The Fourth Sunday in Lent
Sunday, March 15
Read: 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41
It shouldn’t be this hard to celebrate a miracle. The entire ninth chapter of John’s Gospel tells the story of a man who was blind from birth. Jesus heals him and now, for the first time in his life, he is able to see. This is a hallelujah moment – except that no one is celebrating.
The friends and neighbors of the formerly blind man get into a disagreement as to whether this is truly the same man they have known as a beggar for years. No celebration here.
The religious leaders question that he was ever actually blind and they dispute that a person like Jesus could have healed him. No celebration here.
His parents admit that he is their son and that he was definitely born blind – but that is as far as they will go. No celebration here.
So, there he is, all alone on the greatest day of his life. Until Jesus finds him; and he finds Jesus. Then Jesus reveals to him—and to all of us—what is really going on:
I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see may see and those who do see may become blind.
In fulfillment of Jesus’ words: the blind man receives his sight, but everyone else in the story loses theirs – not their physical vision but their capacity to recognize what they have witnessed. Neighbors, religious leaders, and parents are unable to see.
Thankfully, the formerly blind man never lets up. He can’t answer every question they throw at him. But he doesn’t need to, for he has absolute clarity about what matters most: One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.
If Lent is a season of personal reflection and self-examination, then this story is just what we need. It invites each of us to examine our own life and ask where we can truly say, “one thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
Tell me your “once I was blind, but now I see” story. What kinds of blindness have your experienced? Was it anger, prejudice, lust, ignorance, greed, pride? Was it blindness toward another person? When did you regain your sight? Looking back now, don’t try to explain it: Confess it. Like the man in John 9, you were blind; but now you see. This is your miracle. Glory to God. It shouldn’t be so hard to celebrate such amazing grace.
Prayer:
Call to our minds, O Lord, the many kinds of blindness that we have experienced and from which you have delivered us. Open our lips that we may join the man born blind in confessing: “one thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see.” Through Christ our Lord, we pray. Amen.
Bishop Lawson Bryan is a retired Bishop in The United Methodist Church, serving from 2016-2021 as Bishop of the South Georgia Conference. Prior to his episcopal election, Bishop Bryan served as an ordained elder in the Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.
