"Be Now My Vision" - John 9:13-27 - March 14, 1999

There was an elderly couple named Bertha and George. They were very conservative and Bertha especially was very tight when it came to finances. On afternoon they went to the county fair. There was a pilot who was giving air plane rides for $10. George had always wanted to fly and he thought this was a great opportunity. But Bertha said, "But George, ten dollars is ten dollars." George tried to convince his wife that this was a once in a life time opportunity and $10 was a small price to pay for such a privilege.

While the couple was discussing the price of the airplane ride the pilot overheard them. He said, "Tell you what folks, I will give you a ride for free if you promise to remain silent and not say a word." They couple looked at each other and thought they could do this. Off they went on their airplane ride. The pilot did all sorts of spins and nose dives, but neither George or Bertha made a sound. When they returned safely to the ground the pilot said to George, "I was really impressed that you never said a word, especially when Bertha fell out of the airplane." To which George replied, "Ten dollars is ten dollars."

This is a funny story but it has more truth to it then we think. There are some folks who simply can’t enjoy life. They do not have the will to celebrate. When it comes to success or victory they remain stoic and resolve that this is the way life is supposed to be. When it comes to being the least bit frivolous or whimsical they are the first to find fault or criticize.

Recently my wife and I went on vacation. I arranged our trip so that at the end of our Caribbean cruise we could visit my family in Florida. When I told my mother that I was going to visit her (I hadn’t seen her in 14 months), she said, "How is it that you a minister can take so many vacations?" This was typical of my mother, who is a lot like Bertha. But, I was disappointed. I had gone to great lengths to arrange our flights and schedules so that we could visit my parents. What I wanted to hear was, "I’m so excited that you are coming for a visit."

When there is no joy in life there is no life. If all we see is what things cost and do only those things that are practical we are missing out on the joy of living. This I believe is the attitude that the people had in our story.

Here we have a man who was blind from birth. Jesus comes along and enables him to see, but all the disciples can do is wonder why he was blind in the first place. His parents must have sinned they thought. The neighbors are no different. They can’t believe that this was really the man who was blind. They were in denial. And then there were the Pharisees. They were offended that Jesus broke their law of the Sabbath. They wanted a rational explanation.

Nobody, I mean nobody, is celebrating over the fact that a blind man can now see. No one takes him on a tour of his town to see all things he has missed since birth, not even his parents. No one is excited about the fact that a man who formerly had to beg for his existence is now free of his disability. There is no party or rejoicing. Instead, they all want to find fault and criticize. They want a rational explanation for which there is none. They want someone to blame. They are so consumed with their laws and perceptions of the way things should be that they can’t see any joy in the fact that a blind man can see.

The irony of course in this story is that those who see are blind and the one who was blind is the only one who can see. Their lives depend on what "ought" to be or the way things "should" be. Albert Ellis, who created Rational Emotive Therapy, believed that a person whose life is filled with "shoulds, oughts and musts" develops irrational beliefs. In other words, those who have been conditioned that there are certain absolutes are unable to think and see clearly. For example; If someone tells me I am no good for anything and I don’t challenge that opinion, I end up believing it. When the Pharisees have been conditioned to think that no one can be healed on the Sabbath or that finding fault is more important than celebrating restored vision they are suffering from an irrational belief system.

The Pharisees can’t stand the fact that they have no control over the new found vision of the man who was blind. They are offended that Jesus helped someone see on the Sabbath. They are stuck in their self righteousness and blind to a joyous event. For them there is no grace, perhaps no God.

On one hand this is another one of the miracles that Jesus performed to demonstrate his authority. On the other it is a story of tremendous courage and faith on the part of the man who was blind. First, he went to the pool as requested by a man he did not know. Second, he repeated again and again to his neighbors that "he was the man." Third, he was interrogated by the Pharisees but stuck to his story. Fourth, he had to speak for himself without the help of his parents. Fifth, he confronted the Pharisees with their questions and they ran him out of town. And sixth, when he met Jesus again, he said, "I believe."

Through this story John is demonstrating what it means to be a person of faith. It means going against the grain. It means standing firmly in your beliefs. It means our ability to see depends on what we are willing to believe. It means that we should challenge those who tell us everything is black and white.

It also means that the liberating power of God’s love is something to get excited about. Celebrating the positive events of life brings us joy. Focusing on "oughts" and "shoulds" and "whys" inhibits us from the joy that can be ours. For when we live with absolutes we are living in darkness. The way to see again is to have faith like the blind man and remain firmly in that faith.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio