John
9:1-7
I knew someone who used to write
down a list of questions that he had about life. He carried it around in his wallet. I never knew what his questions actually
were, although most of us would probably have a lot of the same ones. He said that they were what he wanted to ask
Jesus when they were finally face-to-face, and when this man died I trust that
he had his chance, and that the answers were satisfactory.
The disciples didn’t have to wait
like we do. The gospel of John
especially emphasizes Jesus as being the Word of God, speaks of him as the
Light and the Truth, and in that gospel the disciples take full advantage of
that to ask something that bothers us all: “Whose fault is it?”
They ask it in a specific situation,
of course. They are all walking along
and they see a man who has been blind from birth, and
“His disciples asked him,
‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’” [John
9:2]
What
a question! It presupposes a few questionable
points from the start.
First off, it assumes that
everything we don’t like is at least potentially a punishment from God. Blindness, Down’s Syndrome, a sixth finger on
your left hand, earthquakes, droughts, Covid-19: these must all be a sign that
God is displeased with someone somewhere.
Either it’s a direct punishment or a generalized warning.
I would suggest, however, or more
than suggest, that there is not anything somehow wrong with anybody born with a
distinctive physical condition. Jesus’
love was never limited to those who were in perfectly good health or who fit
any kind of physical profile. He loves
both the Olympic-level athlete and the kid who cannot get to first base in playground
kickball. You cannot convince me that
Ray Charles was any less of a musical genius than Bobbie McFerrin. Set aside the idea right now that any kind of
difference means that there is something wrong with somebody.
That attitude is partly behind the
idea that having a child who is blind, or in any way challenged, is a judgment or
punishment on the parents. It assumes
that God is burdening them by putting that child in their lives. Or maybe it is assuming that the child will
not be there for the parents in their old age to care for them, as was often expected
in the time the Bible was written. The
punishment is partly now and partly later, an ongoing one.
What if, instead, the question were
asked, “What did God see in these parents, to know they would treasure this
child?” or “What did God see in this child to warrant parents with extra patience
and love?” Because, yes, it does ask a
lot of someone to care for anybody with special needs. It does mean extra work, extra time, extra
expense. It does mean not doing many of
the things that other people get to do, staying home with them sometimes, or maybe
having to make arrangements that others don’t have to make in order to do
simple things. And a lot of that will go
unappreciated and unseen. It may even
draw that accusatory type of question:
“Who sinned, this man or
his parents?”
Of course, we know that there are
occasions where someone really is harmed by conditions that come about before
their birth. Some babies are born with
fetal alcohol syndrome or drug addictions and go into withdrawal right
away. I wouldn’t let the parents off the
hook right away, but the question ought to be phrased more widely.
We
are all involved. If we do not advocate
for conditions that point a way out of addiction, we let that child down. If we do not do what we can to provide health
care, we are also implicated. Some people
– not only children – are affected by toxins in the environment for which we
all bear some responsibility – lead in the water or polluted air. We all want the consumer items whose
manufacture leads to dangerous byproducts.
Who sins there?
One thing that the current health
crisis shows is that we are far more closely tied to one another than we
suspected. It’s one thing to know that
in our heads, but another to suddenly realize the level of human contact and
the degree of interdependence that we experience day-by-day, at least when
things are normal. Taking away our
contact right now is necessary and wise.
But it shows us that removal from one another’s lives would make life
itself unsustainable.
Jesus’ answer to the disciples’
question about blame puts every question about cause and effect aside.
“‘Neither this man nor
his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in
him.’” [John 9:3]
Jesus
replaces the question of blame with the challenge to live in God’s love. Jesus doesn’t waste time on pointing fingers.
He sets about taking his own part in the man’s care. He did it in a way that got his own hands
dirty, and involved the man’s own efforts, too, because we’re all in this
together.
“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.” [John 9:6-7]
We are not very far into the current
crisis. It may get worse before it gets
better. The only way we know to mitigate
its effects is to draw them out for a longer period, to spread it out so that
the healthcare system doesn’t have to face everything all at once. That is going to take cooperation from
everybody, and we are all going to become impatient and frustrated and perhaps
scared sometimes. Be ready for that.
But ask how we can show the work of
God under these conditions, as we would ask how we care for anyone whom God has
placed in our lives to be nurtured and loved, and whose presence also nurtures
us. I cannot say this enough: pray for
one another, and for everybody around you; be ready to give up for awhile the
activities you love for the sake of people you love. Be ready for whatever Jesus opens your eyes
to in the process.
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