Before last week I hadn’t written a “Five Minute Friday” post in ages, but it was nice to be back at it — so I thought I’d see what this week’s word prompt is. It’s BLAME. I definitely have some thoughts … so don’t blame me if I go over five minutes. ;-)
One of my favourite stories in the Bible is the one in John 9 about the man blind from birth. It begins when Jesus and his disciples encounter this man and the disciples ask Jesus, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
This is what I imagine Jesus’ face might look like when they ask him that. Like, are you really asking me if someone was born blind because of sins they committed? How would that work?
The disciples do seem to be earnest in their questioning. They see a man with a disability and assume there must be a reason for it: someone must have done something wrong to cause this outcome, right? So who’s to blame?
Jesus’s response makes clear it’s not a matter of blame or sin. He says, “This happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” From the context — and the fact that he immediately heals the man by spitting on the ground, mixing his saliva with the dirt, and placing the mixture on the man’s eyes — it sounds like he means this man was born blind so that Jesus could miraculously give him sight and demonstrate God’s glorious power.
But that has a sting to it, doesn’t it? Imagine being told that your disability was given to you so that some day, a few decades down the road, some guy would publicly heal you. The blind man’s life has probably been terribly difficult; he’s begging on the street when Jesus encounters him, so he isn’t being well cared for by his community. That’s a pretty big burden to carry just so someone can do a miracle. I think if I were him, I would likely already have been blaming God for my situation — so it might feel very natural to now blame Jesus for allowing me a lifetime of misery just so he can use me for a photo op.
But maybe Jesus means something different. I like to think his words “so that the works of God might be displayed in him” mean the man has already been displaying the works of God by being blind. Not in an “inspiration porn” sense, but just by reflecting the image of God in his unique way.
I wonder why Jesus had to heal him, then? If the works of God and the image of God are already being displayed in this man’s blindness and not just in the act of healing it, why does that have to be fixed? Why doesn’t Jesus focus on changing the community’s attitudes so the culture is more accepting, rather than fixing an individual problem?
I’m not sure, but maybe Jesus simply decides to do what he knows the man wants. He points out that “as long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me” — so maybe he’s acknowledging his awareness that his time on earth and his opportunities for performing acts of direct healing are limited.
And maybe he just wants to restore the man to community — to lift him from his isolated place at the roadside to a seat of dignity and belonging. Except … that doesn’t work too well either, at least at first. Some people don’t believe he really is the man who used to be blind; he insists he is. He also says Jesus is the one who healed him and that “if this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” The religious authorities are already suspicious of Jesus, and they don’t appreciate being preached at — so they insult the man and throw him out. He really can’t win: blamed for being blind, blamed for being healed.
When Jesus hears about this indignity, he finds the man and asks him if he believes, and the man says he does. Jesus makes some pretty pointed comments about how those who think they can see actually can’t. There’s literal blindness, but there’s also metaphorical blindness, which is much worse.
This story is a good reminder for me that blame is never a helpful approach to disability and marginalization. Jesus is about dignifying and restoring, not blaming. He saves his blame for those in power who have replaced compassion with suspicion and pride.
I love your insights and encouragement here Jeannie.
FMF#15
I love your insights Jeannie! I hope you keep these coming. Thanks