Apr 8 2019 John 9:1-17

Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him.

Jesus comes upon the blind man, and the others ask him whether the man sinned or his parents. 

This is the first thing from today’s reading that I find dumb, and unfortunately something that persists today - that notion that one’s troubles today are the result of sins yesterday. Other than the clearly causal woes, such as a drug overdose being caused by taking drugs, or blindness from an industrial accident, I can’t even fathom how rational people would be able to attribute modern day problems to things they see as sins, especially the sins of others. 

Except perhaps in the way that abused kids end up struggling with all sorts of mental and physical infirmities. Neglected kids can be emotionally detached. Loving parents who end up in jail for their sins leave a mark on their children by their absence, even if they always loved and cared for the children. So yes, sometimes the sins of the parents do result in infirmities of their offspring. 

But I don’t get the sense this is what the Jews were talking about in Jesus’ time, nor do I think it’s what Westboro Baptist, Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson mean, when they blame today’s woes on the ‘sins’ of LGBTQ, Islam, or Voodoo. That’s horribly problematic for me, as who are they to decide what’s a sin or not? 

So the first part of this reading has been horribly misused. But then again, as the second. That part where Jesus says that neither the person nor their parents sinned. What it says is that the man was born blind ‘so that God’s works might be revealed in him’. 

Since I don’t read whatever language this was written in I can’t attest to the accuracy of the translation, but I cannot imagine that Jesus is saying that people are born blind, die from accidents, illness, or terrorism, or get lifelong illness simply so that God has a stage on which to perform. 

I guess I do believe that crappy things happen, and through those bad things God can show up in very unexpected ways. For us to read this section and suggest that it’s God’s purpose to have bad things happen, so God can perform doesn’t reflect the all-loving God I’ve encountered. 

When in doubt, I look for other translations of the readings. Here’s the translation from Eugene Peterson’s “The Message”, which feels much more reflective of an all-loving God. 

Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?” Jesus said, “You’re asking the wrong question. You’re looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do.

How easy it is for us to blame. To blame the one who’s blind or ill. To blame the parents. To blame God. Instead of spending one ounce of energy on the blame-game, I want to spend that time watching for what God can do with this broken person and broken world.