IN THIS Sunday’s gospel (John 9:1-41) we see a reversal of conditions – the man born blind was able to see the Lord, while the Pharisees who were born seeing did not see in the miracle that unfolded in their midst the God they have long been seeking.
The man whom Jesus healed was born blind, but his blindness was not due to any sin that he or his parents have committed. Rather, he was blind so that his healing would make the works of God visible through him (verse 3).
Here we appreciate the fact that that while it is true that God may occasionally use disease to punish the disobedient (see as examples Deuteronomy 28:21, Leviticus 26:25, Ezekiel 14:21, Numbers 14:12, 2 Kings 5:20-27, 2 Chronicles 26:16-21), not all who are sick are sick because they are being punished by the Lord. Much of sickness comes from the devil who comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy, but thanks be to God, Jesus came to give us life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). The good news is that as believers we can rely on the Greatest Physician of all for our healing. He is the God who, in Exodus 15:26, introduced himself as “the Lord who heals you.” Thus, when Jesus came, he showed us the face of the Father by going around, curing every disease and illness among the people (Matthew 4:23).
Jesus healed the man of his physical blindness, but more than this, he also cured him of his spiritual blindness. When Jesus revealed himself as the Son of Man, this man both believed him and worshiped him.
The Pharisees, however, had a different reception of this miracle. They argued that the healing must not have come from God, for how could a man like Jesus disobey the Sabbath law of rest? Others, on the other hand, did not believe that the man was blind prior to the claimed healing. Conditions have been reversed: the blind man seeing, and the Pharisees losing sight.
The Pharisees were blinded by their fanatic interpretation of the Law. They should have learned from Jesus who, in Luke 6:9, explained that the spirit behind the Sabbath is to do good and not evil, and to save life rather than to destroy it. Healing the blind man was an act of goodness; therefore, Jesus did not violate the Law. By what he did, he did not abolish the Law but, in fact, fulfilled it (Matthew 5:17).
Others were in disbelief, probably because of pride. ‘How can a poor blind beggar be the recipient of such grand mercy from God?”, they might have thought. How can this ordinary man with humble status and presumably low education teach them spiritual truths? Again, they should have learned from Jesus who taught us, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11).
Many times, we are like the Pharisees in the story. Our legalistic mindset blinds us to simply comply with rules and regulations rather than live a faith that manifests itself in love. We accept the letter of the Law but not the spirit behind it. Couple this with our arrogant hearts and we will fail to see the miraculous goodness of God happening before our very eyes.
May this gospel remind us to seek God’s will in its fullness, and not in bits and parts only. May we have open hearts that recognize and welcome the promptings of his Spirit, and like the poor man, may we ask God to heal us of all the blinders that prevent us from seeing his Lordship, goodness and grace.