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.” John 9:39.
It’s a miracle! Jesus gives sight to a man born blind. Miracle causes quite a stir.
If that reads like a headline, it is because I am imagining the story of Jesus giving sight to the man born blind appearing above the fold in the “Jerusalem Star Tribune” (I think I just aged myself). This gospel story from John, appointed for this coming Fourth Sunday in Lent, paints quite a picture. For a story about blindness the description is vivid. Spit, mud, washing in the pool of Siloam, disbelief, crowds gathering, interrogation, intrigue, even the man’s parents appear on the stage. So many details color this story.
But are we able to see these details, or, more subtly, are we able to see through them?
The details are important. This is not a healing miracle–that’s an important detail. This is not a restoration of sight. No, this is something entirely new. The man was born blind–he had never seen. Jesus didn’t heal him; what Jesus did was to give him sight.
“One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
His sight, the only sight he has ever had, is through the eyes of Jesus. It is a sight that has seen no other light than the light of Christ–a whole new way of seeing.
Of course, the people who represent the systems and structures, the authorized way of seeing–the “normal” way of seeing, see this “miracle” in a different way. Their vision is focused by judgment–their judgment of sin, of right and wrong. Their vision is distorted by status and judgments based on power and authority. In their eyes, they see things clearly. “Surely we are not blind, are we?” Am I?
What if we could see through your eyes, Lord?
And here is the miracle–the part of the story where the paradox of Jesus’ words becomes clear. Jesus offers blindness AND sight. He offers us blindness to the world’s way of seeing, blindness to vision through the darkness of self-serving judgment of others in order to maintain the status quo and uphold the power and authority of the “seeing.” He calls us to blindness to this vision–this way of seeing this world, then offers NEW sight to those who are blind.
Here is the astonishing thing: Once your eyes are blind to vision focused by human judgment, prejudice, worldly power, and selfish human designs Jesus offers sight Not the healing or restoration of old ways of seeing and judging, but the gift of a brand new way of seeing. Jesus offers sight through His eyes: a vision that judges the world through a lens focused by His love, illuminated by the light of His mercy, His justice, His Grace, and His forgiveness.
Once we see our blindness, Jesus gives us sight.
