Psalm of Praise: Psalms 40:1-3
I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.
Bible Reading: John 9:13-16, 24-25
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind.
Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath. Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight.
"He put mud on my eyes," the man replied, "and I washed, and now I see."
Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath."
But others asked, "How can a sinner perform such signs?" So they were divided.
A second time they summoned the man who had been blind.
"Give glory to God by telling the truth," they said. "We know this man is a sinner."
He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know.
One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"
A Reflection:
Theology, as the study of God is good, and I am grateful for all the Christian leaders and thinkers who have guided me in this area. But theology without experience is just an academic exercise. When we ‘put God in a box’ to study him we limit him to our own understanding. And, if God was limited to the size of my brain, he really wouldn’t be worth worshipping.
The Pharisees who heard about Jesus healing the blind man were limited by their understanding of God. Some centred their beliefs on the keeping of the sabbath and therefore concluded anyone who healed on the sabbath wasn’t from God. Others focussed on the signs and wonders and asked how a sinner could perform them. And so, like many theologians today they were divided.
For the man who had been blind, his theology was less complicated. When quizzed repeatedly by the Pharisees about Jesus and the nature of his healing he simply replied ‘I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see.’ Whatever the theology was, it had to make sense of the man’s experience; he was blind and now he could see.
What is the one thing you know about your faith? Maybe it is that God has forgiven you, or that he has seen you through a tough patch, or that you can’t imagine this amazing universe without the existence of a creator, or simply that life makes more sense with Jesus than it does without.
Life will throw us many curved balls at times, and people will argue with us about our faith. When this happens we don’t need to have all the answers to hand, it is good enough just to be able to say, ‘I don’t know. But one thing I do know…’
As we will discover, Jesus led this man into a greater understanding and a deeper faith. He will do the same with us as he leads us day by day, as we walk with him.
Pray:
Thank you Lord that you love me and accept me,
and that you are opening my eyes daily to the wonders and the glories of God.
Amen
It is the cry of my heart to follow you.