Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] March 19, 2023 “Who Sinned” John 1: 1-41 – The Message Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?” 3-5 Jesus said, “You’re asking the wrong question. You’re looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do. We need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines. When night falls, the workday is over. For as long as I am in the world, there is plenty of light. I am the world’s Light.” 6-7 He said this and then spit in the dust, made a clay paste with the saliva, rubbed the paste on the blind man’s eyes, and said, “Go, wash at the Pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “Sent”). The man went and washed—and saw. 8 Soon the town was buzzing. His relatives and those who year after year had seen him as a blind man begging were saying, “Why, isn’t this the man we knew, who sat here and begged?” 9 Others said, “It’s him all right!” But others objected, “It’s not the same man at all. It just looks like him.” He said, “It’s me, the very one.” 10 They said, “How did your eyes get opened?” 11 “A man named Jesus made a paste and rubbed it on my eyes and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ I did what he said. When I washed, I saw.” 12 “So where is he?” “I don’t know.” 13-15 They marched the man to the Pharisees. This day when Jesus made the paste and healed his blindness was the Sabbath. The Pharisees grilled him again on how he had come to see. He said, “He put a clay paste on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “Obviously, this man can’t be from God. He doesn’t keep the Sabbath.” Others countered, “How can a bad man do miraculous, God-revealing things like this?” There was a split in their ranks. 17 They came back at the blind man, “You’re the expert. He opened your eyes. What do you say about him?” He said, “He is a prophet.” 18-19 The Jews didn’t believe it, didn’t believe the man was blind to begin with. So they called the parents of the man now bright-eyed with sight. They asked them, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? So how is it that he now sees?” 20-23 His parents said, “We know he is our son, and we know he was born blind. But we don’t know how he came to see—haven’t a clue about who opened his eyes. Why don’t you ask him? He’s a grown man and can speak for himself.” (His parents were talking like this because they were intimidated by the Jewish leaders, who had already decided that anyone who took a stand that this was the Messiah would be kicked out of the meeting place. That’s why his parents said, “Ask him. He’s a grown man.”) 24 They called the man back a second time—the man who had been blind—and told him, “Give credit to God. We know this man is an impostor.” 25 He replied, “I know nothing about that one way or the other. But I know one thing for sure: I was blind . . . I now see.” 26 They said, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 “I’ve told you over and over and you haven’t listened. Why do you want to hear it again? Are you so eager to become his disciples?” 28-29 With that they jumped all over him. “You might be a disciple of that man, but we’re disciples of Moses. We know for sure that God spoke to Moses, but we have no idea where this man even comes from.” 30-33 The man replied, “This is amazing! You claim to know nothing about him, but the fact is, he opened my eyes! It’s well known that God isn’t at the beck and call of sinners, but listens carefully to anyone who lives in reverence and does his will. That someone opened the eyes of a man born blind has never been heard of—ever. If this man didn’t come from God, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.” 34 They said, “You’re nothing but dirt! How dare you take that tone with us!” Then they threw him out in the street. 35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and went and found him. He asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 The man said, “Point him out to me, sir, so that I can believe in him.” 37 Jesus said, “You’re looking right at him. Don’t you recognize my voice?” 38 “Master, I believe,” the man said, and worshiped him. 39 Jesus then said, “I came into the world to bring everything into the clear light of day, making all the distinctions clear, so that those who have never seen will see, and those who have made a great pretense of seeing will be exposed as blind.” 40 Some Pharisees overheard him and said, “Does that mean you’re calling us blind?” 41 Jesus said, “If you were really blind, you would be blameless, but since you claim to see everything so well, you’re accountable for every fault and failure.” As Jesus walked along, he saw a man blind since birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned causing this man to be born blind; him or his parents?” A few years ago, a 9-year-old boy named Grayson was excited to bring his brand new backpack to school. Administrators at the school in Ashville, North Carolina, stopped him at the door and told him he couldn’t bring it in because it could “trigger bullying.” If the boy was bullied for carrying his My Lil Pony backpack it would be his fault – not those so threatened by the sight of a little boy with a cartoon backpack that they couldn’t control themselves. After a media storm, the public school apologized and recognized that this was a teachable moment to address the wider issue of bullying.[1] But not the Christian school in Lynchburg, Virginia. They expelled an 8-year-old girl named Sunnie because she was “not feminine enough.” She wore pants and her hair was too short and so they claimed she was not upholding “biblical standards.” When the child’s grandparents complained, first to the school and then to the media, the school claimed that the grandparents were lying and the media were distorting the truth. The school dug their heels in even further and claimed they were really the victims. They claimed they were being “bullied” by secular society. Lawyers for the school explained, “Parents send their children to this school because of our Christian beliefs and standards. We have a duty to create an environment that is supportive of these Christian values. We cannot have conflicting messages or standards because such conflict will confuse students and frustrate parents who entrust their children to us.”[2] So, first the school claimed the grandparents were lying. Then, that the media were bullying them. This fantasy-world of victimization is so irritating and outrageous. You’ve no doubt heard the polls that white evangelical Christians claim that “persecution” against them in this country is much worse than Muslims and every other actually mistreated group.[3] But by the school’s own explanation, they weren’t victims. They claimed that had to expel 8-year-old Sunnie because she was a danger to other children and parents for confusing them. And the disciples asked Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned?” They assumed that blindness was the cause and effect of sin. Let’s be clear: It is not. Even so, remember the pain that such a question must cause for people who are differently-abled. Like the man who was formerly blind – the subject of conversation rather than participant, talked about instead of talked with. This story is a long back and forth and back and forth – ironically kind of funny, almost a keystone cops kind of spectacle with lots of characters, including curious people from the crowd, outraged Pharisees, frightened parents, clueless disciples, Jesus and the man himself (who, did you notice, wasn’t asked before Jesus wiped spit and dirt on his face – can we talk about consent!) Anyway, after all this back and forth and blame game and deflection – “he healed on the Sabbath” – and hypocrisy and false outrage, “how dare you,” – and finally the grand proclamation: “I don’t know. All I know is that I couldn’t see but now I can.” What a great response. How did he heal you? I don’t know. All I ask is that you believe my experience, not express an opinion about whether it’s possible or not. Does Jesus heal? I don’t know. All I know is what people have said about their experiences. And I believe them. So, let’s believe and celebrate with the man. Perhaps, however, the more challenging question is not whether Jesus does or does not heal, but why some and not others. I don’t know. But what I know is that there is nothing I can do to change the situation other than to change myself. And I believe this is where Jesus leads the conversation. So, we start where the gospel starts, “Rabbi, who sinned?” And then follow Jesus to the point. If we stick with it, if we keep engaging this back and forth story, we will finally come to ask – How am I a hypocrite? Such a question can sting, but we all have blinders. You’ve perhaps heard these words before: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive our transgressions and cleanse us from unrighteousness.” This is the practice of self-reflection, self-examination, looking for our own blind spots. Or we can try to make it about everyone else, point fingers, and look for someone else to blame. But as people of faith, we believe honesty leads to truth. Self-reflection leads to growth. And confession leads to transformation. Unless we refuse to see. And so, Jesus said, “I came into the world to bring everything into the clear light of day, making all the distinctions clear, so that those who have never seen will see, and those who have made a great pretense of seeing will be exposed as blind.” Some Pharisees overheard him and said, “Surely you’re not calling us blind?” Do you ever think Jesus rolled his eyes? He said, “If you were really blind, you would be blameless.” Like last week when Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well. He told her he was the Messiah. The same woman that one scholar called a “five-time loser” and a “tramp” and others described as living a “morally dubious life.” Jesus honored her and respected her and yet she was, and still is, blamed for the hard life she had been forced to endure. Surely, she brought this upon herself. The disciples didn’t even bother to ask who sinned. They all presumed she had, never asking, “Who sinned against her?” And they never thought to ask who had sinned against this man, forcing him to live as a beggar? Instead the question is asked whether the man born blind had sinned to cause his being born blind? When exactly would that have been? Eye roll and Jesus dismisses the idea as ridiculous and instead spoke to the man, honored him, revealing, I am the Son of Man. To which the man responded, I believe. Just as the woman had. Jesus turned the worlds of both the man and the woman upside down, which threatened the religiously powerful who would do anything – then and now – to keep, hold on to, their power. These radical ideas of Jesus were becoming more dangerous every day. He kept including more and more people who had previously been outcasts for whatever blame game religious, cultural, political, or moral reasons they could conceive. I don’t know why the church refuses to see this. That when you exclude women, when you scapegoat people of every color, race, and nation, and blame people for escaping violence, when you judge people who are queer, and marginalize people who are differently-abled, and stigmatize people with mental illness… Where is the radically inclusive Jesus of the gospel? Instead, obsessed with sin – not the kind that leads to self-examination but rather blame. That’s not Jesus, but it is what too much of American Christianity represents to people outside of or fleeing the church. Sarah Speed (from A Sanctified Art) wrote a poem called “Jesus in the psych ward.” He’s in group therapy, plastic chairs in a circle. Paper cups with weak coffee. Everyone in the room has seeking eyes. The Pharisees admitted him. They said things like, “he’s more than we can handle.” They let the rumors fly. The other patients like him. They say, “He listens to me.” He calls them by name. And when one of them asks, “Is this our fault? Are we here because we sinned?” Jesus doesn’t wait for the facilitator to speak. He crosses the circle and kneels down. He grabs their hands in his and says, Child of the covenant, God loves you too much to ever wish you pain. Bodies and minds crumble sometimes, but God’s love for you does not. And after that There were happy tears and the group was dismissed to lunch, Where they broke bread and no one ever again talked of sin.[4] Jesus said, “I came into the world to bring everything into the clear light of day, making all the distinctions clear, so that those who have never seen will see, and those who have made a great pretense of seeing will be exposed as blind.” “Surely you’re not calling us blind?” He said, “If you were really blind, you would be blameless. But since you claim to see everything so well, you’re accountable for every fault and failure.” The powerful clinging to their supremacy claimed to be shocked, victimized, and so they intensified their plot to crucify this Jesus who sees all of us exactly as we really are. And isn’t it amazing that with forgiveness for our own blinders, although once we could not, now too we can see! See ourselves with honesty and be seen by others exactly as we really are – fearfully and wonderfully made. [1] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/03/18/my-little-pony-backpack-banned-school-north-carolina/6565425/ [2] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/26/girl-feminine-school-virginia/6900935/ [3] https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/08/the-evangelical-persecution-complex/375506/ [4] This powerful poem is based on another one called “Jesus at the Gay Bar” and his interaction with a boy who begged to be healed. He said, child, there is nothing in you to be healed. https://jayhulme.com/blog/jesus-at-the-gay-bar
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