Belong 2: Every Last One—I Sam. 16: 1-13; John 9: 1-7, 35-39
Nearsighted. That’s what they call it. Since I was little, I was told I was nearsighted and would struggle to see things far off. It’s always fun to go to the eye doctor because they put the little chart of letters up there which goes from the big letter at the top, “E,” to all the smaller letters below. At a -2 or -3 you may only be able to see the top third of the chart. At a -4 or -5 you may see the blurry “E” at the top. At my fantastic -12 vision, I cannot see the chart at all, let alone the letters which may be on it. Nearsighted…that’s what they called it, and beyond two inches from my face is too far off to be seen.
We’ve used that term in society in a more slang term as shortsighted, and it means someone who reacts only in the immediate and fails to see the bigger picture or long-term plan. Both our Hebrew scripture and our Gospel lesson involve a bit of short-sightedness in the stories. But wherever there is a problem with vision, God also provides a cure or a corrective vision for God’s people. Here are a few cures for faith’s short-sightedness.
First, you must see as God sees. The story of Samuel anointing David as king gives us this very powerful insight into how God sees people. God has spoken to Samuel, the prophet and told him that the next King of Israel would be one of Jesse’s sons. I’m sure Samuel had hoped this would be easy, but then he finds out this Jesse has eight sons. The first one, Eliab, is tall, handsome, and powerful…the very image of royalty. But God says no.
And here’s the explanation: “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Samuel was shortsighted in how he saw people—strength, power, courage. But in the end, it was the youngest, a shepherd who would be anointed king because God saw a good heart. Look on life and on others with God’s vision of them, and not how we see as humans. That is how we evaluate character.
Second, we have to embrace new ways of seeing. In our Gospel, part of the story tells of the anger of the Pharisees that Jesus healed this man on a Sabbath. They often got mad at Jesus for doing good work on the Sabbath. They discounted Jesus entirely here because, even though he had signs and miracles, he broke the rules to perform them. And to them, the rules were more important than what was right and what God wanted. This is why Jesus says, “I entered this world to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.” He calls the Pharisees, in their ignorance, blind.
Many of us wear glasses. Some of us have had cataract surgery. All of these things are tools or methods to give us better sight. I’m reminded of a friend’s church. They had a women’s group that met at noon during the week. It was an orderly affair with an elected chair, vice chair, and parliamentary procedures according to the biblical Robert’s Rules of Order every member got. But there was a group of working women who couldn’t make it during that time.
One night 3 to 4 of the working women got off work and met up at the local Applebee’s for half priced appetizers and “Wedding at Cana Water.” Several more joined them. They rotated around talking about their week, sharing some scripture, and having a bit of prayer. The first group was enraged. They assailed the pastor and board chair over the iniquities of this second meeting—not the location, the refreshment choice, not the hard-hitting topics, nor anything like that. No, the great sin was no one followed Robert’s Rules at those Applebee’s meetings. Sometimes we have to see differently and use God’s vision to see new ways of living on earth.
Lastly, we have to lean into the vision that Christ gives us. The healing story here says that Christ spat on the ground and rubbed mud into the man’s eyes to make him miraculously see. Sometimes, I fear we take these stories a bit too literally. We want to assert that God should heal every literal infirmity we live with. But here, sight to the blind was metaphorical. It was spiritual. The man received vision spiritually. The pharisees were metaphorically blind because they couldn’t see past their severe rules to the good work that needed to be done and the love in this man, Jesus.
The healed man began to see spiritually. He wanted to believe in Jesus, and this encounter gave him the vision to understand both that there is a Savior and that it was Jesus. The Pharisees were too short-sighted in their beliefs, their rules, their way of living to see the grace and love of Jesus which stood before them.
The man exclaimed, “I believe!” and the Pharisees called it ridiculous. But I ask you, who left this encounter with a refreshed and joyful soul and spirit, and who left with their same old, tired ways?
So then, they call it nearsighted or short-sighted because I can’t see very far at all, and I have to wear these glasses in order to see what I’m doing. Many of us as well live with being nearsighted, or with the dreaded bifocals, or some kind of eyesight correction. Here, Jesus teaches us an important lesson. In God’s kingdom, your physical ability to see does not determine whether you are blind or not. It’s the vision coming from your heart and soul.
The man who was healed had no physical eyesight, but I would argue to you that it was the Pharisees who were the most short-sighted or blinded in this story. As a church, it is okay if our eyes have trouble, so long as we see God clearly. It is okay to near-sighted, so long as we are not lacking in vision. We must see things through God’s vision of the world. We must embrace new ways of seeing and some of God’s corrective lenses when needed. And we must lean into whatever new vision Christ gives to us.
Jesus encountered a man in need of seeing as God sees, his own sight correction, and a new vision of hope. Jesus gave him all three. The man was healed, restored, and came to believe in the Savior who loved him and showed him such amazing care. It was the power in Jesus’s healing, love, and gentleness that convinced this man he had truly met the Savior, the Son of Man. And that same power works for us too, healing where we are short-sighted or in need of a vision and direction. For in our Savior, as the hymn says, there is wonder working power. Thanks be to God.
Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/530833599173131