Mar 26, 2014
Focus reading: John 9:1-42 Download Audio File
This is a reposting of a sermon from 2011
All of us have blind spots about people. There are some groups of people who we don’t like or trust or look down on. Often this is quite irrational. I sometimes joke to Heather that people who have designer wall rugs "will be the first people lined up against the wall when the revolution comes." I can not understand why anyone would think it was a good idea to decorate a wall with patterned carpet. It seems both mad and pretentious. Perhaps it is, but I should not condemn or reject any person because of any one trait. In the time of Jesus people were often rejected because of a disability. Both Jesus’ followers and the Jewish authorities assume the man born blind is blind because of his sin or his parents’ sin. They also believe that he is trapped in that sin. In the end the Jewish authorities can not see past the man’s blindness and sinfulness. Only Jesus and the man who was blind can really see. Jesus sees the man as a child of God. The man sees that he is loved and healed by God in Jesus. The authorities are blind to all this and can only see the designer rug.
Questions for thought or discussion.
What groups of people are commonly discriminated against? Can you think of an example where you have assumed something about a person and been pleasantly surprised when you got to know them? How easy is it to look beyond a person’s exterior to their heart like God does? What makes this so hard for us? In what areas do we need to be healed of our blindness?
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