John 9:1-41 The Fourth Sunday of Lent
I was born blind - never saw a thing, just darkness, darkness, and more darkness, and that’s how it was till I met Jesus. I was sitting in my usual place begging, when I heard all this commotion - There seemed to be a lot of excitement about something, and people were shouting things like, ‘That’s Him!’ and ‘Get out of my way, can’t you! I want him to heal my gammy leg!’
Then, right beside me, a voice said, ‘Rabbi, look at that blind beggar - Is he like that because of his sins, or did his mum and dad do something wrong and he’s paying for it? Honestly! The cheek of it, no thought for my feelings at all. But then this other voice, a quiet, kind sort of voice, said, ‘His blindness has nothing to do with his sin - In fact, God is going to use it to show his healing power. As long as it is day I must do the works of Him who sent me . Night is coming, when no one can work - while I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ Deep, isn’t it? Well, I didn’t have a clue what he was on about - but then, wow! I could see this bloke meant business. He came and sat down on the ground right next to me. He spat on the ground and I could hear him making a muddy sort of concoction, which he rubbed over my eyes. Then he told me to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. Don’t forget that I hadn’t said a word to him - I never once asked for healing; it was given to me, free and gratis.
Anyway, I shoved off and went and did as I had been told. Pow! As soon as the water touched my eyes, I could see - just like that! I just wandered about in a kind of daze, until I noticed some people looking at me and whispering. One of them sort of sidled up and asked, ‘Aren’t you that blind fellow who used to sit begging by the side of the road? If not, you must be his twin!’ I said I certainly was that blind fellow who used to sit begging by the side of the road. They were just blown and asked, ‘How can you see? What happened to you?’ I answered, ‘A bloke called Jesus made some mud and rubbed it on my eyes and told me to wash in the pool of Siloam, so I did, and now I can see! Satisfied?’
They didn’t look too overjoyed, and asked, ‘Where’s this fellow gone?’ ‘I dunno,’ I replied. ‘What’s it to you, anyway?’ There’s no satisfying some people and they insisted on hauling me off to the ecclesiastical top nobs, the Pharisees. I might add that all this hoo-ha was due to the fact that it was the Sabbath and on the Sabbath (according to them) you can’t blink your eye, let alone be given your sight back.
Anyway, I was hauled up in front of these stuffed shirts and they put me through the whole caboodle. ‘How did I get my sight back?’ ‘Did I know it was the Sabbath/’ ‘Did I realise that no one who came from God would ever, ever, ever work a miracle on the Sabbath?’ (They were a bit divided on this last; some of them thought it might be taking things a bit too far.) I answered as civilly as I could manage. - Then off we went again.
‘You say he cured you of your blindness.’
‘Yes, I did say that.’
‘Well, what is your opinion of Him?’ (You notice, they never use his name.) I told them that in my opinion he was a prophet. But then, would you believe it? They refused to believe that I really had been blind! Thought I was shamming - just to get money or something! Or at least, they pretended to think this.
Anyway, they sent for my mum and dad and began the third degree with them. ‘Is this your son?’
‘Yes, he’s our son.’
‘You say that he was born blind?’
‘Yes, he was born blind.’
‘Well then, how can he see?’
My parents didn’t want any trouble and passed the buck on to me - they were scared stiff.
‘We know he is our son and we know he was born blind but we don’t know how he can now see or the man who healed him.’ (Very important, this last statement. They didn’t want anything to do with Jesus - it meant trouble.) ‘Our son is old enough, ask him; he can answer for himself.’ From this you can see that I was still pretty young, twenty maybe.
Anyway, my parents were allowed to go, and they began with me all over again.
‘Promise to tell us the truth.’ What did they think I’d been telling them?
‘We know that the man who healed you is a sinner.’ (Now they were at least admitting that there had been a healing.)
I was getting really fed up with all this, so I just said, ‘Please yourselves, all I know is that once I was blind and now I can see.’
‘What did he do to you? How did he make you see?’
It was obvious to me that if I could now see, they definitely could not hear, so I said, ‘I’ve told you are least three times and you don’t believe a word I say. Why do you want it all again? Maybe you’d like to be his disciples.’
That put the cat among the pigeons! The BBC accents disappeared. They called me every name under the sun and ended up, ‘You can be one of that fellow’s disciples. We are the followers of Moses - as for that fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.’ (Too true!)
I wasn’t scared of these phonies. I could see right through them, so I gave as good as I got and said, right in their faces, ‘Well, that’s really strange: you don’t know where he comes from and yet he was able to heal me of my blindness and we know that God doesn’t listen to sinners - only to those who do what is right. This man couldn’t do anything unless God was with him. That did it! Then they really yelled at me! ‘You desiccated skunk!’ (See what I mean about being called names.)
‘You’re a no good, ignorant so and so - get out of our sight!’ I got out. I didn’t need telling twice! Phew! What a hell hole!
Then this bloke came up to me. I knew at once it was him, and he just said straight out, without even introducing himself, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’
‘Who is he?’ I asked. ‘Just tell me, so that I can believe in him.’
He said, ‘You already know Him. He is talking to you.’
I answered, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and knelt down before him.
