March 10, 2002 -- FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT
1 Samuel 16:1-13
Psalm 23
You have anointed my head with oil. (Ps. 23:5)
Ephesians 5:8-14
John 9:1-41
Color: Purple
John 9:1-41
Title: “A keen sense of humor is not just a side advantage Christians receive at Baptism.”
Jesus gives sight to a man sightless from birth.
In chapter seven, we are told that Jesus goes to Jerusalem at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles, not “openly but, as it were, in secret.” Jesus seems to have used the Jewish practice of lighting four huge golden lamps in the courtyard of the women on the first night of Tabernacles, a “level one” action, level one is the physical world as we experience it, to indicate that he, on level two, level two is the spiritual dimension we experience with our faith eyes or the supernatural, is the light of the world. In chapter nine he gives his light to a blind man. What happens to the man on level one, the natural level, is an indication, a sign, of what happens to anyone who accepts Christ on level two, the supernatural or spiritual level. Light used as a sign of enlightenment became a major teaching on the meaning of Christian baptism, second only to being submerged in water and rising from it as a sign of the dying and rising of Christ in the Christian. Johannine irony is evident in this story. The roles are reversed. The man sees with complete clarity as the Pharisees show by their hardness of heart, that they are the blind ones.
The story is a model of conversion. The cured man is the spokesperson for all converts to Christ. The Samaritan woman exemplified the need to overcome divisions and prejudices, cultural and religious, and admit sin and thus the need for a savior- before Baptism. This story exemplifies what comes after, the trials one must undergo, particularly rejection, and how they actually contribute to more fully understanding the consequences of Christian faith.
There are six scenes in this story: First in verses one to seven, Jesus gives sight to the man born blind; Second, in verses eight to twelve, he is questioned by his neighbors; Third, in verses thirteen to seventeen, he is interrogated by the Pharisees; Fourth in verses eighteen to twenty-three, his parents are questioned; Fifth, in verses twenty-four to thirty-four, he is interrogated again by the “Jews;” and Sixth, in verses thirty-five to fourty-one, Jesus brings him to spiritual sight, even as the Pharisees become more spiritually blind. John has taken a miracle story, from the Synoptic tradition, but not from any of the Synoptics themselves, and shaped it into an excellent tool of Christian apologetics, answering Jewish objections to Christianity, and, at the same time, an excellent instruction for those about to be baptized. The “interrogatories,” of this story have become the “scrutinizes,” of the Rite of Christian Initiation.
In verses one to seven, Jesus gives sight to the man born blind in scene one. In verse one, a man born blind: This is the only mention in either the Old Testament or New Testament of a man born blind. In the Synoptics Jesus restored lost sight, but never gave sight to a person who never had it in the first place. John’s intention is to present this healing, not as an act of restoration, but as one of creation, a creative act by him who is the light of the world. The association between “Let there be light,” spoken as the first act of creation in Genesis 1:3 and Jesus bestowing the light of sight is meant to swim in the readers head. Also, that the man was blind “from birth,” Greek ek genetes, instead of the Hebraic expression “from his mother’s womb,” would associate his state of being in the readers’ minds, those who knew their Bible in Greek, with the “Let there be…” Greek genetheto) and “So it came to be…” Greek egeneto, of the Genesis passage on creation.
In verse two, who sinned?: Many Jews, certainly many Pharisees, believed that a person’s sin was the direct cause of their suffering, this despite the revelation to the contrary in the Book of Job. Jesus does not deny the causal relationship. A person’s attitudes and behavior can be the cause of his or her own suffering, and that of others. Yet, it is not always a direct one-to-one link. Over time the negative consequences of sin build up and cause suffering in people who had no direct part to play. Such was the case for this blind man. He did not cause his blindness by any sin. After all, he was born that way. The legalistic mindset reasoned otherwise. The man could be being punished for his parents’ sin. They caused it and his blindness is their fault, despite what Ezekiel says in 18: 20, which reads, “The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.” Some legalists went so far as to claim that a baby could commit sin in the womb. They gave as an example a pregnant woman committing idolatry and thereby involving the child in her womb in the act of bending in worship! This poor man either committed some such sin in his mother’s womb or one or both parents did something so wrong that God punished them by blinding their child. Jesus is asked to decide which it was. Whether the disciples believed the conventional wisdom is left open. The author may be putting words in their mouth for the sake of the story. Who asks the question seems to be irrelevant to the point.
In verse three, that the works of God might be made visible through him: Jesus does not deny the principle of a causal relationship between sin and suffering, only its specific application. He denies that the man’s blindness is caused by either parents or by the man himself. This is the same question and answer raised in Luke 13:1-5 regarding those killed by the accident at the tower at Siloam. Instead, he gives an interpretation of the facts on level two, bypassing level one, the level of conventional wisdom. What level one humans see as punishment and or tragedy, God, on level two, sees as an opportunity. Jesus bypasses the “cause,” question and answers in terms of “purpose.” Any situation caused by sin is an opportunity for God to do his thing, to work his work. In this case, it is an opportunity for God to make visible a truth which “blindness,” the story will show that he means spiritual blindness, does not see. Neither physical sight nor spiritual insight are human prerogatives owed to humans. Both are gifts from God, though both can be lost.
In verse four, We have to do the works…while it is day: “We,” is a Johannine clue that what Jesus says of himself here is also true of his disciples. They will continue the “works of the one who sent me.” They, like Jesus, will only be in the “day,” of this world so long. When it is “night,” when he and they are physically dead, it will be too late. Jesus will cure the man in order to both give him light and shed light on God’s hidden presence. This is an adaptation of a proverb, conventional wisdom, along the lines of “Work as hard and long as you can before it gets dark.” John has Jesus apply it to the time constraints he is under before his impending death, in order to reveal the Father’s glory as much as he can. His disciples are to maintain that same sense of urgency.
In verse five, While I am in the world I am the light of the world: When Jesus chanced upon the blind man he did only not see sin or even suffering the physical or level one, but also an opportunity to reveal God the spiritual or supernatural level of level two. He also saw his death on the near horizon by means of the same light he was shedding. While he was still “shining,” in the world he would bring his “daylight,” to it. Jesus got his understanding of being “light,” from Isaiah 49:6 where the Suffering Servant is described as “light to the nations.” He has just declared himself in 8:12 as “the light of the world.” Now, he demonstrates its meaning and application. In Matthew 5: 14 this role is given to the disciples.
In verse six, he spat…made clay…smeared the clay on his eyes: Using level one realities, such as, spit, clay, smearing, eyes, to indicate level two realities is the essence of sacramental action. Spittle was thought to have curative powers and Jesus does here what God did at creation by using clay or mud in the creation of humans in Geneses 2:6ff. This was to be seen as a creative act. Matthew and Luke omit any mention of Jesus’ use of spittle found in Mark 7:33 and 8:23 because it could so easily be misinterpreted as magic.
In verse seven, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam.”: The Old Testament background for this would be the command of Elisha to Naaman to bathe seven times in the River Jordan to be cured of leprosy 2Kings 5: 10-13. The immediate background would be the Feast of Tabernacles where water from Siloam’s pool was used in the water ceremonies of the feast. The author pauses to interpret the name “Siloam,” as “One Sent,” a popular etymology, to be sure, not technically correct, to clearly associate the water with Jesus, the One Sent.
Came back able to see: The miracle is reported without fanfare and is meant to highlight the healing power of water, when associated with Jesus, a veiled reference to Christian Baptism, as well as Jesus’ power to heal over a distance and after a time lapse. Like Naaman, the man obeyed and was rewarded by receiving sight. That is level one truth. The rest of the chapter will show how the miracle is also an act of interior enlightenment, level two truth. It will plumb the depths of level two interpretation.
In verses eight to twelve, questioning: by the neighbors’ scene two. This scene does not rise above level one. The man recounts the miracle for his neighbors to explain what happened to him. He has physical sight as a result of “a man called Jesus.” For now, he sees Jesus as no more than a man. This will change as he lives with the consequences of his sight and gains insight as a result of being questioned by others. The scene ends with the neighbors wanting to know the physical whereabouts of Jesus. The man answers, “I do not know.” He has a ways to go.
Verses thirteen to seventeen questioning: by the Pharisees scene three. This scene involves a typical legalistic dispute concerning Jesus. There are examples in the Synoptics as well. Jesus cured a man on the Sabbath. That amounted to doing work on the Sabbath and that was forbidden. The Pharisees maintain that Jesus was a sinner and asked, “How could a sinful man do such signs?” ‘Signs,” would mean what we mean by miracles. The question implies that the answer is the same as found in the Synoptics, that Jesus is in league with Beelzebub, the devil.
In verse seventeen, He is a prophet: The man has moved beyond level one. Having given the same factual testimony to the Pharisees as he gave to his neighbors, he now rises above the facts to give an interpretation of them. To say that Jesus is a prophet is to say he is “from God,” something the Pharisees have just said was impossible. His profession of faith echoes the characterization of Elisha in 2 Kings 5: 15 as a “man of God.” The man, under scrutiny, has moved from Jesus, a mere man, to Jesus, man of God, prophet.
Verses eight to twenty-three questioning: Of the parents by the Pharisees scene four.
In verse eighteen, the Jews did not believe that he had been blind: Note that John has changed “Pharisees,” to “Jews.” This latter term does not mean all Jews, only those opposed to Jesus, like the historical Pharisees. By the time of John’s publication few of his readers would know who the Pharisees as such were. Their first line of defense, prosecution really, was to deny what happened on level one. They set out to prove the man was not, in fact, physically blind. They would like to say that it never happened.
In verses nineteen to twenty-one, two witnesses, required by the Law, testify to the level one truth. Their son was born blind and now he can see. To that they could and did testify. As to who Jesus was, they took a pass. They were not there and pled inability to testify.
In verses twenty-two to twenty-three, if anyone acknowledged him as the Messiah: There is a lot implied here. At the time of Jesus, this would mean the parents would be presumed by the Pharisees to agree with their son’s assessment of Jesus as a prophet. Such a confession would be very close to calling him the Messiah and would cost them expulsion from their synagogue. Ordinarily, expulsion was for thirty days, but in very serious cases it was permanent. In the time of John, after 90AD, Christian Jews were formally banned from the synagogue, and thus from any and all association with fellow Jews, precisely because they acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah. John’s reader could identify with the parents’ position and response. They were not ready to pay the price, no matter it be lenient or severe. They represent Jews who know Jesus is more-than-ordinary but are unwilling to profess publicly because of the price. Many Jews who believed in Jesus paid the price of rejection, expulsion, even persecution long before Jewish Officialdom took a position against them.
Verses twenty-four to twenty-five, questioning: Of the man again by the Pharisees scene five.
The first time the man was questioned it ended with his professing Jesus to be a prophet, a man of God. This second session gets no further, except that the man is expelled from the midst of the Pharisees, a preview of what will happen to all Jewish Christians after 90AD, as a result of a decision at the Council of Jamnia. This scene is a bit of Christian humor, inside humor at that. While the stakes are high and the matter serious, the author employs his ability to express irony in a rather playful way. He is encouraging Christians to remain faithful in the face of opposition, even rejection, but here does so with a verbal smile on his face and chuckle in his cheeks.
In verse twenty-four, Give glory to God: Ironically, the man does give glory to God and credit to Jesus. However, the Pharisees think he’s lying and this expression is an oath formula used before taking testimony to swear in the witness.
In verse twenty-five, one thing I do know: The man’s saying that he does not know if Jesus is a sinner cannot be taken seriously, given what he has said in verse seventeen and what he will subsequently say. He is playing games with them, having fun at their expense. This man is not afraid, like his parents were. He repeats the undeniable, stubborn facts, almost daring them to deny them.
In verse twenty-six, How did he open your eyes?: His questioners want to go over the details once again, perhaps hoping to find something in the man’s testimony to condemn, one thing no matter how small.
In verse twenty-seven, Do you want to become his disciples too?: The man turns the tables on them and questions their motives. The “disciples too,” phrase is intriguing. Verses thirty-five to thirty-eight, do not really rule out the possibility that the man already had become a disciple of Jesus, but they do cast doubt on it. When the Pharisees say that he is a disciple, they may be reflecting the truth. However, Jesus had other disciples and the man may simply be referring to them as he coyly ridicules the Pharisees.
In verse twenty-eight, they ridiculed him: They bit the bait, as did many Pharisees trying to trap Jesus. They would lay a trap for Jesus and he would catch them in their own trap. Apparently, being enlightened by Jesus sharpens one’s wits. Jesus promised his disciples that the, “Indwelling Resident Holy Spirit,” would give them what to say when under question and or attack by hostile authorities. He did not promise that the outcome would be successful by level one standards. However, he did not rule out having a little fun while under fire.
In verse twnty-nine, we do not know where this man is from: In 7:27 the Jerusalemites mistakenly thought they knew where Jesus came from. Galilee, they thought. On level one, they were not even right, since he was born in the south, in Bethlehem, right next door to them. The Pharisees may be simply hinting at Jesus’ rumored illegitimacy, on level one, but more profoundly, they have not a clue.
In verse thirty, that is what is so amazing: Now the man is being sarcastic, very similar to Jesus’ remark to Nicodemus in 3:10. He feigns surprise that these teachers do not know their subject matter, as they should.
In verse thirty-one, We know that God does not listen to sinners: Now the man gets serious. He exaggerates to make his point. God really does listen to sinners, but the Pharisees do not think so. Yet, on their terms and by their logic, Jesus could not be a sinner, since God listened to him and cured the man. Facts are, after all, facts. No wonder they threw him out! He was outsmarting them on every point and they were smarting from it. The man trades places and becomes the teacher and they do not like it.
In verse thirty-two, it is unheard of: The Old Testament had prophecies of restoration to sight but none of giving sight to one born blind. This was without precedent and implies an act of creation, a work of God himself.
In verse thirty-three, If this man were not from God: The only possible conclusion which can be drawn from the level one facts is that Jesus is “from God. “ Though put in negative form for emphasis, it affirms everything the whole dialogue has been leading to.
In verse thirty-foir, they threw him out: His unceremonious ejection is a precursor to the excommunication from the synagogue and all that entails of Jews who became Christians.
Verses thirty-five to forty-one, questioning: Of the man by Jesus scene six.
In verses thirty-five, Do you believe in the Son of Man?” This is a level two question, a faith question. “Son of Man,” would involve everything involved with Jesus, but it captures John’s particular emphasis: the divine glory is visible in the human, Incarnate, Jesus. The Son of Man is the basis, focus, center, discriminating sword, for deciding what is true and not true, good and not good, right and not right. The Son of Man lives and gives level two interpretation of reality. When one sees who he really is, one sees reality as it really is. Those who respond affirmatively are saved.
In verse thirty-six, the one speaking with you is he: This is almost exactly what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman in 4:26. The now sighted man sees only Jesus. For John this is the really- real reason and purpose of the gift of sight; it enables the man to see Jesus, on level one, and see into or believe in him with level two vision, insight.
In verse thirty-seven, I do believe, Lord: This seems to be an insert, breaking into the flow of what Jesus is saying. It was probably a liturgical expression, a formal answering of the scrutinies or questions asked of a catechumen before Baptism. The question and answer form of the Christian creed “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” “I do believe, Lord, more ancient than the formal form the Nicene Creed or the Apostolic Creed, probably influenced this story as much as this story influenced the early process of Christian Initiation. Chapter nine served as a reading for preparing catechumens for Baptism from very early times. Illustrations of it appear seven times in early catacomb art.
In verse thirty-nine, I came into the world for judgment, so that: Judging, deciding, dividing the good from the bad, these were the proper functions of the Son of Man. The response to Jesus now determines his verdict as Son of Man in the future. The “so that,” means “with the result that,” rather that “in order that.”
In verse forty to forty-one, your sin remains: The Pharisees ask Jesus if they are also blind. They mean it on level one. He answers on level two, referring to spiritual blindness. There is a spiritual blindness, which, like physical blindness, renders one incapable of spiritually seeing or understanding. Such blindness is not morally culpable. But if one can see, that is, is well informed spiritually, a claim the Pharisees make and even claim to be guides to others, then one has no excuse and their sin remains. “Remain” is used in John to refer to the divine indwelling. Here is applies to its opposite. This is much the same point made in Mark 3:39 about “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit,” which cannot be forgiven because is cannot be repented of.
Note: See also 1John 5:16. The great irony is that it is the Pharisees who are really guilty of the charge they will make against Christ.
Sermon
The man born blind represents everyman, child, girl, boy, born in sin or into a sinful condition. The “anointing,” with mud and washing in the pool represents Christian Baptism. Once the cleansing effect of water is duly noted, the author turns his attention to the enlightening effect of sight. He does not mean physical sight, for the Pharisees have that, yet they are “blind,” and become blinder as the man gains in vision. He means insight, insight into the otherwise hidden dimensions of reality, the eternal dimensions, insight which lights up even earthly reality giving it a meaning hitherto unseen. Baptism is not the restoration of lost sight but the creation of full sight in the first instance.
The author has developed, under the influence of grace, his own “sacramental awareness,” and this story is a masterpiece of illustrating what such awareness means. A sacrament is an earthly sign of a heavenly presence, a heavenly reality, a timely sign of eternity’s otherwise unnoticed presence. To Lutheran’s a sacrament is where God comes to us. The author understood Jesus’ actions. The world might see Jesus spitting and mixing his spittle with dirt and smearing, the word in the text is “anointing,” a sacramental word, it on the man’s eyes. But that is all the world sees. The Christian sees into those actions and grasps their meaning, meaning hidden from others. The world would see the man washing in the pool, but the sacramentally aware person would see that and more, that is, Baptism.
The author is saying that Baptism’s effect goes on and grows into a sharper awareness, of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done and continues to do by virtue of this sacrament we call “Baptism.” The man’s physical sight was but the ground or basis, for a greater sight. Now how did that greater sight express itself? Verses twenty-four to thirty-four, give us but one example. In a masterfully crafted dialogue we see that this formerly physically blind fellow has a highly developed sense of humor. The sense of sight is eclipsed by his real vision, his sense of humor. Jesus had it and showed it when he was under attack by his enemies. Because Baptism enables us to imitate Jesus, because we have been undeservedly given his qualities and characteristics, we now have his eternal vision, which allows us to see this world in perspective and with a sense of proportion, the raw material of humor. The man really makes mincemeat out of the Pharisees’ questions and reveals, brings to sight, their hidden motives. He does so not by belittling them or their person, but by putting what they say up against the eternal light, which reveals them for what they are.
A keen sense of humor is not just a side advantage Christians receive at Baptism. It is not like an “extra,” in a Christmas stocking. It is really a byproduct of the eternal vision, an essential characteristic. This is not like the “put down” humor we see on TV where people are ridiculed, the Pharisees did the ridiculing in verse twenty-eight. This is not a sneering, vindictive humor or making fun of another’s handicaps. This is not the humor that attempts to look good at the expense or embarrassment of another. This is the healthy humor that attempts to see things in perspective and help others to do so, to lighten the darkness, to relieve pain, to laugh and experience joy, even if it be fleeting.
Only Christians would see humor in such a serious, quasi-official inquiry, where the supercilious Pharisees are stymied in their attempt to deny facts, to vilify their witness and to stop the progress of God’s kingdom. Only a Christian would or could connect Baptism to humor. Only the eternal vision connects such seeming opposites. Only a Christian can take the earthly power that humor has, baptize it, and thereby increase and multiply its healing and life-enriching effect.
The expulsion of Christians from the synagogues in the writer’s day was very serious, a very high price for Christian Jews to pay. The writer is saying, in effect, that while serious, it is also funny when you look at it from the eternal perspective. That is about as strange as a stranger coming up to a blind man, smearing spit and mud on his eyes and telling him to go jump in a lake! Yet, both work. Sacramental awareness simultaneously sharpens our focus and broadens our horizon. This odd concurrence increases our laughter while, at the same time, it intensifies our seriousness.
Jesus is the light of the world because he lights up the eternal world for those on earth.
In lighting up the eternal world he enables us to see this world and see into it for what is really is and is not.
Those who consciously refuse Christ’s offer to be their light become blind to truth in any of its forms.
The more a Christian’s vision and version of reality is challenged by that of the world’s the stronger, clearer, deeper and broader the vision grows.
Sight Bestowed, Not Restored: When a baby is born it can already hear. It can recognize familiar voices and sounds. However, it cannot see. While it is not really physically blind, it cannot really see either. In the womb it could hear, but it’s dark in there and its eyes had not been exercised or challenged to focus. So, it is true to say that even on the purely physical level we were all born blind, like the man in this story. Unlike some who have some debility, most of us went on to see because we had the capability to do so. However, it was not an automatic process. We had to explore and experiment. So, we start exploring our own bodies and them of our parents and guardians and so forth. Having discovered “object permanence,” namely, that the objects we see are physically separate from us, and then crying when we realized momma was not in the room and might not come back, we then had to put our hearing and our seeing together. We had to learn the sounds associated with objects in order to communicate our needs. This took years and is still going on, though to a much lesser degree. We had to learn that objects and people are separate from us and identify them for what they are and not what we would like them to be. Our touching, feeling, groping and then our experimenting with sounds and words were all reality checks, so that we would be equipped to live in the “real,” world. Those who fail to do this end up trapped in a world of their own making, indeed, often of their own fearing. What happens on the physical level is a mirror image of what happens on the spiritual level, keeping in mind that we humans can never really separate the physical and spiritual, nor should we. We are born spiritually blind also. However, like the physically born-blind, we cannot get out of that blindness, due to the debility of inherited or original sin. It will take an operation, a miracle really, for us to receive the power of insight into the spiritual dimensions of physical reality. Baptism is that operation, that miracle. It is sight, insight really, bestowed, not restored. We never had it in the first place. It is a new creation, not a restorative operation. If, as in the gospel story, we try to pin point blame for this, we can go back to our parents and then their parents, all the back to our first parents, but it will not change a thing. Assessing blame solves or resolves nothing. The blindness remains until sight is given through a power outside the human race. Christ gives us that sight so that the works of God might be made visible through him.
Insight: Those “works of God,” do not stop with spiritual insight given at Baptism. Not only does the “sight” grow, as in the case of physical sight from infancy on, but that sight empowers one to do the “works of God,” since it is Godly sight, his insight, the way he sees into reality, enlightenment, to begin with. This is a sight that delights, yes, but it also empowers.
Sacramental Awareness: Another way of describing the insight we receive both at Baptism and, subsequently, as a result of Baptism is “sacramental awareness.” Insight or sacramental awareness convinces us that there is more to any reality than what meets the eyes and that we need physical reality as the entrée to its deeper dimensions. Thus, we use physical objects, gestures, words, rituals in order to both communicate with the eternal and to indicate to others that that is precisely what we are doing. That is why Jesus used spittle and mud, not because he needed it or it had magical powers, but because we needed it to know what he was doing. Insight is not enough; we have to act upon it and according to it. Amen.
