Born Blind, Yet Now I See

John 9:1-41, the gospel reading for the 4th Sunday of Lent in the Year of Matthew, is one of the most dramatic narratives in all of scripture.  It contains drama and comedy, irony and tragedy.  It is a timeless story revolving around one question, "How were your eyes opened?"  This one question opens up a host of other questions:  How does one gain insight into the ways of God?  Why do some see and some not?  What is our part in our seeing and what is God's part?  It will be a challenge for the preacher to settle on one question and not try to exhaust this subject. 

(The following questions are taken from my Law and Gospel preaching method. They are questions which attempt to come to terms with how the Word is functioning, a primary concern for Law and Gospel preaching.  To learn more about this method or Law/Gospel preaching in general, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  In answer to this question I am reminded of John's words earlier in this gospel where he says, "The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (1:17)  We see both grace and truth in this narrative.  There is grace - Gospel - in the healing and faith given to the man born blind.  There is truth - Law, in this case - given to the Pharisees who cannot see anything except that "this man is a sinner." The word functions as Gospel every time it heals and gives faith. The word functions as Law every time it lifts up our lostness apart from Christ.

2.  How does the Word not function in the text?  There is no call to obedience here.  The call to obedience is the Word functioning to invite us to live in a certain way in response to the Gospel.  The response being call for in this text is faith; this is not a call to obedience.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  This is a tricky question.  We almost always are called to identify with those who are being addressed by the Word; in this story those addressed by the Word are primarily the man born blind and the Pharisees.  Can we identify with both?  Yes, we can and we probably should.  We are those who when asked, "How is it that you see?" will respond, "Jesus washed me and anointed me and now I see," alluding to our baptism.  But when asked in what ways we fail to see Christ before us, perhaps in "the least ones", we are called to admit our need for repentance.

4.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Since this is a story of contrasts, the couplets that come to mind are innumerable.  A few suggestions:  lost/found; blind/seeing; unbelief/faith.

5.  Exegetical work: John's ability to include irony in these narratives is remarkable.  Over and over, characters in these stories say things that have one meaning in the story but profound theological truths beyond it.  For example, in verse 9 the man cries out, "I am the man!"  The Greek text reveals that this is actually what only Jesus is allowed to say, "Ego eimi"  I am.   Also in verse 24, the Pharisees say, "We know that this man is a sinner."   The irony and theological truth of these words in both the man born blind and the Pharisees is summed up in St. Paul's later words:  "For our sake [God] made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (II Cor. 5:21)  The truth is, the man born blind will be given the righteousness of God, and the identity of sinner which the Pharisees accuse him of, will indeed become Christ's identity.  Theologically, the baptism motif is something the Church has picked up on for ages.  Raymond Brown highlights this in his analysis, noting how being born blind has been thought to be the metaphor for "born in sin," indeed, exactly as the Pharisees said. (vs. 34)  Physical blindness has been seen to equal spiritual blindness,  the smearing with mud is the signing with oil, and washing in the pool at Christ's command is akin to baptism.  According to Brown the early Church read John 9 on the event of the baptism of catechumens, with the climax being the words of the man born blind, "Lord, I believe." (The Gospel According to John, I-XII, p. 380f)  Peter Ellis also picks up on this early baptismal practice, noting "it is well known that anointing with spittle became part of the baptismal rites early on." (The Genius of John, p. 165)

6.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  Marcus Felde is at his creative best in analyzing this story.  He speaks in terms of tragedy and comedy.  I love how he titles the first part of the prognosis, "Mud in your I", alluding to God's creative act in making human beings from the start, and  how Christ is doing that very thing again.  See crossings.org/text-study for the entire analysis.

Blessings on your proclamation!