Creative Sin
How do we recognize sin when we are unable to see?
Gospel Reading: John 9:1-41
For Sunday, April 3, 2011: Year A – Lent 4
The Man Born Blind is driven from the synagogue, found guilty and excommunicated. The Pharisees tried to get a witness to pin it on him, tried to force a confession out of him and in the end settled for guilt by association and their own uncertainty as proof of his sin. Being unable to quiet Jesus, they turn to trying to quiet any would-be followers by threatening them with excommunication.
No Sin Here
Before running into the Man Born Blind, Jesus has just narrowly escaped a rock attack in the temple. But this doesn’t stop Jesus from committing a grave sin right under their noses. His disciples point out the MBB and ask whose sin is responsible for his blindness. There is no sin here, Jesus responds, but through his blindness God’s works will be revealed.
Jesus, without being asked, makes a plaster of mud and saliva applies it to the man’s eyes and has him wash it off. When he does, the creative nature of God’s work is revealed. He sees. Light streams in where there was previously darkness. The rest of this very long narrative pericope is given over to a debate about the nature sin.
The How Question
At issue are the work that Jesus did on the Sabbath (making the plaster) and the work of God that was revealed in bringing light to the Man Born Blind. The Pharisee’s repeatedly ask the question, how Jesus gave him sight. That is, did he perform work on the Sabbath? The neighbors seem out to get Jesus, also. They ask MBB the how question and when he tells them about making the plaster, they immediately turn him in.
It doesn’t just happen to be the Sabbath, the author uses it to make a point about the Pharisees’ understanding of God in contrast to Jesus’. The Pharisees, in John, see God work as restrictive. Jesus sees God’s work as permissive. They see sin as transgressing the restricted, Jesus sees sin as limiting the continuing of God’s work of creation, that work which is imaged from Genesis forward as bringing light into the darkness.
Opposing Impulses
What strikes me in this extended drama is that the Pharisees really are not sure of Jesus’ guilt. They really want him to be guilty; chapter after chapter, they are trying hard to get something on him. Here the MBB has testified that Jesus did work on the Sabbath, they cannot get past the astounding fact that he brought light/sight to the Man Born Blind.
They are so conflicted by opposing impulses that they momentarily break down and ask the MBB what he thinks. When the man begins to tell them without hesitation, they regain themselves and drive him out of the synagogue. I cannot help thinking that as they slam the door after throwing him out of it, a little light leaks through its cracks.
The Hardest Question
How do we recognize sin when we are unable to see?
Russell Rathbun is a preacher at House of Mercy in St. Paul, Minnesota, the author of Midrash on the Juanitos (Cathedral Hill Press, 2010) and the curator of The Hardest Question.
Definitely the hardest question, Russell, because as a minister in the ‘established’ church, I feel like a Pharisee at times.
My struggle with these kinds of passages is a tendency to lift the church up as a god because I invest so much time and energy into making it go and thrive.
And maybe one of the more serious transgressions I, and others like me, commit is lifting the church up as sacred and shutting out what Jesus is trying to do in the Kingdom.
Great closing image,, by the way, of slamming the door and the light peeping in through the cracks.
March 29th, 2011 at 8:42 amJennifer, I am glad you tied the church to this. I think as pastors, it is hard to see just how fast we can become primarily involved in preserving or growing the institution and that, I think, produces some kind of self censorship and stifles the unfolding creation of the Spirit.
March 29th, 2011 at 10:49 amAs a layperson, I sometimes feel “constricted” by the focus on rules and procedures within the church, which are, I suppose, the modern day equivalent of the prohibition against work on the Sabbath.
Every activity or program must be analyzed, debated, and approved beforehand. I yearn for more spontaneity. Any such attempt is most often met by the same scorn and dispproval which the Pharisees expressed.
March 29th, 2011 at 3:46 pmThe story of the MBB certainly casts an anti-institutional shadow! It’s appropriate to let the light of Jesus’ life and teaching critique the institution in deeper ways. I often wonder what would happen if our denominational structures would disappear! Would anyone notice? And would those that do be liberated? Was being kicked out of the synagogue a blessing if the ones doing the kicking represent the heart and soul of the institution? Is the Kingdom of God at odds with religion?
March 30th, 2011 at 12:19 pmJesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.’ Maybe we could use this as the basis for a sort of Lenten prayer for ourselves, our congregations, the institutional church and all the governments and the empires of the world. Anyone want to write one?
March 30th, 2011 at 2:02 pmYes, we should be self-critical, asking where we ourselves are blind.
Yes, we often get sucked into the “rules and regulations” that we miss the work of God, the healing of a precious child, right in front of our face.
Yes, the disciples were blind.
The Pharisees were blind.
The parents were blind.
It took a blind man to really “see.”
And… I’m not so sure we can do away with “institutions.” The Gospel must be incarnated in some human form. God requires bodies and gatherings of people in which to work. To have organization or structure or some kind of container is unavoidable, in my opinion.
May God help us all to “see” what God is up to. Right here. Right now. Amen.
March 30th, 2011 at 3:20 pmHow about this for a Lenten prayer:
Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.
March 31st, 2011 at 8:26 pmThat is one of the best.
April 1st, 2011 at 4:23 pmFirst – I love Jennifer’s Lenten prayer; simple and to the point!
And just as simple, this story might be an early example of the question: “What’s the difference between doing things right and doing the right thing?”
Rev Russell: Thank you for your thoughts on this and for painting a picture that causes me to think; I think I can see what you’re saying….
April 2nd, 2011 at 7:33 amTim,
I think your last line is a prayer that I am going to adopt on an ongoing basis. Thanks.
April 2nd, 2011 at 2:57 pmThe problem in this story isn’t just about vision; it’s about recognizing that an outcast is sacred. It’s a story that says physical limitation – in this case blindness, but it could just as easily be our favorite thing to hate on – has nothing whatsoever to do with anyone’s sacred worth. And more than that, it’s a story about the most profane thing that exists: the human ability to segregate the sacred and seek to control the sacred. When Jesus healed the man born blind, he showed his true colors: he is a profaner of the sacred.
April 2nd, 2011 at 6:44 pm