12/19/2014

The Gift of Sight

John 9:1-5 “1As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His isciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ 3 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’Jesus would go on to heal the blind man. Yet this passage is about much more than physical healing. In his interaction with his disciples,

Jesus confronts a far greater issue than physical blindness, he is addressing spiritual blindness. Like the Pharisees, the disciples were raised in a faith of moral equivalency. They believed that the level of physical, financial, and social wellness you held, (or the lack thereof) were a direct reflection of your personal holiness. Today, there are many who still believe and teach this “prosperity doctrine”. It is as wrong now as it was then.

Jesus came to bring light not only to our need for a savior but also to illuminate our misunderstandings about what it means to be God’s people. He took everything we thought we knew about God, turned it on its head and forever changed our relationship with Him forever. We don’t live our faith because of what we can get, nor do we live it in fear of God punishing us if we mess up. When the Light of Advent began to illuminate the world, it changed the focus from rules to a relationship.