Lent 2011 Week 4

Lent week 4 year A

John Chapter 9:1 - 41 (abridged)

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth.

As he said this, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man's eyes with the clay,

saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Silo'am" (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar, said, "Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?"

Some said, "It is he"; others said, "No, but he is like him." He said, "I am the man."

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.

Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.

The Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see."

Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" There was a division among them.

So they again said to the blind man, "What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."

They answered him, "You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?" And they cast him out.

Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, "Do you believe in the Son of man?"

He answered, "And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?"

Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you."

He said, "Lord, I believe"; and he worshipped him.

Jesus heals a man born blind, thereby giving a sign that bears witness to his claim to be the light of the world. He also continues to condemn the opponents by accusing them of being blind spiritually, a far worse condition than the physical blindness of the man he has healed. It is a very complex and at times challenging passage. Rather than give a detailed commentary on it, perhaps this week we could reflect on this passage in a different way....

Who are we in this passage? The man born blind who is open to change or the 'Pharisees' who refuse to to be challenged to come out of the darkness?

What are we blind to in our lives, here and now?

Are we willing to let God into our lives to heal us? Or do we prefer to stay with our sin and sickness?

Are we open to change, to growth, to God's light in our darkness?

Are we willing to accept ideas that cause us to think differently?

Are we willing to choose light over darkness?

Do we practice what we preach?

Are we willing to realise that it is only in dying to ourselves, that we truly conquer death?

Do we believe, really believe in Jesus?

Are we willing to let Christ's light shine through us this week, this Lent, this life?

3 weeks to Easter...