In all of the great religions of the world, light serves as an important symbol. Sometimes it is used to express the dawning of a new understanding or a spiritual awakening, and sometimes it is used to express what is good and as opposed to what is evil. Light is generally contrasted with darkness. If a person is in the dark about something, he does not know much about it. But he can be led to the light by gaining new insights or wisdom. Evil deeds were often carried out under the cover of darkness, and so evil was often equated with darkness. But a light can expose what is evil and can reveal the good that should be pursued. Light and darkness are often paired together to speak of the dichotomies of good and evil or truth and falsehood or moral and immoral.
Similar to the pairing of light and darkness is the pairing of sight and blindness. If a person is blind to the truth, she needs to have her eyes opened. If a person is blind to the meaning of the events of his life, he needs assistance so that he can see what is really happening. This pairing also serves as a excellent metaphor in a person's religious life, because all of us are blind to certain spiritual truths, but on our journey of faith there are moments when something is revealed to us and from that day forward we see things differently. As the well-known hymn phrases it, "I once was blind, but now I see."
When we look at this morning's passage from the Gospel of John, we discover a story that has united the image of blindness and sight with the image of darkness and light. The story concerns the conflict which existed between Jesus and the religious leaders of his day.
We are told that there was a man who had been blind since birth. And one day Jesus and his disciples happened upon him. Seeing this man, prompted the disciples to ask Jesus an important theological question. "Teacher, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?"
The question of why suffering and evil exist in a world created by a good God has always been a troubling question for people of faith. The disciples saw this as an opportunity to gain insight into this difficult question.
Even though the Book of Job had been written several centuries earlier and had addressed precisely this question, it was still widely believed at the time of Jesus, that blindness or other physical handicaps or serious illness were the result of sin. Many believed that these were sure signs that God had punished people for their wrongdoing. Bad things happened to bad people. So the disciples asked Jesus who had sinned to cause this malady. But Jesus answered that the man's blindness was not the result of anyone's sin. He gave a similar answer in the Gospel of Luke concerning some people who were killed when a tower collapsed. Jesus told them not to think that the tower fell on them because they were bad people, they were no worse sinners than anyone else. Jesus wanted to dispel the simplistic notion that good things happened to good people and bad things happened to bad people.
So Jesus answers this theological question of his disciples and then walks over to the man and heals him of his blindness. But immediately prior to healing the man he makes an announcement. He says, "I am the light of the world." And then he puts mud on the man's eyes and tells him to go wash it off in a nearby pool. When the man does as he is told, his eyes are opened and he can see.
Some of the man's neighbors see him and they realize that his eyes have been opened, and so they are perplexed. And they ask the man how he received his sight. The formerly blind man responded, "The man called Jesus did it." The neighbors, some quite skeptical and others a bit intrigued, ask the man where Jesus is. And the man responds, "I do not know."
This story is forty-one verses long, it is much too long to read the entire passage from the pulpit, and that's why we abbreviated it. But I want to continue us through the story hitting the highpoints.
After the neighbors recognize and question the man, the scene changes. The man is taken to the Pharisees, the devout religious leaders, so that they can observe what has occurred. The Pharisees interrogate the man and say that Jesus cannot be from God because he has performed this act on the Sabbath. The Jewish law forbids such work on the Sabbath so the Pharisees conclude that Jesus, far from being a wonder worker, is a sinner because he has broken the law. They attempt to influence, and perhaps even intimidate the man. After informing the man of their opinion of Jesus, they ask him, "What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened." And the man responds, "He is a prophet."
The Pharisees are none to happy about his response, and so they begin to say that they don't think this man was ever blind in the first place. "Let's bring his parents in here and see what they have to say." We come to realize that there is actually a formal investigation taking place. The parents are brought before the Pharisees and questioned, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?" The parents answer the first question. "This is our son and he was born blind." But their answer to the second question is evasive. They say, "He is of an appropriate age to speak for himself. Ask him." The reason they avoid answering the second question is because they are afraid of these religious leaders. They know that the Pharisees have already agreed among themselves that anyone who calls Jesus the Messiah is going to be put out of the synagogue. The Pharisees are pressuring them and they do not want to be banished from the religious community, and so they refuse to answer the second question.
The Pharisees cannot force the parents to answer, so they bring the man in a second time. They make it clear to the man that they believe Jesus is a sinner, hoping that the man will go along with them. But the man does not concur with their assessment, and asks why they want to know so much about Jesus. He asks them, "Do you want to become his disciples?" The Pharisees are outraged by this suggestion and toss the man out.
The scene changes once more. In the final scene Jesus comes to the man and asks, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" which is similar to asking if he believes in the Messiah. The man responds, "Who is he, sir?" Jesus says, "You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he." The man said, "Lord, I believe," and the man worshiped Jesus. Then 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."
It is a masterful story which demonstrates the truth Jesus proclaimed about himself. Do you remember what Jesus said immediately prior to opening the eyes of the man? He said, "I am the light of the world." And then the story unfolds which illustrates this truth. But the story tells us not only that Jesus is the light of the world, but goes on to tell us the different ways that people respond to this truth.
We miss the power of the story if we fail to perceive that there is more going on here than a person who is literally blind being given literal sight. The eyes of the man are actually opened wider and wider as the story continues. The first time he is asked about his eyes being opened he says, "The man called Jesus did it." The second time the man is questioned, he says, "He is a prophet." The third time the man says that Jesus is a great person who has come from God and asks the pharisees if they want to become his disciples. And then in the final scene the man says that he believes that Jesus is the Messiah and worships him. His religious insight keeps growing to greater heights.
And while he is gaining more and more sight, the Pharisees are becoming increasingly blind to the truth that is before them.
The story is intended to prompt us to consider our own religious pilgrimage, and to ask if we are more like the man who was open to new religious insights, or if we are more like the Pharisees who no longer experience spiritual awakenings because their faith has become rigid and fixed.
A man received word that his brother had become very ill and so he felt he needed to go see him. His brother lived quite a distance away and so he had to drive all night to visit him. As he drove it began to rain and he became very tired. About two o'clock in the morning, he was driving through a small town. He slowed down to thirty miles an hour. Nobody was on the street, but he knew how small town police officers can be. Then, out of nowhere he heard the siren and saw the flashing lights in his rear view mirror. He pulled over and rolled down the window. The police officer said, "Mister, did you see that sign back there?"
"What sign?"
"School zone - 15 miles an hour."
"But officer, it's two o'clock in the morning."
"Did the sign say, School zone except at two o'clock in the morning'?"
"No, sir. But officer, it's raining and my windshield wipers aren't working very well."
"Did the sign say, School zone except at two o'clock in the morning when your windshield wipers aren't working'? The law is the law."(1)
That's what some people do with their religious faith. They turn it into a rigid legalism where everything is absolutely certain and clear and there are no surprises. They have an answer for everything and there's really no need for further questions. They are authorities on right and wrong. Their own understanding of God is the only true understanding. All others are simply misguided. Such people end up with the type of faith that the Pharisees had. A faith that is blind to new insights about God. A faith that is blind to the new things God seeks to do in their lives. And although they feel content with their faith, perhaps even a little smug, they are actually becoming increasingly blind to the ways of God.
The Spirit of God is actively involved in the world, bringing new insights and new challenges to all who are receptive. Our faith is not to become a static faith which reaches a certain level and remains there, but rather a faith that is always catching glimpses of something new and broadening our field of vision. Pray that you may never close your eyes to the truth God wants you to perceive, so that you may always be moving from darkness into the light.
NOTES
1. This story is told in a sermon by William Carter entitled, "Following the Kiss" preached on The Protestant Hour, February 7, 1999.
© 1999 Gregory Knox Jones, all rights reserved
Go to Top of the Page
Return to the Previous Sermons Page