John 9- Teachings from a Blind Beggar

I read about an exercise last week that was conducted in workshops used to train community development workers. The participants were assigned a character and asked to arrange themselves in order from least to most important (in terms of their influence within a community). The characters, all around the same age, included: an achar (Buddhist layman), a disabled fisherman, a village leader, a rich rice farmer, a widow who owned the grocery shop in the village and a widow who rok si (a general term meaning to make money informally).

I read that the exercise was always completely quickly. The resulting order in all four workshops was virtually identical, with the rich rice farmer of most importance, followed by the village leader, the achor, the widow in the grocery shop, the widow who rok si, the disabled fisherman. In every case, the disabled fisherman went immediately to the position of least importance.

The rice farmer was perceived to have power due to his resources and ability to give credit. The village leader had power as a result of his position...and his central role in the village. The achor had power as a "good" person. The widow who owned the grocery shop was positioned next because she was known and therefore trusted by those in the village. The widow who rok si was looked down on because she was traveling in and out of the village. (This was regarded as inappropriate behaviour for a woman.) The disabled fisherman was regarded as least important because of his disability and his assumed lower capacity to earn an income.

I thought about this exercise last weekend when the pastor mentioned the healing of the blind man in John 9 in his message. I wondered about the social ordering in Jesus' day and whether the man born blind would have been considered as "least important". I thought about what this encounter might teach me.

We know that the blind man in John 9 was limited in his capacity to earn an income. The only economic power he had came through recognising his dependence on others. His only option was to beg.

I wonder, though, whether the blind man and the character of the disabled fisherman in Cambodia have one further thing in common- one deeper reason for their powerlessness? The question the disciples asked Jesus is revealing, "Why was this man born blind? Was it a result of his own sins or those of his parents?" In Cambodia the question might be phrased, "Whose bad karma made this man disabled? Which life- this one or past- accounts for his suffering today?" I think both the blind man and the fisherman are rejected by people because they are already seen as having been cursed by the gods.

Jesus tells the disciples that they have misjudged the situation entirely. "He was born blind so the power of God could be seen in him." In the first miracle, Jesus makes some mud, puts in on the blind man's eyes and tells him to wash in the pool of Siloam. The man does and comes back seeing. But John 9 is more than a miracle of healing. It is a miracle of empowerment.

My translation (New Living) introduces the second miracle with a rather casual "...as it happened, Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath." This caused a deep division amongst the Pharisees as to whether Jesus was really sent by God. Their essential question was, "would a man sent by God challenge the ways we have interpreted God's rules?" I'm challenged by these same things. Would God dare to work in ways that I had previously not thought likely? Does my view of God allow for the unexpected, the unpredictable...things that may even cause offense?

The blind man is hauled before the Pharisees to give an account of what has just happened. It is interesting to see the man become increasingly bold. He begins with a simple retelling of the account. He finishes by teaching the Teachers. The blind beggar becomes more than an object of pity. He has a story. He speaks it out. He interprets what has happened to him. He even dares to teach.

I have to admit that I like his message: "God...is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will... if this man were not from God, he couldn't do it." This guy teaches me that God is close. God is ready to hear. God is wanting to engage with the poor and the powerless. God is waiting to respond to a heart that loves and a spirit that is surrendered.

The source of both of these miracles is an encounter with God through Jesus.

Some (perhaps most) of the Pharisees didn't get it. They seemed to view power as a zero-sum equation. Let me explain. The Pharisees had power due to their rank, their place in religious ceremonies and their teaching influence. If someone from a lower rank was elevated, they couldn't accept it. ("Do you dare teach us?") The Pharisees could not affirm the empowerment of the blind man without seeing it as a threat to their own. Therefore, they couldn't accept the first miracle of healing, nor hear the man's teaching. They remained blind by their narrow views of how God is supposed to work and they try cover the truth of God's miracle with their curses, "Sinner!"

Jesus had no such hassles. His power was from God and was therefore unlimited. He was able to freely heal and miraculously empower others'. When the Pharisees try to end the matter by throwing the man out of the synagogue, Jesus goes to find him again. Jesus felt no threat to his power by empowering others.

It is tempting for me to finish here- with Jesus as the rightful hero and me passively applauding. But I can't. For we who follow Christ have been charged with continuing His work. Coming back to the disabled fisherman again, we don't know whether he lacked physical resources. "Give the man a fish?" Perhaps he had a dozen. "Teach a man to fish?" He already could. "Give him the tools to fish with?" All very important. "And preach the good news." Huh?

Yep. Preach the good news that Jesus stops in his steps for people ranked Of Least Importance. Preach the good news that while Respected Teachers might shower curses on a man who speaks the truth and throw him out of the temple, Jesus seeks him out again. Preach the good news that Jesus heals and empowers.

God lifts the lonely, the poor, the beggars, the outcasts. And we have the power to do as Jesus did- to turn things upside down if that is what it takes to see the least lifted to their rightful place.

I need to remember that this is not dependent upon me having been given Very Important Titles of power by other people (whether Pastor, Teacher, Good Person, Minister, Elder, Missionary, Prophet...) This power simply comes from being in relationship with God and being open to God touching others through the Spirit of Jesus.

I need to remember that power is not a zero-sum equation. When the poor teach me I want to hear and say, "Yes, Lord...I believe."