumble in the world's darkness, but at last may truly see why we are here!

The song Amazing Grace sums it up best:

"I ONCE WAS LOST BUT NOW AM FOUND, WAS BLIND BUT NOW I SEE!"

AMEN.