The Light of the World (John 9)

A homily on John 9: 1 - 41. Jesus gives sight to a man born blind.
     In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
     "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Jesus says, "I am the light of the world." This, as we know, repeats one of the great "I am" sayings of John's Gospel, in the previous chapter, chapter 8, where Jesus says, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." All of the "I am" sayings recall, and are meant to recall, the words of God to Moses in the burning bush, "I am who I am." The Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament, says, "ego eimi ho on," -- "I am he who is." And Jesus, in John's Gospel, begins his "I am" sayings in the same way: "ego eimi," "I am." The parallel, the equation in fact, couldn't be more clear. We are meant to understand that the Jesus of John's Gospel is "He who is" of the burning bush. And as the light of the burning bush enlightens Moses as to the name and the purpose of God, so Jesus, the light of the world, enlightens his disciples, and us, as to the name and the purpose of God in him.
     The disciples ask Jesus, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" The idea behind this question is very ancient: that illness, or affliction, or some other suffering out of the ordinary, is punishment for some crime or sin, known or hidden, of the sufferer, or even of others. This idea survives today, and even now there are people who believe this. But this idea is contradicted by the plain words of our Lord, in his immediate answer to his disciples, when he says, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's words might be revealed in him." In other words, affliction is not punishment, but opportunity for good --- opportunity, in this case, for Jesus to heal the blind man and to reveal more of himself. And affliction in general, if I may put it this way, is also an opportunity for us to do the work that God requires of us, whatever the situation may be. Jesus's words here remind us never to think of affliction as punishment, but require us to act as he did. As Jesus says, " We --- we --- must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day." While, in other words, we have opportunity.
     Jesus "spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud on the man's eyes." This detailed description of Jesus's technique, and of the next step, washing in the pool of Siloam, which was the actual moment the blind man received his sight, are reminders of the incarnational reality of the Lord. He, in his divine and human nature, works in and with the material world to achieve his ends. This event is no faith-healing, no exercise of mental technique, and is well beyond the power of suggestion. It is an event grounded in soil and water and human bodies, through which God works to reveal himself to us and to unite us to him.
     Most of today's Gospel reading is taken up with an interrogation narrative. Question after question: Isn't this the beggar? Just how were your eyes opened? Who is Jesus? What do you say about him? How can Jesus do this on the Sabbath? Questions to the parents of the newly sighted man. The blind man questions his interrogators: Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples?
     The mere fact that there are so many questions is itself part of the message of the story. Something new has come into the world, and people naturally question it. The given order, the situation that everyone is used to, is upended. But there are two kinds of questions. The first kind we may think of as clarification. Questions like this are to be expected, and are not wrong or bad questions, but help to bring Jesus and his work into clearer view. The second kind, from the Pharisees, are looking only for reasons to keep this new situation from becoming known, the better to preserve the old, comfortable order, and their power. They can see the threat in Jesus to their understanding of how things are supposed to be. And as we know, these questions lead to the expulsion of the newly sighted man from the synagogue. Questions, in other words, can lead us toward, or away from, the truth, toward the light, or away from it.
     The two lines of questioning lead necessarily to Jesus's remark at the end of the reading, "I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind." The second half of this saying may sound harsh to us, but let us think about it, to discover what our Lord is getting at.
     "Those who do see" are those who think that they already know who's who and what's what, that they have nothing new to learn about God's nature and purpose, that there is no need to experience anything new and so perhaps learn something new. Not even a miracle, one in which sight is given to a man born blind, is enough to open their eyes to God's work in Jesus. So, they think that they see, but they bring judgment on themselves, that is, they deprive themselves of the light that lightens every person, and that shines on in the darkness. They make themselves blind.   
     The blind man's role is a model for us. We can accept the free gift of new sight, of life in the light of God, without having to ask for it. We need to be prepared for the consequences of this, good and bad. And we can be certain that Jesus will be there at the end, when we leave behind what we think we see, and learn to see anew in the light which he is holding before us. "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
     In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.