“So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.” ²⁵ He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” ²⁶ They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” ²⁷ He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” ²⁸ Then they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. ²⁹ We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” ³⁰ The man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. ³² Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. ³³ If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” ³⁴ They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out. ³⁵ Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” ³⁶ He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” ³⁷ Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” ³⁸ He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him. ³⁹ Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” ⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” ⁴¹ Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.” John 9:24-41

I was asked by a friend to be a character witness for her child custody case in Cumberland County Court a few years ago. I have known this woman for many years – I worked with her at the day care center in the church where I used to attend services, and she has been a day care teacher for my children over the years. She and her husband divorced several years ago and they have one daughter together who is eight years old. The father was seeking full custody of the child claiming that my friend was an unfit mother. It is sad to me to see people argue over issues such as child custody, especially when neither parent is unfit to raise the child. What gets in the way of our relationships, husband and wife, friend to friend, church member to church member, is sin. And usually we are blind to the sin that we live in. Jesus says in our text today, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see’, your sin remains.”  Usually, our blindness keeps us from recognizing the fact that we do not see ourselves as we truly are – sinners desperately in need of God’s mercy and grace. Once we can see ourselves for who we really are, sinners in need of repentance, then, and only then, can we repair the relationships that we have destroyed by our sin.

Pastor Dave

“As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³ Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. ⁴ We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. ⁵ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ⁶ When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, ⁷ saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.” John 9:1-7

The story that unfolds in regards to the blind man in the Gospel of John is one of the best stories in the Bible (in my opinion).  One of my favorite lines comes in the second verse, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  How is it that one can be born and, without the ability to do anything but cry and poop, they suffer the results of their own sin?  Although it sounds ridiculous to us today, it was a common assumption that someone who was born with a disability either sinned or suffered the sins of their parents that resulted in their disability. Today, though we can point to very specific causes to the disabilities that we encounter, it is still possible for children to be born in situations where they will suffer the result of the sins of the parents. As the church, we need to break through the barriers, both physical and structural, that keep people with disabilities out of our sanctuaries. If they can’t get into the building because the ramp is wrong, or there is no elevator, or too many other physical obstacles keep them out, then what are we really saying to our brothers and sisters who have disabilities?

Pastor Dave