Thoughts for the Day
Sunday, 19th March 2023: Spiritual blindness
Pharisees Jesus Blindness Sin John 9 Healing
Reading : Verses from John, Chapter 9
Jesus heard that the Pharisees had driven the blind man out, and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ He answered, ‘And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.’ He said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshipped him. Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.’
(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)
Thoughts
Do you remember playing 'blind man's buff' or 'put the tail on the donkey', or hit a piñata to get sweets? It can be great fun as you stumble around blindfolded, trying to find the target. It can also be extremely disorientating as you lose your sense of direction if no-one helps. Today is Mothering Sunday in the UK, and as we think of our mothers (whether with us or not) we should be thankful to those who guided us in our childhood, when we were blind to the difficulties of life.
Today's reading comes at the end of John, Chapter 9, which has been about the healing of a blind beggar on the Sabbath. It was thought that the man or an ancestor must have sinned for him to blind, so he would have been shunned by most people, yet Jesus heals him. The authorities by now also believe Jesus to be a 'sinner' not least since he is breaking the law by healing on the Sabbath, and they cannot see the real Jesus because of their biased vision. However, look at the blind man. First he calls Jesus a 'man', then later a 'prophet', and finally confesses that Jesus is the 'Son of man' (ie the Messiah).
When we admit our spiritual blindness and come to God we too see things differently, or to use another image it's like being able to see the writing on the page, but it takes glasses to understand the words!
Prayer
Lord Jesus,
often we do not realise
our spiritual blindness.
We think we can see
and we rely on worldly help,
not realising we need You.
Help us to admit our failure
and to see our need for You
in all that we do.
Amen.
You might like to look at this article on spiritual blindness:
For the whole of the story of the blind man click on this: