John 9
At this point Jesus has said, “I am the light of the world” (8:12). Then there appeared a darkness actively to oppose the light (8:42-47). Now Jesus acts out the victory of light over darkness, and an opposing force rises in parallel to the sharing of that victory.
After receiving his sight, the man who was blind says things that show an increasing understanding of who Jesus is. In response to successive questioning he calls him:
“the man they call Jesus” (verse 11)
“a prophet” (verse 17)
“from God” (verse 33)
And then, to Jesus,
“Lord, I believe” (verse 38)
Meanwhile, the religious leaders are becoming more determined, not only not to see what a (recently) blind guy sees, but to put forth the opposite of what he has been given spiritual sight to see. At first they seem at least willing to accept the fact of the healing (verse 15), but things deteriorate to the point they have no interest in seeing what the truth is, and, as legal experts, resort to attacking the primary witness to this event (verse 34).
The guy who was blind is the one who sees, and the ones who insisted they understood everything resist and oppose truth. There are two movements going in opposite directions here. The more faith increases, the more opposition rises up.
It still happens. New believers can experience attack in one form or other. So can faith communities that make a special point of fostering new belief. The more intentional we are in following God’s purposes for his church, the more there will be forces at work trying to confuse and distort things, to try to poison the special thing that is happening.
But there is really no contest. Light and truth will prevail. And those who have received sight just keep on pointing to what has happened to them, celebrating in joy the author of life, light, and truth.
Prayer:
Lord, breathe your Spirit into all my senses. Order my thoughts according to your purposes. Shape my will to look more like your love. Increase and direct my energies to just let your light shine. Through Jesus. Amen.
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3 comments:
Why though? Why are there forces at work trying to distort and confuse things? Why do people have to experience opposition to faith in thier personal lives?
well, katrina, in writing my post earlier today about "truth and lies" i was thinking of adam and eve and what if they had never tasted of the fruit of knowledge of good and evil? what if? they'd still be there today, perhaps.
our lives are songs of experience. we define who we are by finding out who we are not. we know the truth because we are tested by liars. and thus we move closer to god, now that we have "become like [God], knowing good and evil." (Gen 3:22).
i think those forces exist because (a) god has given creatures the gift of free will and (b) even opposition and seeming rebellion serves god's purpose.
free will means unconditional power to do whatever you want, within your means, even if you don't have the wisdom to choose well.
that's god's gift, and no wonder god must cringe and weep when we abuse such a marvelous gift.
The kind of answer that comes to mind about why there has to be opposition to faith is in what comes of it. But I realize that just goes in a circle because it doesn't explain why it has to work that way. I mean, couldn't Pete Seeger have written and played and sang and brought people together without huge human problems to bounce off? Well, maybe not!
You could argue whether or not The Da Vinci Code is opposition to faith - Dan Brown would say no - but in so far as people experience it as such it forces us back to our Bibles and to discussion and asking important questions, the kind of questions God wants us to ask. It just seems that the way we would choose doesn't do as much for us as the way God arranges for us. And he seems to give us answers for our head once we've committed with our heart.
I believe all our cries of "why" lead to the cross, where we see God saying that since we cannot possibly fathom the essence of things he'll just give us his own essence, his own being, his love in human form. We see both God and ourselves there - and opposition to both. He played out for us there both our present and our future, in him, and he in us.
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