Another kind of blindness
by Pastor Jim Strelan
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‘What? Are we blind too?’ (John 9:40b).
Have you ever played the game of trying to decide which would be worse: being unable to hear, not being able to speak, or not being able to see? That’s a difficult one, isn’t it? None of these options would be very good.
John’s Gospel (chapter 9) speaks of another kind of disability, worse than any physical one. John calls Jesus’ miracles a sign, pointing to a deep spiritual reality. And so, in this chapter, we have a dialogue between a blind man who can now see and people who claim they can see but actually are blind. And what is the main way in which they are blind? It’s in their inability to acknowledge who Jesus is. The blind man wasn’t sure of this at first. But after speaking with Jesus, he said, ‘Lord, I believe’, and he worshipped him (verse 38). By contrast, some who claim to see and pride themselves on the clarity of their seeing are actually blind.
Could that be true of you? I know that sometimes Jesus is right there in front of me, and I don’t see him. Too preoccupied, too anxious and worried, expecting to only see him in some special circumstances, not in the ordinary or the simple. I’m looking for an answer, a solution, his help, and failing to see it when it’s right in front of me. Feeling pretty good about myself, about my moral status (especially in contrast to some people), and pretending my darkness isn’t there. Unwilling to let go because it’s a bit risky to just leave it in Jesus’ hands.
The good news is that Jesus wants to make whole in every sense of the word. He can make the blind see, whether their blindness is physical or spiritual. He can make you and me whole.
Open my eyes, Lord, so that I see and acknowledge you as being over all things. Amen.
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