1 Sam 16:1, 6-7, 13
Eph 5:8-14
John 9:1-41
[In many ways, this Gospel about the cure of the man born blind speaks for itself, and needs no homily. I'm going to try to let it do that by introducing each of the scenes. Then at the end I'll make some very brief comments.]
This is one of the "long stories" in John's Gospel (like the story of the woman at the well, or the raising of Lazarus). These "long stories" by John are superb pieces of literary and theological art. The story of the man born blind is a play in three acts. Act One briefly describes the miracle itself.
ACT I
As Jesus passed by 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 he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, "Go wash in the Pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). So he went and washed ... and came back able to see.
ACT II: Scene One
After Act One, Jesus leaves the stage and won't be seen again until the very end in Act Three. We now begin the longest of the three acts. Act Two has four scenes. In each of these we see how different people react to the miracle, and we also see the man born blind, who can now see physically, gradually begin to see with the “eyes of faith."
Each of the four scenes centers around an interrogation. In Scene One, the neighbors and acquaintances of the man are genuinely interested in what took place. So they ask the man what happened, how it happened, and who did it.
His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, "Isn't this the one who used to sit and beg?" Some said, "It is," but others said, "No, he just looks like him." He said, "I am."
So they said to him, "So how were your eyes opened?" He replied, "The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and told me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' So I went there and washed and was able to see." And they said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I don't know."
ACT II: Scene Two
Scene Two begins with another interrogation, this time by the Pharisees. As you will see, the mood is different. They're looking for something to hold against Jesus. They accept the miracle as a fact, so they find something else to criticize.
They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees. Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath. So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see."
So some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath." But others said, "How can a sinful man do such signs?" And there was a division among them. So they said to the blind man again, "What do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."
ACT II: Scene Three
In Scene Three, the parents of the man born blind are summoned to come before the Pharisees. The Pharisees are moving "backwards." They no longer believe that any miracle took place.
Now the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and gained his sight until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight. They asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How does he now see?"
His parents answered and said, "We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. We do not know how he sees now, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is of age; he can speak for him self." (His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged him as the Messiah, he would be expelled from the synagogue. For this reason his parents said, "He is of age; question him.")
ACT II: Scene Four
In Scene Four, the Pharisees bring back the man born blind and interrogate him again. They are still moving backwards. They try to turn the man born blind against Jesus. Then they try to break his story by getting him to repeat the details and perhaps contradict himself.
So a second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, "Give God the praise! We know that this man is a sinner." He replied, "If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see."
So they said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" He answered them, "I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?"
They ridiculed him and said, "You are that man's disciple; we are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this one is from." The man answered and said to them, "This is what is so amazing, that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him. It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything."
They answered and said to him, "You were born totally in sin, and are you trying to teach us?" Then they threw him out.
ACT III
We now begin Act III, which is the dramatic finale. The central characters are all on stage together - Jesus, the man born blind, and the Pharisees. It is the great turnaround. The man, who at the beginning was blind, can now see. The Pharisees, who at the beginning could see, are now blind.
When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" He answered and said, "Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?"
Jesus said to him, "You have seen him and the one speaking with you is he." He said, "I do believe, Lord," and he worshiped him.
Then Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind."
Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not also blind, are we?"
Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying,
'We see,' so your sin remains."
Bishop Untener's Homily
The cast of characters in this story gives us a range of choices as to whose shoes we want to put ourselves into. Actually, we should get into the shoes of each of them and see what we can learn about ourselves.
First there is the blind man himself. We can easily put ourselves in his shoes. He's a natural, because his experience resembles our baptism. He was "anointed" by Jesus (with mud), and then sent to a pool of water where his eyes were opened. At our Baptism we received the gift of faith, which enabled us to see the light. But the man born blind had more to learn, and so do we. He gradually moved from a superficial relationship to Jesus to one that was much more profound. I need to ask if I am moving in that direction. Am I moving closer and closer to Jesus, or just standing still?
Then there are the Pharisees. We really don't want to put ourselves in their shoes, but to be honest with ourselves, we have to do it. They think they see it all, and they're ready to go after anyone who doesn't see it their way. Not that we're always like them, but sometimes we are. It doesn't matter whether we call ourselves liberal, moderate, or conservative. We've all got our blind spots. Just give it a little thought.
There are also the parents of the man born blind. They're afraid, and they don't want to get involved. For them it's simply: "Don't ask us. Ask him. He can speak for himself." We do some of that too - we don't want to get involved if it means we might have to pay a price.
Finally, there are the friends and acquaintances of the man born blind. In a way, they come off best of all. They ask him what happened, and then they simply listen. They're open, willing to learn.
Let's take a few moments now and put ourselves in the shoes of each of these persons. Don't put somebody else there - we'd all be tempted to do that. Let's put ourselves in the shoes of each, and then just talk it over honestly with the Lord.
Originally given on March 10, 2002