 |
| St- Andre-Rublev's Saviour |
Holy Redeemer
In the care of the Ecumenical Franciscan Order
Homily preached at Winmalee on Sunday 30th March 2014
Gospel: John 9:1-41
“Blind
but now I see!”
Open
our ears, O Lord, to hear your word and know your voice. Speak to our hearts
and strengthen our wills, that we may serve you now and always. Amen.
Many of us have trouble with our eyes. If you're around long
enough you may need a pair of reading glasses. And while medical advances and
the use of laser surgery have made many advances, disease and dysfunction of
the eye is something no one wants to see.
But most of us have never been blind. And most of us never will be. Maybe you can imagine it by being blind-folded. Or as you fumble around in the middle of the night. But true blindness – not being able to see at all – we may have a slight chance of it by accident or disease, but at least we weren't born blind, like the man in our Gospel reading. Or were we?
But most of us have never been blind. And most of us never will be. Maybe you can imagine it by being blind-folded. Or as you fumble around in the middle of the night. But true blindness – not being able to see at all – we may have a slight chance of it by accident or disease, but at least we weren't born blind, like the man in our Gospel reading. Or were we?
I don't have to tell you that physical blindness is an apt
metaphor for being spiritually blind. In fact, in our Sundays of Lent thus far the readings have been, the
Invitation, the Transfiguration. Last
week we heard of the woman at the well, whose eyes were also opened by Jesus,
and now the man born blind, whom Jesus heals. As we ponder blindness and sight, sin and
forgiveness today, let's also remember that after we are no longer infants, we
start to become spiritually blind.
What causes spiritual blindness you may ask. Well I did some scouting through the
scriptures,and here are a few that I picked out what causes spiritual
blindness. They are:
1)To be spiritually blind is not to be able to see Christ, and
not to see Christ is not to see God. Colossians
1:15-16; 2 Corinthians
4:6
2)Those who reject Christ are the lost. John 6:68-69
3)Choosing
not to accept the teachings of Christ and his authority in their lives. Matthew 28:18
But...
there is hope
for those who turn to God.
Like the lyrics to that favourite hymn, Amazing Grace, there is
my favourite part, “I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see”.
The disciples saw the man who was born blind, and they wanted to
know why such a thing would happen. They assumed that his blindness was a
punishment for a particular sin. But they weren't sure whether he himself, or
his parents were to blame.
When Jesus says, “it was not this man who sinned or his parents”
he doesn't mean to suggest that the blind man or his parents were perfect and
holy. Jesus is trying to correct their reasoning that bad things happen to bad
people (and therefore since I am relatively healthy, I must be relatively
good). Bullocks!. We are all sinners alike, subject to the sometimes
fickle effects of sin and death in our world. Throughout the New Testament
Jesus repudiates this kind of “you must have deserved that” gloating from
pride-filled observers.
Perhaps the disciples were blind to their own blindness. Perhaps
they were so focused on this man and wondering what his sin was that they
couldn't recall their own. Indeed, Jesus tells us to watch out for logs in our
eyes.
But if the disciples had a log in their eye, the Pharisees must
have had whole trees. They too, ironically, were blind to the truth. They
couldn't see how someone who broke their man-made rules of Sabbath could
possibly be one sent from God.
So they interrogate the formerly-blind man. One day soon, they would put the Lord himself on trial. In both cases they were blind to the evidence before them. This Jesus was no mere man, no sinner (unlike the Pharisees), but he was and is the Son of God. They were blind. And only later would some of them see.
So they interrogate the formerly-blind man. One day soon, they would put the Lord himself on trial. In both cases they were blind to the evidence before them. This Jesus was no mere man, no sinner (unlike the Pharisees), but he was and is the Son of God. They were blind. And only later would some of them see.
The authorities tried to get the formerly blind man to say that
Jesus was a sinner, but he replied: “I don’t know whether he’s a sinner or not.
All I know is that I once was blind, but now, I see.”
And
what of us? Are we the Pharisees? Too proud or stuck in our ways to see Christ
for who he is? Too unwilling to hear him for what he says? Or are we once-blind
men and women who appreciate the healing he has wrought? For he would come and
open our blind eyes. He would first have us see that we are blind – in need of
his healing. So we confess our sins. But he would also wash us clean, not in
the pool of Siloam, but in the waters of Baptism. He would have us as his
disciples. He would have us confess him before men, and we do.
For
we have seen – not with our eyes, but with the eyes of faith. When we hear and
believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the scales fall from our eyes. Our hearts
are regenerated, and forgiveness washes over us anew. Like Saint Paul, who was
struck blind on the road to Damascus – we must first be struck by the law, see
our sin, see our blindness.
Only
then does God bring sight. And this sight goes beyond what is seen, for faith
has to do with what is unseen. It is the assurance of such things, a rock-solid
foundation of trust in God's promises. It sees cleansing of sin in simple
baptismal
water. It sees Christ's body and blood in humble bread and wine. Faith hears a
pastor say, “I forgive you your sins in the name of Christ”, and faith knows it
is as if Christ said it himself.
Are we blind? Not physically, but spiritually we are. The question is, are you blind to your sin? If you see it, then turn your eyes also to the cross. And there see the answer to such blindness. For in that ugly vision of an innocent man, bloodied and beaten and scorned and rejected and thirsting and dying. There is God's love for sinners, like you and me. There is a sight for sore eyes, Jesus the Saviour. And his death opens our eyes. And his open grave opens our grave. And his life forever is our life for evermore. I once was lost, but now am found. Was blind, but now I see.
Are we blind? Not physically, but spiritually we are. The question is, are you blind to your sin? If you see it, then turn your eyes also to the cross. And there see the answer to such blindness. For in that ugly vision of an innocent man, bloodied and beaten and scorned and rejected and thirsting and dying. There is God's love for sinners, like you and me. There is a sight for sore eyes, Jesus the Saviour. And his death opens our eyes. And his open grave opens our grave. And his life forever is our life for evermore. I once was lost, but now am found. Was blind, but now I see.
Amen.
