Seeing Truly

by Rev Megan Means

(Based on John 9:1-41)

“Who truly sees?”
Do we really see?
Here are a few quick pointers into this story: Firstly, let us reject the notion that this man’s blindness was caused by sin; rather, let us be cautious about assuming we know why people suffer.
Let us note that in the Hebrew prophets, blindness is often symbolic. It is more about spiritual perception rather than focussing on physical healings, as saliva and clay were commonly used in ancient healing practices.

The man here was not just blind, he was also a beggar, and socially marginalised and, ironically, after healing he faced interrogation and continued exclusion.
And remember that Jesus, the disciples, and the Pharisees are all Jewish. Which should lead to self-examination, not blaming another religion.

So, “Who truly sees?”

[I am using some Lent material from The Desert and the Garden by Sarah Lea West https://sarahleawest.art/?v=c97b334ffd41]

A man born blind meets Jesus and sees for the first time. However, the miracle of restored sight is really not the conclusion of this story. This man’s healing disturbs the established order of things. The neighbours debate, the leaders are cynical, and the parents distance themselves in fear. Seeing, it seems, is more threatening than blindness.

Light in John’s Gospel follows a theme of revelation. Light reveals things as they truly are. When the man begins to see, his sight strengthens his voice and he begins to speak out. His witness unsettles those who prefer a narrative that fits inside a neat and predictable box. As the man continues to speak, even Jesus’s disciples are forced to question their own assumptions about sin … worth … and who God favours.

Faith in Jesus is the focus, and the story tells us something about what that means.
Faith includes willingness to see and do the truth, rather than to find false meaning in the hard circumstances of others. Suffering or social location, and whatever else may define people in the world’s eyes, do not reveal anyone’s actual inner truths.

The light of Christ exposes injustice as much as it illuminates beauty. It shows what is hidden in plain sight: those rendered invisible by poverty, disability or exclusion. In every age, institutions have found shelter in darkness because light tends to hinder control. Yet liberation begins with the courage to see things as they really are.
To follow Jesus is to learn to see again, to allow God’s light to touch our illusions and revolutionise them. The light that healed one man still moves through the world, challenging us to live as people who refuse to look away.

Where in our own lives and communities do we resist seeing what is right in front of us because it might unsettle what feels comfortable or familiar?
How does Christ’s light challenge the stories or assumptions we have about who is worthy, who is to be included, or who is whole?

Prayer
Light of the world,
You open our eyes to see what is real,
to that which is beautiful,
but also the wounds we would rather ignore.
Give us courage to face what your light reveals.
When truth unsettles our comfort,
keep us from turning away.
When we glimpse injustice or pain,
teach us to respond with love and resolve.
Let your light restore our sight
where fear has kept us blind.
May we learn to see what is real,
and choose truth,
even when it unsettles us. Amen.