John 9:1-41 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloa). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. . .16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided. 17 Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” The man replied, “He is a prophet.”. . .
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” 38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said,[a] “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” 40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”
Jacob Herold
First Lutheran Church Concord
Observation: God, I am blind. Like the Pharisees I am full of pride and claim to fix what I cannot fully know. I desire my own solution to the problems that I only sometimes admit exist. But You, God, give me the forgiveness and metamorphosis that I cannot have through my own power.
Action: Trying to fix my own pride is an exercise in pride. Pride is an act of making an idol of myself. So, this week I will daily sing to God about his greatness, and pray for humility, trusting that God will do the rest.
Like the disciples (“who sinned…that he was born blind?”) and the Pharisees (“This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath”), my natural human inclination is to assume that problems are Someone Else’s Fault, rather than ask “who is He…Tell me that I may believe in Him?”
Response: I will prayerfully reflect upon Christ’s words to the church in Laodicea – Lord, what is the salve You offer that will enable me to see as You want me to see?