Surely, we are not blind, are we?

Scripture Lessons: Psalm 23 and John 9: 1-41 Sermon Title: Surely, we are not blind, are we? Preached on 3/26/17 This week has been hell for several members of our community. I’ve read about it in the paper every day, as I’m sure you have. Our community has been on the evening news, the Today Show, everything – all in the hope of saving a 15-year-old girl who met her 50-year-old teacher at Shoney’s and hasn’t been seen since. We long to understand how and why, and so we talk in the grocery store aisles and in the hallways. Here at the church, every morning, we’ve been gathering around Renea Foster’s desk in the church office to discuss our theories and who is to blame. Most people blame the teacher for not acting like a responsible adult, for taking advantage of a young girl entrusted to his care. Obviously, he’s to blame. But the plot thickens – he was under investigation for inappropriate contact with this student, but many, including the family’s attorney, blame the School Board for this mess believing that they should have acted sooner to get this man out of the classroom. Maybe they should have, but “what about the girl” some say? Others have blamed the girl. Some blame her parents. Every day we go to the paper looking for answers wondering: Who sinned? This is human nature, and so it’s no surprise that the Disciples, when faced with another human tragedy, that of blindness, ask the same question. Our Second Scripture Lesson began: “As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?” This question here is based on a theological assumption – the strongly held belief that suffering and sin are related – and while blindness as a deserved punishment seems like a strange concept to us, certainly we relate suffering and sin in all kinds of circumstances. When a teacher runs off with a 15-year-old student we assign blame. Blame. Who sinned? That’s one subject we humans want to talk about and often rightly so – we focus on sin and blame and justice – but as the Disciples follow along this line of debate asking: “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind,” listen to what Jesus does. Jesus “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”. Then he went and washed and came back able to see.” Rather than engage in the debate, Jesus does something about it – he gives this man his sight. Imagine! The problem they had been discussing – solved, solution provided, a miracle right before their eyes – this is exactly what they really wanted right? However, while it is human and can even be helpful to assign blame and to discuss the cause of the problem just as we do in the case of Elizabeth Thomas and Tad Cummins – it is tragic when the problem is solved, when the solution is provided, when the miracle comes right before their eyes, and no one rejoices. It is a tragedy when people become so practiced in looking for blame, that they are blind to miracles. That’s what happened. Listen to this – after the man went and washed and came back able to see, “The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” But they kept asking him.” What were they asking, and why weren’t they rejoicing? Isn’t that sad? But it happened. A people so focused on the problem, so practicing in assigning blame and debating “who sinned,” that they glossed right over the miracle. And then the Pharisees get involved, and when Pharisees get involved there’s always trouble, and they are stuck on the fact that “it was a Sabbath day” when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes and so they boldly proclaim: “This [Jesus] is not from God, for he does not observe the Sabbath.” Now why did any of that matter? Why an interrogation and not a party? Couldn’t they just be happy for this man? Where was the cake and the parade celebrating the day when the man born blind regained his sight? Instead, the investigation continues. Why? Because a culture trained to look for sin can be blind to miracles. A culture trained to look for sin, blemishes, mistakes – can’t always see beauty and blessings. The question of “Who sinned” and when and how, and did he heal you on the Sabbath, kept all of them from seeing a miracle, a story of redemption and forgiveness and healing. And we’re not so different. We become problem focused and not solution focused as well. Do you know what I mean? We’ve been having a bathroom remodeled at the house. It was supposed to take 4 weeks and it’s been 4 months. Why? we started to ask – why is this taking so long? Well, the contractor blames the plumber. The plumber blames the contractor – but all I want is a toilet that flushes. It’s trouble when we get too distracted by blame. But that’s human nature – look at Washington. We read about health care reform in Washington DC – so many say that “an alternative to Obama Care must be found,” but just because this new plan was not Obama Care doesn’t mean that it was any good, and if not being Obama Care is the only goal for a new plan than the Right has become problem focused and not solution focused – for the goal of any plan ought to be nothing other than providing affordable health care to the citizens of this country. Now I’ve just criticized the Right, but there is no monopoly on the dysfunction of focusing more on problems than solutions so let me say this to my friends on the Left: just because the President said it doesn’t mean it’s bad. Of course, many of the things that he says are bad (many of the things that he Tweets are bad rather), but just being against Donald Trump doesn’t make you a leader or a hero, for if your priority is finding blame rather than finding solutions, that makes you not a congressman but a Pharisee because you’re more interested in who’s to blame than serving the American people. I hate Pharisees. Don’t you? Unfortunately, I’m prone to being one. It’s hard not to be. Think about how often we see the drama that plays out in our Second Scripture Lesson come alive in the workplace. Sally proposes a new plan for saving money and Rose offers a counter plan. Why? Because Rose hates Sally, and as soon as that happens you don’t have a workplace, because a workplace is where work gets done. What you have when drama takes over is a theater. It happens in families too – Aunt Janie wants to have the Family Reunion at her house, Uncle George wants to have the reunion at the State Park. Guess what happens – they get into an argument and the Family Reunion never happens, and yes, I am speaking from personal experience so feel free to be honest about this issue yourself. When we get more interested in who’s idea it was, the character of the one who did it – then our focus has strayed from the solution. We’ve become problem focused rather than solution focused – sin focused rather than miracle focused, and don’t be surprised if nothing ever gets done again and don’t be surprised if life feels more like an interrogation than the celebration God created it to be. Look again at our Second Scripture Lesson – the Disciples want to know who sinned. The Pharisees want to know when he healed the man. The parents just don’t want to offend anybody. And meanwhile – Jesus gave this man sight. “We are not blind, are we?” You better believe it. Because we’re blind to solutions – blind to miracles. All we can see is drama and problems, and now that I think about it, if that’s all I get to see, it’s better to be blind anyway. So, I turned off the news. You know why? Because if it’s not a problem, if it’s not drama, if there’s not someone yelling at someone else – it’s not news by the standards of this present evil age. And I don’t always realize it, but a constant exposure to problems without any solution just sucks the life out of me. I’m leaving it behind, because I want to be like this man who regains his sight – I want to follow Jesus who has the Good News – who can make the blind see – who can forgive sin rather than just discuss it. Amen.