Healing a Blind Man
Welcome to day 63. Today’s reading is John 9:1 – 9:41
Read the Bible passage here or listen to the audio file below.
Listen to the audio of Winkie Pratney’s reflection on Rhema’s site.
From youth communicator Winkie Pratney…
No-one wants to be blind; not just blinded in life so you can no longer see but blinded from birth so you have never seen at all. Jesus and his disciples meet such a man.
Why do such sad things happen? The disciples already had possible explanations. Perhaps it was parental sin or did this blind man blow it as a baby, or perhaps in some previous life? We are not too much different today; The focus of faith for some followers may be only to nail down who did it, so we know who is to blame, then pass by them wiser, leaving him blind. But what Jesus said was shocking; He said neither; something would happen to show people again what God was really like.
His method was hardly medical; no modern protocol may approve or endorse what Jesus did. And if you were that blind man, how would you feel if all you hear in your darkness is someone who spits beside you, apparently starts making little mud pies of the dirt around you and what you feel next is His hands on your face to stick these into your lifeless sockets? “Go and wash in the pool of Siloam” He said to the sightless man. And he went. And he washed. And he came out seeing.
In the hundred Bible passages chosen for E100 are accounts of some of the marvels and miracles. But there is only one of God doing what Jesus did that day. The first mention of God’s hand touching clay was at the dawn of time when He made the first man; perhaps what Jesus did was forge another set of eyes for a man who had never seen.
I often wonder why there was such argument in synagogue when the ex-blind man walked in now seeing and told them the one who healed him was called Jesus. Only just restored, already his story splits religious rulers so drastically that before the day is over he gets the left foot of farewell. And remember this: he didn’t know who Jesus was. He only knew one wonderful thing; once he was blind and now he could see.
Then someone kind close beside him asks: “Do you believe in the Son of God?” He says: “Who is he Lord? And answered: “You have both seen Him and He it is that is talking with you.” And he said: “Lord, I believe.”
Winkie
Filed under: Week 13 - Winkie Pratney
