John 9:1-7
Looking Forward

As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes, saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.

New Revised Standard Version

The disciples tried so hard to impress the Master with what they had learned and felt they understood. Most of the time, though, they only demonstrated that they still didn't understand His teachings. It seems this was the case with their question to Jesus about this blind man they encountered. They were certain his condition was the result of sin, according to the widely held reasoning of their time. So, was it the sins of his parents that led to his blindness, or did God foresee the sins this man would do and punish him in advance? Could the blindness have prevented the sins he would otherwise have committed?

On one level, Jesus' answer sounds so much like dialog that takes place thousands of times every day between persistent young children and frustrated parents. "But why?" ask the children, sometimes about the most senseless topics. "Because!" exclaim the parents, "Just because!" At some level, there is truth to a "just because" answer in the question of bad circumstances, as with this blind man. We would like to understand the justice underlying bad things that happen to us, because we would like to think we have some control over those situations. If we become sick, or we lose our jobs, or if a close relationship breaks apart, we would like to think we could have prevented it. We don't want to hear that sometimes people just get sick, even the very good people. We want to think hard work and company loyalty earn us continued employment, but frequently we have no say in the circumstances and decisions that threaten our ability to earn a living. Even in relationships, as complex as they are, sometimes people simply grow apart. As much as we want to label the "good guys" and the "bad guys" in relationship failures, oftentimes the truth is that everyone is to blame and no one is to blame. Life is what it is, and the circumstances that buffet our lives like stormy winds are far beyond our control or influence.

But Jesus' answer was more than a frustrated parent's answer or a fatalistic philosopher's musing. Rather than answer their question, Jesus changed the question so that it was no longer about the man or the man's parents, but about God. The question ceased being about sin and became about grace. The focus was no longer on what had happened, but on what would happen. God's work needed to be done in the blind man's life, just as God's work still needs to be done in so many places and in so many ways! There is too much to be done to debate the past and allow the present to slip away.

To emphasize that point, Jesus sent the blind man to the pool of water named "Sent," just as Jesus was sent to carry out God's will. The act of healing Jesus gave to this man was not to right a past wrong, or as an act of forgiveness for the man's past sins, but to provoke people to consider the healing Jesus wanted to do in their souls. The man with his sight restored was sent into the community to witness to what God had done. We, too, are sent to carry out God's will and to share what God has done in our lives. The blind man responded as Jesus directed, acting in faith, and his faith was rewarded with sight.

In life, there are times when asking "why" is valuable, because the answer can help us learn from our pasts. There is also a danger in asking "why," evidenced in the disciples' human-centered theology of sin that would place our destiny in our own hands rather than leaving it in God's hands. To hold tight to our illusion of self-control is to ignore the reality of unfortunate circumstances around us, and to deny God the opportunity to bless our lives. To release our need to understand "why" is to approach God with a child-like faith, confident that the Creator will work everything out for our ultimate good within God's plan and time frame. To trust God to have the answers that defy our understanding allows us to go where God sends us, do what God leads us to do, trust God for whatever results God intends from our service, and rejoice that God loves us enough to use us for the Kingdom's work!