This Fourth Sunday in Lent brings us to the healing of the man born blind in John 9. Rich on so many levels, this story strikes deep into who God is and how he responds to fallen humanity to bring about new creation. We will look at the deep allusions to creation, the fall, the restoration, and the glorification that God brings about on his own initiative. This passage includes each of us in our fallen state of sin and the spiritual journey offered to us.

Like this blind man, we are all born spiritually blind, in need of a Savior. Rubbing mud made from the earth and his spittle, Jesus re-enacts the creation story from Genesis 2. Upon the healing of this new Adam figure, a trial takes place much like in Eden in Genesis 3, except this time there is a growing awareness of the blind man's priesthood.

Under trial from his neighbors and leading religious figures, the man moves from recognizing Jesus as a man, to a prophet, to one sent from God, and finally to the Lord himself in worship. We are all somewhere on this spectrum of spiritual enlightenment and need to find ourselves on this continuum.

One of the questions that always exists about the origin of suffering is the “why” of it. Jesus, in his response, focuses not on the “why” but on the “what” of suffering. N. T. Wright states that our instinct is to look for a solution to the cause of suffering, while God’s hope is to provide a solution by working toward new creation.

We are called to become little Christs in the world, divinized by the Holy Spirit. We are children of light, called to shine into dark corners and reveal what is going on. As we continue to wake up and see, we help those around us do the same and summon the dead to life.

We are new creation under trial, and it is precisely in this place and time that we become new creation.

Finally, because this passage speaks so much about the healing of eyes, we will offer a time at the end of the sermon for prayer for the healing of eyes for those who would like it.

Come and see.

+Philip