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 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, was in the pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. (John 9:1-7, NRSV)
Can you imagine being the blind man in our passage today? You’ve been blind your entire life. Maybe you’ve heard about Jesus and the many healings that have been attributed to him. Maybe you hold out hope that you’ll be the next one healed. And this is your lucky day: Jesus and his disciples are coming your way.
Now you’re blind; you’re not deaf. You can hear the conversation as they approach. The disciples seem more interested in Jesus placing blame for your blindness than they do in Jesus bringing light to your darkness. How does that make you feel?
Thankfully, Jesus sees your blindness, not as an object lesson about blame but as an opportunity to demonstrate the work of God. Maybe it was September 30th, which, I’m sure you know, is National Mud Pack Day, because Jesus makes a mixture of clay and spit and applies it to your eyes. Then Jesus tells you to go and wash in a pool called “Sent.”
How do you feel about not being instantly healed by the sanative salve? Why would Jesus ask a blind man with mud in his eyes to go anywhere and do anything?
Erwin McManus, a pastor and author, has an idea. “Have you ever sat on the side of the road and watched as automobiles go by? The people inside those cars are just a blur. But if you get in a car yourself, head in the same direction, and match the speed of the other cars, you can make eye-to-eye contact with the people driving next to you.
“Many of us can’t see what God is up to because we’re standing still and we’re waiting for God to move. But God wants us to be moving as well. And when we move in the direction of God and at the direction of God, we can see what God is doing.”
May God grant us the grace to be “sent” people who see the ways that the light of Christ shines into our darkness.