To  Be Seen

                                          Rev. Dr. Michael J Nel

                                             December 2020

John 9

Some may greet others with the brief, but meaningless “Hi.”  Interestingly this greeting was first used by a Kansas First nation member in 1862.  Some may use the greeting “Hello” or the British “Hullo” which was used when the telephone came into existence.  Neither of these two greeting carry much relational weight.  We don’t even have to look at the person we are greeting.

If you come and walk with me in KwaZulu Natal you will probably be greeted by total strangers with “sawobona” or the plural “sanibonani.”  This greeting is spoken by looking directly at the other person and means “I see you.” 

Our text raises a number of questions.  What does it mean to be blind? What does it mean to see?  What does it mean to be seen? In v1 we are told that Jesus “saw” a man blind from birth. Is this the first time that the blind man has been “seen?”  Imagine what it is like to be blind.  This man has been blind since birth, he has never seen light.  Being blind meant that he was relegated to the edge of society.  He had no place; he was not productive so he did not contribute to the economy.  Some probably saw him as a drain on the economy.  He was dependent on other to get around. He could not dream about a future: set goals for the future.

Society just knew him as the blind man. He has no name.  He is invisible, ignored.  The children probably mocked him as they teased him.  More importantly the disciples are caught up in the social gossip about him. They raise the question that had been posed by others and now by them “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind.”  They like the rest are caught up in seeking the cause for his blindness.  They see his blindness as the effect, but what is the cause. If the cause is either with himself or his parents makes no difference since both will be looked at askance by the rest of society.  One or the other or both are guilty.  The blind man is treated like an object, he has no personhood.  They do not see a person, a man, only someone who is blind.

Women have experienced this.  In the past before the suffragette movement companies were persons in law but women were not.  But seeing and responding only an aspect of the person is at the root of all racism.  Racists only see the colour of the person’s skin and make their judgement about that person based on this one fact.  President Trump’s racism was expressed when he called Africa a ‘shithole country.”  He only saw the colour of the skin and grouped everyone together failing to recognize that not all Africans are “black.”  There is a marked difference between the populations between those north and south of the Sahara desert. What is it like for the people of Africa not to be seen by the President of the USA?

But he is not the only one who bases their judgement of other on the basis of the colour of their skin.  The ATS which accredits theological seminaries requires the seminary to tick a box whether the faculty or students are “black” or “white.”  This is also the basis of racial profiling.  My 14 year old grandson, who was adopted from KwaZulu/Natal, was shopping with his mother.  She asked him to take some parcels back to the car.  Someone reported to security that there was a young black man breaking into cars.  He was detained.  A few weeks later they were in another store when she asked him to take some parcels to the car and rejoin her.  He walked back through the store to his mother when someone reported him to security that there was a young black man shoplifting. What is it like to be judged by the colour of one’s skin and not by who one truly is? What is disturbing about these two events is that security did not ask for the accuser’s information and just went along with their racist accusation. 

The Pharisees are determined to nail Jesus. Even though they see that the blind man can now see they do not celebrate this but continue to relate to him as the blind man, the unseen one, the one without a name.

“Sawobona - I see you.” Jesus does not see a blind man but a man who is blind. Before the man whom the community knew as a blind beggar Jesus acts. Jesus spat on the ground and made clay which he then used to anoint the blind man’s eyes. Jesus then instructed the man to go and wash in the pool of Siloam which means “sent.”  The man goes and washes and comes back “seeing.” 

“Sawobona” The neighbours see the man but they do not see.  Jesus’ act triggers a number of reactions. The neighbours are perplexed and confused.  Some remember him as the blind beggar while others doubt that this is the same man.  The man’s response is to simply tell them “The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash’; so I went and washed and received my sight.” (v.11)  Their interest is peaked and they want to know where Jesus is but he responds “I do not know.” (v.12)

Sawobona – What do the Pharisees see?  The man is “brought” to the Pharisees.  These religious leaders see the man but they fail to see him since their thoughts are not about him but about Jesus.  One would have expected some recognition and pleasure that one of their community who had been blind but now can see.  But their thoughts are somewhere else.

Sawobona – The Pharisees see someone who has offended not just them as the guardians of God’s law but God.  The Sabbath had been desecrated by Jesus by healing the blind man. More than that, he had “kneaded” the clay like a baker kneads dough, a forbidden act. Their response to the witness of the man is about Jesus. “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” (v.16)  Others questioned how a sinner could perform such signs. This led to a division within the group so they decided they needed to question the “blind man” again. His response to their question about who this man Jesus is; “He is a prophet.” (v.17)  The formerly blind man can see but does he really see?

The offense of Jesus is not simply that he broke the Sabbath laws. His actions witness to something much more profound and disturbing to the religious leaders. By healing the blind man Jesus was claiming to be God.  Healing a man blind from birth is an act of creation. (cf John 1)  By taking clay and molding it appears to reflect God’s act of creation in the second creation account (Genesis 2).  In that account God takes clay from the ground.  God then molds the clay with God’s hands and breathes into it to create a living human being. By this act Jesus is claiming to be God, a claim that was sure to deeply offend the religious leaders. They were aware of Jesus and what he was doing and felt a strong need to defend not just themselves but their community as well.  So when the parents are interrogated and asked if the man was their son they were extremely afraid what may happen to them. The penalty to claim that Jesus was the Messiah was well known.

²⁰ His parents answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; ²¹ but how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself.” ²² His parents said this because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if any one should confess him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. ²³ Therefore his parents said, “He is of age, ask him.” (John 9:2-23)

The religious leaders refuse to give up on their pursuit of Jesus and interrogate the man a second time. He makes no claim other than to repeat the facts of what occurred.  What riles the religious leader is his question: “Do you want to become his disciples?” (v.28) But the man does not give up and responds: “Never since the world began has it been heard that any one opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” (v.32)  This did not go over well with the religious leaders who resorted to denigrating the man so that he would have no credibility. “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out. (v.34) 

Sawobona – I See you. Does the blind man see? He has vision now in his eyes but does he truly see?  Does he see more than the religious leaders? Does he see who cured his blindness? Jesus sees him.  He seeks out the man and finds him. When he finds the man he asks him: “Do you believe in the Son of man?” (v.35)  He still does not see Jesus for he responds: “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” (v.36) Sawobona – I see you Jesus, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshipped him. (v.39) 

Conclusion

Sawobona – I see you.  Jesus sees you not where you are and no matter who you are.  He not only sees you he comes looking for you.  He knows your name.  When Jesus sees you he sees past all those things that are used by you and others to identify you.  He sees you withdrawn into the corner, ignored by those passing by.  He sees you as one whom God loves and cares for.  He stops and touches your eyes so that you may see Him. 

Think what it was like for the blind man to be seen?  To be treated as a person of worth, of value while society may walk past you.  His life, your life, will never be the same. My granddaughter and her mother were walking in downtown Ottawa.  As they passed a homeless man sitting on the sidewalk my daughter stopped to talk to him.  Much to my granddaughters embarrassment she then sat down beside the man on the sidewalk where they continued to chat.  After a while my daughter stood up and invited the man to come with her for a cup of coffee.  He was seen.  I wonder what his life was like after being seen?