A blind lad, a mud pack and a question
John 9:1-12
Today is about a blind lad, a mud pack, and a miracle. Jesus was walking with a few of His closest followers – the Twelve Disciples – when they came across a Blind Lad, begging.
Jesus was about to reveal His Glory – His True Self – but not before the Disciples revealed their ignorant and judgmental selves. The Twelve were brought up believing God is Just, Holy, supreme Judge. To get in His good books, we need to be good, to do good things; because if we don’t, God will surely find out, and punish us for not being good – for sinning. They believed that bad stuff made God angry, resulting in punishments/ judgement. Maybe some of you were brought up with a similar image of God. If that’s what God is like, no wonder you don’t believe.
So, the Twelve asked (v.2),“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” In their minds, they reasoned: being blind is bad – you can’t see. So, being blind must be a punishment – from God. What did he do that was so bad? Or, what did his parents do? Was it behaviour or biology? Nurture or nature? To be fair to the Twelve, this is what the Religious Elite had told them. 
Jesus was clear, v.3, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned.”  We don’t get to choose our genes. Some people are born: tall/ short; with black hair/ red hair/ no hair; with brown, black or white skin; seeing/ not seeing. And so much more. Jesus says, some people are born blind. It’s just how life is.
People defined this lad by his disability – what he could not do, not what he could do. He was THAT blind lad – no name, no other characteristics. His disability left him excluded – socially, economically, spiritually.  With no employer seeing beyond his disability, he was left to beg: to rely on charity; not invited to participate in what everyone else took for granted.
Whilst everyone was talking about the Blind Lad – does he take sugar? Jesus… spat on the ground, mixed His saliva into the dirt, and placed the mud on Blind Lad’s eyes. And told him to go and wash it off in the Pool? What? Whilst everyone defined Blind Lad by his disability – he couldn’t see - Jesus responded to his ability – what he could do. There are 5 human senses: sight; sound; touch; smell; taste. The lad might not have been able to so but he could hear, feel, smell, and in the heat, even taste the mud. Jesus saw beyond the lad’s disability. So should we. 
It’s why one of our values is Inclusive. We’re a ‘work in progress’. It’s why:
•	We provide ear-defenders for neuro-diverse children, to overt sensory overload
•	Refurbished the sanctuary with a DDA-compliant ramp, handrails, seats, space for wheelchair users, better hearing loop…
•	We now have a Justice Group working on further enabling strategies.
Too often, the inference is that those labelled ‘disabled’ are in some way not as complete as those labelled ‘able bodied’. It’s as if they lack something. It’s a deficit model. However, classic Bible verses that speak of the beauty and wonder of we humans applies to all, nit just to ‘able bodied’. Whatever people’s ability, these verses apply to them:
Genesis 1 says, “God created humanity in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”
Psalm 139 says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s handiwork [priceless works of art], created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Being so positive about ability, Jesus didn’t look to cure the lad. Instead, he offered healing and wholeness. To cure is to focus only on the physical, removing the “problem”. Healing is more holistic, it’s ministering healing and wholeness to the whole person - body, mind and spirit. Shalom.
When Jesus met Bartimaeus (also begging), He asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus didn’t cure Bartimaeus of his blindness, as if he was incomplete without sight. Jesus was bringing healing and wholeness – and not just to those with sight-loss. Who doesn’t need more healing and wholeness in their life?
Jesus said (v.3), “This happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”  It’s not that God deliberately zapped him with blindness at birth, making him go through childhood, adolescent, and into adult life blind, just so that Jesus could have this moment of glory. It’s that, when Jesus comes across Blind Lad, what Jesus did showed what God is REALLY like. He blesses. He brings healing and wholeness.
But first Jesus says, go – He sends him to the Pool of Siloam, which locally was known as the Sent Pool because fresh water from the Gihon Spring was sent down the hill through a system of tunnels into a big pool. This is a real place - rediscovered in 2004, when the Jerusalem Authorities was digging a new sewer.
Pilgrims journeying to Jerusalem would arrive hot and sweaty. They thought they’d better ‘scrub up’ to worship, so they bathed in the Siloam Pool. 225 feet/ 21 metres long – more like a swimming pool. With its flowing spring water, it was perfect for hot & unclean pilgrims to dive in and clean off the dirt and mud.
This was a big – and sensory – moment for ‘Blind Lad’. Up till now, he’s been excluded, left to beg on the outskirts of town, excluded from the workplace, excluded from social interactions, excluded from the Temple, and excluded from the Siloam Pool. But Jesus’ Way, Truth and Life is about inclusion and wholeness. So now he’s in. Just imagine!
If we’re serious about following Jesus, doing as He does, then we too need to be all about inclusion. But, with Jesus, it’s to inclusion and beyond.
When he washes off the mud, for the first time in his life, he can see. 
It’s a... [try not to sing it] “I believe in miracles, Where're you from, you sexy thing…” moment. Jesus isn’t just a good role model, a wise teacher... If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. He is God. The One who created humanity out of the dust/ dirt, is now recreating life. We pray, yes it helps us be more fully present; yes, because we’re joining in with Jesus, but also because we are looking for change in things we, ourselves, are powerless to change.
His neighbours were baffled. What had happened to him? Was it really him or did he have a twin? Not-So-Blind Lad replied, “I am” On the one hand, he was saying, Heh, yes, it’s me. I am he. But he was also saying, “I am” Remember, Jesus had said of Himself, “I AM the Light of the World.”  The man was saying “I AM” – it was Jesus.
His parents were baffled (v.20) “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” Finally, don’t speak for him; let him speak for himself.
The Religious Elite were, not just baffled, they were churlish, mean-spirited. Instead of marvelling at the miracle and thanking God… They took out of context a few verses about “Keep the Sabbath Day holy” and weaponised them, using them to condemn as “sin” what God had declared good – holy. Healing the man was “sin” because Jesus had done it on the wrong day.  They had completely misunderstood what God is like. This kind of religion brings death, not life; it’s devoid of love; it points fingers, condemns... The irony was that the young lad was blind, and yet could see                 – he could see Jesus and who He was. The Religious Elite could physically see, and yet were spiritually blind     – God’s long-awaited Messiah was standing in front of them and yet they couldn’t see Him.
The healed man was baffled. Whilst the Religious Elite demanded, “Give glory to God by telling the truth. We know this man is a sinner.” Not-Now-Blind Lad replied, “The man they call Jesus did it. I don’t know where He is now. All I know is, I was blind, but now I see. Nothing to do with the mud, water, saliva... Everything to do with Jesus.
The Religious Elite were stumped: “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.” Religion is a counterfeit that takes a handful of verses out of context always looks to exclude people. By contrast, Jesus includes, welcomes, transforms, heals and makes whole. There’s a world of difference.
Finally, Jesus asked the man, v.35: “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He relied honestly, “Who is he?” Jesus said, “I AM” The man replied, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
Jesus asks you the same question today. Do you believe? Could you believe in a Jesus that radically includes, heals, makes whole; who sees you for who you really are, as God has wired you to be; who calls you to live radically with Him?
07840 046020   DannyBrierley@ChesterRoadBaptist.org.uk