Lent 4 A Blind Man: Called to See from a New Perspective

This Blog Post is the gospel excerpt of Week 4 of the Lenten Bible Study I'm writing for Good News Adult Sunday School Class at Ashford United Methodist Church.  We will study this lesson together on April 3 , 2011. 

Today we read the story of a man who was healed by Jesus on the Sabbath.  This particular violation of the Sabbath seemed to cause more controversy with the Pharisees than usual.   In the Scriptures, blindness is equated with spiritual ignorance and a refusal to recognize God.  This still happens today.  Blindness is used by preachers and teachers to embody “sin.”   However, in her book A Healing Homiletic, Kathy Black points out that even if we quite clearly talk of blindness as sin only in a symbolic context, the implication is “that once a person has faith, he or she will see again.”   (58) This can be devastating to someone who is physically blind especially if one feels that if they only had enough faith God would “cure” them of their blindness.  It is important to realize that scripturally-speaking, healing (sozo {sode'-zo}) means wholeness, wellness, and even salvation, but it does not necessarily mean "cure."

What do you think and how do you feel about Black’s statement?

Once again we read John 9:1-41 using the labyrinth as metaphorical study device: Release-Receive-Respond.  Read carefully because just as there are many turns on the labyrinth there are several walkers on the path and many turns in their journey!   

MOSAIC 24 foot labyrinth available for loan or consultation

As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth.  His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"  Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him.  We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."  When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes, saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.  The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?"  Some were saying, "It is he." Others were saying, "No, but it is someone like him." He kept saying, "I am the man."   But they kept asking him, "Then how were your eyes opened?"  He answered, "The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' Then I went and washed and received my sight."  They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know."  They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.  Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.  Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see."  Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And they were divided.  So they said again to the blind man, "What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened." He said, "He is a prophet."  The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?"  His parents answered, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself."  His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue.  Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."  So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, "Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner."  He answered, "I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."  They said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"  He answered them, "I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?"  Then they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.  We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from."  The man answered, "Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.  We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will.  Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.  If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."  They answered him, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?" And they drove him out.  Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"  He answered, "And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him."  Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he."  He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped him.  Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind."  Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not blind, are we?"  Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.  

MOVEMENT INTO: RELEASE … Identify what each of these person or groups of persons must let go of in order to “see.”

Disciples=

Blind Man=

Pharisees=

What do you need to release in order to “see” from a new perspective?

CENTER: RECEIVE … Identify the gift and/or the challenge received from God when the heart is open to “see.”

Disciples=

Blind Man=

Pharisees=

How open is your heart to “see?”  What is the gift or the challenge that you received from your study?

MOVEMENT OUT OF: RESPOND … Identify how each person or group responds to Jesus

Disciples=

Blind Man=

Pharisees=

How will you respond, with specific actions, to the gift or the challenge you have discerned?

This week our reading challenges us to new vision.  We are called to move from one side of the issues to view them from a new perspective.    As you make your way through Lent, consider times when you have found your perceptions to be wrong.  Have you ever had an opinion of someone that proved to be unfounded? 

Consider times when you have found your perceptions to have been inaccurate.  As you look back , think about where you may be noticing God inviting you to deeper reflections and new vision.   As you ponder the possibilities, what will you need to release … to let go of … in order to take the next step in your spiritual journey?    Why not try to find the beauty of a labyrinth to walk with these questions ... God is waiting! 

Perhaps the “call to see from a new perspective” resonates with you but perhaps it doesn’t. If not, how have you been called by God this week?  How have you changed as a result of stepping back to see with new eyes?  

Read Psalm 23 in this contemporary version (CEV) as a Prayerful amen to your study …

You, LORD, are my shepherd.

I will never be in need. You let me rest in fields of green grass.

You lead me to streams of peaceful water, and you refresh my life.

You are true to your name, and you lead me along the right paths.

I may walk through valleys as dark as death, but I won't be afraid.

You are with me, and your shepherd's rod makes me feel safe.

You treat me to a feast, while my enemies watch.

You honor me as your guest, and you fill my cup until it overflows.

Your kindness and love will always be with me each day of my life,

and I will live forever in your house, LORD.  Amen.

If music is a pathway to God for you, watch this video of Mercy Me’s Open the Eyes of My Heart

If art is a pathway to God for you, visit this image by EDY-LEGRAND, Edouard Léon Louis  From François Amiot's and Robert Tamisier's Bible, edited 1950

If you are a visual learner, you might want to watch this clip from The Visual Bible: Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind.