“One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I
see.”
John 9:1-11 NRSV
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 had 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, wash in the pool of
Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.
The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is
this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some were saying, “It is he.” Others
were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.”
But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The
man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam
and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.”
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Seeing requires light, and
what we are able to see often depends on the quality and type of light that
illumines the world around us. When I was a teenager, we would have what we
called black light basement parties. The black light gave off a ghostly, bluish
glow that transformed the whole room and everything in it. Under the cast of
the black light, some things that were hidden and unable to be seen in regular
light were not only seen but glowed. I don’t know why we thought black lights
were so “cool” other than the fact that they allowed us to see the world in a
whole new way.
Seeing requires light, and
Jesus tells us that he is the light of the world. To be a follower of Jesus is
to see the world in a whole new light-- the light of God’s love, mercy, and
forgiveness. To see the world through the radiant glow of the Lord Jesus Christ
is to see the people who are often unseen and overlooked by the world. It is to
see that many of the things that we deem important are not important at all. It
is to see the humanity and dignity of everyone including those who would be our
enemies. It is to see that we are all connected and that, when some of us are
diminished in any way, we are all diminished. It is to see that the path to
salvation is not through the stockpiling of weapons or the hoarding of material
goods but through the self-giving love of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Seeing requires light, and
during the season of Lent, we are invited to bask in the radiant glow of God’s
love as we make our way to the cross.
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