Text for the upcoming sermon/conversation: John 9
Well, give Jesus points for using a variety of methods to heal people... but this one is kind of gross! A paste made of dirt and spit? Eeeewwww! Have you ever wondered why Jesus never seemed to deal with anyone in need exactly the same way? Sometimes he would touch them, and other times he would just say the word. Sometimes he was gentle, and at other times he seemed downright rude. Either way the people were healed. But it's almost as if he wants to prevent us from having a formula to follow... cause you know we would if we could, right?
"Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?" Wow, can you imagine the change that came about in his life? And he wasn't even healed a full day before the Pharisees wanted him to claim it was all just an elaborate hoax. But how could he? Just hours before, the man was reduced to begging, and now he could see the amazing beauty of the Temple. But that's not all he could see... he could see that the Pharisees were a bunch of pompous idiots! “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.” His response to their stupidity...? Ya, right! (Well, I kind of paraphrased him there). His parents weren't willing to go against the authority figures, but the man born blind could "see" right through their hard hearts.
He tried to answer patiently, but pretty soon he delivered one of the best lines of the whole story: “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?” Ouch... ouch... and ouch! By that point, I don't think the man really cared if the Pharisees allowed him inside the temple or not... he had sight for the first time in his life, and he wasn't going to let those clowns take away his remarkable testimony... "I was blind, and now I can see."
Amen. I can see too... but all too often, I become blinded by pride and arrogance. Geez, just when I think I'm so different from the Pharisees... I find myself stumbling around in the darkness wondering who turned out the lights!
