John 9:1-41 They had written him off. The community had written the blind guy off. They were so busy judging him that they missed out on befriending and learning from him. Maybe the blind guy has something to teach us about faith, about learning to navigate through the unknown. Yet, in this story, the blind guy was relegated to a street corner to beg as if, somehow, his community had the sight problem and did not see him. The blind man’s community did not creatively dream up ways to include him, to help him navigate his blindness or allow him to support himself in a dignified manner. Instead, the townspeople relegated him to a street corner, writing him and his family off has sinners. Then Jesus came by and it says Jesus “saw” him. Jesus saw the human being in front of him. The disciples are surprised by this and they wonder aloud: “Whose fault is it that this man is blind? Did he sin or did his parents?” Who do we blame? Jesus responds, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned. But in order that God’s works might be revealed in him it is necessary for us to work the works of the one who sent me.” Jesus doesn’t answer the question of whose fault it is. Jesus is saying, don’t waste time on finger pointing, instead, look in a different direction to see what God is doing right […]
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