334 SE Tecumseh Road  P.O. Box 5  Tecumseh, Kansas 66542  (785) 379-5005  Fax - (785) 379-5061

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Here’s Mud on Your Eye! John 9:1-41  This blind man is just walking along, bothering nobody at all. Jesus and the disciples pass by, and trouble begins. First the disciples, in their usual brilliant fashion, ask Jesus whether or not the man is blind because his parents were sinful people. (Some people still hold on to that kind of thinking!) Jesus refutes them and, without being asked, decides to heal the blind man. Mixing some saliva with dirt, Jesus makes mud, puts it on the blind man’s eyes, and tells the man to go wash it off. He does as told, and sure enough, the man can SEE! He’s healed! This is incredible, this is a time for joy, a time for dancing and singing and shouting praises, a time for giving thanks to God. Or is it?  The poor blind man’s troubles have in fact just begun. No sooner has he been healed, everyone starts questioning him. The neighbors never just say: “Wow, what a miracle, we’re so glad for you, we rejoice with you.” Oh no, they just question if it’s really him, or if he’s some impostor. The religious folks (the Pharisees) are upset because the man was healed on the Sabbath. So they interrogate the man, and if that’s not enough they also interrogate the man’s parents. “OK, fess up - who did this? It was some impostor, right? The guy is undoubtedly evil, right? He’s some kind of a cult leader, right? And what does that make you, some sort of a fanatic?”  All the poor man can say is: I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see. (9:25) Well, the religious folks did not want to hear that, so they quickly determine that this former blind man is just a complete sinner, and they toss him out! That’s right, they toss him out, they ex-communicate him! Ever wonder if the man wished that Jesus had never put mud on his eyes?  The blind man didn’t ask to be healed. Once it’s done he receives nothing but grief from everyone in his community. That’s how it is, Jesus tells the man later. People who are truly blind are those who claim to see the light, putting faith only in their own righteousness. Do you believe in the Son of Man? Jesus asks the man, who answers: Lord, I believe. (9:35, 38) Mud, if not washed of, hardens like cement. The longer one waits, the harder it is to remove. What do you think – is there anything in this old story for us, for you and for me? Mud on our eyes - anyone? - Pastor Piet - March 2, 2008: 4th Sunday in Lent  [ originally written in 2005 ]