They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, ‘He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.’ Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.’ But others said, ‘How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?’ And they were divided. So they said again to the blind man, ‘What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.’ He said, ‘He is a prophet.’ The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, ‘Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?’ His parents answered, ‘We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.’ His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, ‘He is of age; ask him.’ So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, ‘Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.’ He answered, ‘I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’ They said to him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’ He answered them, ‘I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?’ Then they reviled him, saying, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’ The man answered, ‘Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.’ They answered him, ‘You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?’ And they drove him out.
Reflection
Miracles like this can leave a nasty aftertaste. The correlation between disability and sin and the way that this man seemed to become a pawn in a game thrusting him and his family into the limelight and danger, is hard to process. As a disabled man he seems to be an easy target, a great illustration point, and to be frank the miracle of sight given to him was almost a taunt to the Pharisees. I think that this is really a story about power and fear.
The people are terrified of the Pharisees, who have threatened to outcast anyone who supports Jesus as Messiah, from the Synagogue. But the Pharisees are terrified too. The man who was blind can now see. There’s nothing scarier to the powerful than powerless people finding liberation. The once blind man now has much more agency and power. So much so that he can be cheeky to the Pharisees, asking if they actually want to be followers of Jesus themselves.
And then there’s Jesus. Did he really cause this transfer of power to happen? On the sabbath no less. All of this put them in a bind. How can they retain their position as being closest to God if Jesus keeps usurping it in such ‘offensive’ ways.
This makes me think about ‘being woke’. A real issue for the Church, where we are asked to question our own power in relation to others. Is this something from God or from sinners? Some people are terrified of all that is Woke. It potentially liberates others and makes us realise uncomfortable things about ourselves.
If you’re not sure what ‘woke’ is, or if you feel we need a ‘war on woke’ why not look up its meaning today and reflect on it with God?
Prayer Creator God, power intoxicates; we seek it always. often not aware we have it, we would notice if we lost it. You are all powerful, You made the wind and waves, You give us life and death, but you remind us in Jesus, human, frail and murdered, that worldly power is illusion to our own grandeur. Help us to always have an eye on our power, that we might share it in your name Amen
Today’s writer
Liz Kam, CRCW, Manchester and Salford Urban Missional partnership
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