Open our eyes, Lord, that we may see You. Deliver us from lies. Help us to recognize the spiritual battle that we are in that we may quickly come to You and be set free to live for Your glory. Amen.

To be physically blind is one thing. We who can see cannot imagine it. To be unable to see - think of the beauty one would miss, not to mention just how difficult it must be to simply live and do normal things. It is helpful to the blind person and to others if the blind one carries a white cane or is led by a seeing-eye-dog. It alerts us. We can be careful; we can help them out.

There are other ways to be blind. One can be spiritually blind. In that case, there’re no white canes, no seeing-eye-dogs. There are no outward signs to alert us. Instead, outward signs may confuse us (clerical collars on people who do not love God, all sorts of religious sounding fluff that is not true to God‘s word, false piety - actions that look good, but lack humility and are not consistent with the rest of the person‘s life) To be spiritually blind is to miss the beauty of God’s love and to live in the illusion that one can follow the law, that one really can be righteous if they try hard enough. And that is an illusion!

The worst thing about being blind is that you cannot see. That’s obvious, but think about it for a moment, not able to see is not a good place to be. If you are sighted & someone tells you that something is there, and you don’t see it, one of two things can happen. You may think the person is wrong or you may think you’re losing it. Most likely something is in the way. It’s blocking your vision. You don’t see it. You are blind to it. Whenever we drive a car, we have to deal with our “Blind spot.” We call it a blind spot because we can’t see what is there. How many times do accident victims say, “I never saw him coming”? How many times have you been saved by your passenger saying, “There’s a car coming!”? Being blind, not being able to see, is no fun. To be spiritually blind is very similar. If someone shares the Gospel with someone spiritually blind, tells them that they are loved just the way they are, forgiven, washed clean because Jesus has died, if one can’t receive that, there is some thing in the way, something is blocking their vision. It is frustrating because they may want to believe, to be set free, but they are blind and most likely do not know it.

Our Gospel reading today is about the two kinds of blindness - a man who was born blind, physically blind, and the Pharisees, the men who were blind spiritually. Someone once said to Helen Keller, "What a pity you have no sight!" Helen Keller replied, "Yes, but what a pity so many have sight but cannot see!" That would be the Pharisees. They have eyes, but don’t see. They are convinced that they can be righteous on their own - by just following the rules.

Interesting, isn’t it, that the first thing the disciples want to know about this man born blind is “Whose sin was this? His parents? His own?” Well, if it was his own sin, he must’ve sinned in the womb because he was born blind. How human of the disciples wanting to blame someone, wanting to explain, wanting to have the answer!

The good news is Jesus said it was neither the parents’ sin, nor the man’s sin. Jesus said it wasn’t about sin. It was about God’s Glory. It’s about what God can do! It was about displaying the power of God. That’s very good news. No one is tempted then to become like one of Job’s comforters - so sure that Job’s problems must be a result of sin. The disciples didn’t have to waste any more time wondering. They saw the power of God at work.

However, here’s Jesus, healing on the Sabbath AGAIN! Why? Why didn’t He at least try to avoid conflict? He could have waited for Sunday! The man had been blind since birth. One more day wouldn’t have mattered, would it? Not only did Jesus heal, He mixed mud & spit. That’s kneading (like kneading bread) and that was work! No Jew was supposed to work on the Sabbath. The Pharisees, the religious leaders, were confused. How could someone who was not of God heal? How could someone who was from God heal on the Sabbath. The leaders were divided.

Neither the parents nor the man born blind make any judgments of Jesus. All the parents know is that the man is their son and he was born blind. All that the man knows is that once he was blind; now he sees. This man has no clue about how it happened or about who did it.

There are two things in this story that are very exciting. First of all, Jesus came to this man. The man wasn’t picked because he was a good person. He was picked because he was blind. This man did not ask right, pray right, nor was he hung-up on the rules of the Sabbath. This man wasn’t picked because he had great faith. He was simply picked because he was blind. Even after he was healed, he didn’t realize who it was who had healed him. Jesus had to go to him & point blank tell him “the one speaking with you is the Son of Man.” Only then did he believe. He was picked because he was blind. That’s it.

The 2nd exciting thing is that Jesus heals blindness. The good news is that you are blind, or at least have blind spots. Things get in the way - they block your vision. You are blind, but remember Jesus heals blindness. Most likely, the two things that you don’t see clearly are the goodness of God and your own worth. When bad things happen, we ask, “How could a good God allow that to happen?” The enemy is at work trying to convince us that God is not the One we can trust. When God seems distant, you feel abandoned. For some of you that may remind you of your earthy father who did abandon, abuse, or wound you. Those hurtful things that you did not deserve get in the way and you cannot see straight. You are blind. But Jesus heals blindness. Jesus comes to you in baptism and says, “You are mine. No one will snatch you out of my hand. God is faithful.

You are blind to your own worth. There is a story of a beggar who would sit across the street from an artist's studio. The artist thought he would be an interesting person to paint. The man looked defeated, his shoulders drooped, and his eyes were sad. When he was done, he took the picture over to the man so he could see it.

"Who is that?" the beggar wanted to know. The painting kind of resembled him, but the man in the painting was a person of dignity, with squared shoulders and bright uplifted eyes, almost handsome! He asked the artist, "Is that me? I don't look like that." But the artist replied, "but that is the person I see in you."

You do not see yourself as God sees you. There are too many negative messages ringing in your ears. They are blind spots. A 75 year old woman said yesterday, “My mother used to say ’I have an inferiority complex, and you are just like me’” Of course, years later that same mom told this woman, “Oh, you have changed. You have no idea how much you have changed.” It is much easier to see your faults, your weaknesses. You know in your heart what you want to be, yet you see what you do. People always get this confused. People think they have to be good first and then God will love them. Something is clouding their vision. Jesus comes to you and declares you forgiven, washed clean. Jesus comes to you at the table with forgiveness of sin and strength to live for Him. Just the mere fact that you want to live for Him tells you that He is at work in you. Let Him work. It’s about God! It’s about God’s glory!

You were a sinner on a dead-end street when Jesus came and bought you. You were not cheap. Jesus paid dearly with His precious blood. You are valuable. If you don’t believe that, you are blind. But Jesus heals blindness. Jesus comes to you in His Word. As you hear the Word, as you read the Word, Watch Him work! It’s about God’s Glory! As He tells you that He is with you, will never leave you, that you are precious to Him, you will find the blind spots are being washed away. Your story will be “I once was blind, but now I see!”

delivered by our former Pastor, Evelyn Johnson