John 9:18-41
"Jesus said, 'I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind'" (John 9:39). Most of us are used to such sayings by now. We've read words like these from Jesus any number of times. We have heard (or preached) countless sermons on the subject. We know that Jesus has come to turn things upside down. The gospels use different terms for expressing the same phenomenon. For instance in Luke Mary offers thanks to God for feeding the hungry and sending the rich away without food (Luke 1:46-55). This is old news for us, right?
But we need to be careful. Once we get to the point where "we've heard it all before" we may have become the ones who think they see but who have actually become blind. Resisting the power of the gospel is akin to ignoring it all together. We may think we have it all figured out when in fact we keep missing the point. For example, I have eaten a lot of meals in my life, but I don't let that stop me from having lunch or dinner one more time. In fact there are are a number of dishes that I like so much that I eat them over and over again. We must treat Jesus' words–and the teachings of scripture as a whole–the same way, returning to them again and again for what they have to say to us and the nourishment they offer.
Jesus came into the world bringing a radically new perspective and a completely new understanding of God. The truth of Jesus' words has not been exhausted, nor have we managed to fully comprehend their meaning. We need to keep trying. We need to live like those who are blind to the full truth, but who are striving to see.
Prayer: Gracious God, help us to hear and see you word anew each time we are encountered by it. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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