John 9.1-12
Jesus has just escaped an attempted stoning in the temple.
This where the miracle story begins.
At the temple, engaged in a fierce dispute with the religious leaders, Jesus implies that his antagonistic interlocutors are slaves to sin. He does so by declaring himself to be the truth with a capital T. “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,” Jesus announces, “and the Truth will set you free.” “So they picked up stones to throw at him,” John understatedly reports— before adding, cryptically— “but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.” As Jesus and the disciples exit the temple, they encounter a man blind from birth.
The conflict in the temple is the context of the ensuing sign.
Whether Jesus and the blind man cross paths providentially or coincidentally we cannot know; however, in the Gospel of John the Evangelist makes it clear that their convergence serves to corroborate the preceding claim made by Christ. That is, we can see Jesus is the Way and the Life and the Truth by the salvific work he performs upon the man born blind. The blind man serves to verify the truth claim made by Mary’s boy and Pilate’s victim; likewise, faithful interpretation of this passage demands that we test the claims believers make about Jesus Christ.
Faithful interpretation of this passage demands that we test the claims believers make about Jesus Christ.
In his inaugural lecture at Gettysburg Seminary in 1968, the theologian Robert Jenson made this assertion about the necessity of testing our beliefs:
“Christian faith is in many ways a prohibition. I am prohibited from holding my beliefs to be true simply because they are my beliefs. I am prohibited from holding my beliefs to be true simply because I have always entertained them or even because my whole culture has entertained them. To be Christian, to be faithful, is to break from mythic existence and to be ready to submit all my beliefs to whatever is in each case the appropriate test…in such a way that you can judge the reasons for my beliefs.
The believer in the promise of the gospel is called to live life as a wager and to submit our beliefs to public tests. I obey the prohibition of the faith when I refrain from claims backed up only my private experience.”
In other words—
If Jesus is the Truth, if it is true Jesus lives with death behind him, if Christ is risen indeed, then he is not merely an item of the past but an actor in the present. Just so, we may expect him to do among us the same works which he wrought in the Galilee and at Jerusalem’s temple. Thus, the gospel’s credibility depends upon our ability to point to others upon whom the living Christ has worked just as he did the man born blind.
For exhibit A, I offer you the following from my inbox.
I have over thirteen hundred emails in my inbox from Shirley. Whenever doubt seeps into my faith— and that happens to pastors more than you might guess— I reread Shirley’s emails to me.
Here's the first from Shirley.
July 5th, 2005
Subject: Communion, et cetera.
Dear Jason,
Welcome to our wonderful church family. We met on Sunday morning. I was the good looking lady with the Arkansas accent who leaving church asked you, “You're not a Republican, are you?” I whispered it pretty quietly, I don't know why you didn't answer me. You probably noticed I didn't take communion Sunday. The reason I didn't was because I nearly choked on the piece of bread you gave me. It was large and had a lot of crust on it. I should have gone ahead and dipped it in the wine and just kept it in my hand until I got to the pew, but then my hand would have been all sticky, and who wants sticky hands? I might have had to shake a visitor's hand after worship, and then they would have thought I'm one of those terrible, disgusting people who have sweaty hands all the time. Gross. I can't help but wondering, do they teach you in seminary how to break off smaller pieces of communion? Probably not, I guess. They obviously don't teach you how to slow down and not talk so fast either. You'll learn.
On another subject, I heard a minister yesterday on TV who I think is just great. The reason I was so impressed with him was because his message was about religiosity versus spirituality. He quoted Joel 2.28 and emphasized the noun everyone and how God wants everyone to have an alive spirit. His name was Joel Ostein, I think. You should look him up. I haven't heard you preach yet, but I bet you preach just like him.
Your new friend, Shirley Pitts.
PS: Did your last church not have a problem with your earring?
October 13th, 2005
Subject: Coffee with the Pastor.
Jason,
To follow up from last night's Meet the Pastor's Coffee, I most certainly did not purposely spill coffee on your crotch just because you told everyone how John Wesley supposedly was a terrible husband. I told you, it was an accident. But I will say, if I had done it on purpose, you would have deserved it.
Why did you spend all your time last night talking about Martin Luther. And I’ve never even heard of Karl Barf. You're supposed to be a proud United Methodist, and there you were last night bad-mouthing the founder of United Methodism. I couldn't believe it. I got so angry, I could have, well, never mind. And another thing, I did not roll my eyes at that new member when he said he worked for the House Republicans. Maybe I was a little rude to him, but not rude enough that anyone would notice. You've got a loud nerve accusing me of such things. Keep it up and I'll bet you don't last at this church more than a couple of years.
Shirley Pitts, longtime member.
May 22nd, 2006
Subject; Fall Commitment Campaign.
Jason,
I have decided to withdraw from the Commitment Campaign Committee. I was so disappointed that the last meeting wasn't more civil. It's a shame that even in a church setting among Christians, the people can't value another's opinions. I just hate how some Christians gripe and gossip about other Christians. I could tell you a thing or two about some of those complainers at the meeting.
They're the reason we're in the mess we're in with our debt and I heard one of them hardly even speaks to his wife. Maybe it's because he knows she's got someone else on the side, but you didn't hear that from me.
Don't worry, I'll still be in charge of the Meet the Past for coffee. Lord knows, if I'm not, you'll never tell our new members about John Wesley or what it means to be a Methodist. And where would we be then?
Shirley.
September 6, 2007
Subject: Communion Bread.
Dear Jason.
Like I told you Sunday, I heard a lot of comments about the bread we had on Sunday for communion. It was sourdough and it just didn't taste well with the wine. Think about it for gosh sakes. It's called sour dough. Who wants to eat that? I bet Jesus refuses to even make himself present in bread so disgusting. I hope you were joking when you said we could switch to wafers. This church will never go for wafers. We are not Catholics. Next, you'll be telling us to worship Mary and not read our Bibles like Catholics.
Blessings,
Shirley
September 9th, 2008
Subject: Babies.
Jason,
When I was a social worker for child welfare in Little Rock, one day I came into the office to bring a baby for adoption. My boss looked at the way I was holding the baby and got all over me because she said that I should cradle a newborn baby in my arms. She said a young baby cannot hold up their head when they are so young and they could hurt their hearing if it tumbles over.
I thought of what my boss said yesterday watching you juggle that poor baby all over the place during the baptism. Maybe you should practice a little using a doll baby. Maybe I could find one at the Goodwill for you to use for practice. Not that I shop at the Goodwill myself. I imagine it smells like people who hassle you for handouts on the street. But I'd go to the Goodwill for you if you'd like me to look.
Hope this is helpful.
In his service,
Shirley
April 3rd, 2009
Subject: I forgive you.
Pastor Jason,
Of course, I know that ministers are people just like the rest of us, but in all my years in the church, I have never heard one lose their temper and say the sorts of things you said to me on Tuesday. I'm not sure what you meant by calling me a church lady, but I understood busybody all right. I should have known I was getting on a nerve when I saw your ears turn red like they do when you get excited in the pulpit. But when our unmarried church secretary is pregnant, again, I don't think it's out of bounds to wonder if she's going to remedy this situation and make herself a godly woman. I expect you regret slamming your office door so hard that ridiculous picture of Karl Barth fell off your wall. Well, even if you don't regret it, I forgive you. I don't understand why I upset you so, but I hope you can forgive me too.
Shirley
November 11th, 2009
Subject: Paul
Jason,
I wish you had known my husband, Paul. I still have people coming up to me and saying how they miss him.
He held about every position you could have in the church. He was fun and caring and a wonderful husband and father. He was a commander in the Navy and was on three submarines. Mostly though, I wish you'd known him because he was such a good Christian man. He was a better man than I deserved. Maybe you would think better of me if you could see how he thought I was better than I am. Actually, I suppose he knew exactly who I am and loved me anyways.
I guess that's why you're always going on about grace. Lord, sometimes I think you've only got one sermon in you, but you've learned to preach it a hundred different ways. But when I think about Paul, I understand why maybe you do.
Shirley
December 14th, 2011
Subject: Jews
Jason,
Where is it in Romans that Paul tells about how the Gentiles were let in to be loved by God even though they didn't deserve it?
I have down here that you told me Romans 9 through 11, but that doesn't jive. My daughter-in-law doesn't think the Jews will be saved, and I told her you said they were saved. Of course, the bigger point seems to be that God responds to us killing Jesus by giving Jesus right back to us, so I don't know why anyone would think God's stingy with His grace. I don't know why, but lately more and more, I think about how I don't deserve God's grace. I've not always been a good or kind person. I've often been mean. I guess that's why they call it amazing grace, huh?
By the way, I hate it when you make us sing all the verses of hymns like “Amazing Grace.” Good Lord, who can stand up for that long and huff and puff through seven verses?
Love,
Shirley
January 14th, 2012
From shirleympitts@cox.net f
Subject: Christmas
Jason,
I teared up when I read your Christmas sermon thinking about how unconditional God's love is for us. My love for my boys has always been unconditional for sure, but for other people? For people, I think my love has always come with strings attached. I know my love for you certainly wasn't unconditional.
Remember that time years ago when I got furious with you because you wouldn't teach the Meet the Pastor folks about John Wesley and I stormed out of your office and slammed the door so hard that picture of Karl Barth fell off your wall again? Of course you have a picture of Karl Barth on your wall and not John Wesley, but never mind that now.
See you Sunday,
Shirley
January 23, 2012
Subject: _____________
Jason,
After church, I went out to eat at Ruby Tuesdays with a bunch of women that usually go there after church. They started talking about the election. After a while, I told them that I was a Democrat. Marguerite said, are you a liberal? I said I wasn't, but I think I am. Then someone, I won't say who, but she used to work at the church. I think you know who I mean. She said, “All Democrats are liberals.” I forgave her. I really did forgive her, too. It used to be that I wouldn't have. You know what I thought about it afterwards? That life is too short to waste it on petty grudges. I don't know if I thought that because I'm getting older or because I'm getting more Christian. What do you think, I wonder? Maybe we confuse holiness with getting older and no longer having the energy for some of our usual ways of sinning.
I just wish we had more Democrats in our church!
If you ask me, the Republicans need to be in the Baptist church.
Shirley
February 6, 2012
Subject: New Members
Jason,
A couple named Kelly and Joe put down that they would like to join the church. I called her and come to find out she went to middle school, high school, and college with you. I asked her if you're the same now as you were back then, and she said no. She said you were nice back then, but that you're different now, too.
It got me thinking about what people who knew me way back when would say about me today. Would they say I'm no different than I was? It makes me really sad to think that maybe they would. I can't think of anything worse than to have gone to church your whole life and not end up a different person, can you? But if Jesus is not dead, as you're constantly saying, you really should come up with some different turns of phrase.
If Jesus is not dead, then it seems to me stupid. It seems stupid to me to think that people can't change. I hope he's changed me. I suppose I'm about the last person who could judge such a thing.
Shirley
April 6, 2012
Subject: Jesus.
Jason,
I know you're busy with Easter things, but this has been on my mind. When I've prayed before, I've always prayed to God, not Jesus.
I love Jesus, and I know He did so much for so many, but I've always thought I needed to pray to God. I've started to pray to Jesus lately, like you do in church sometimes. And you know what? Praying to Jesus, like I'm talking directly to Him, makes me a lot more conscious of being more like Him, which makes me more conscious of how much I am not like Him, which makes me more conscious of how gracious He must be to love someone like me. It's surprising how coming back to that again and again, like a circle, has made such a difference to me and I hope in me.
Shirley
August 13th, 2012
Subject: Naked
Jason,
About an hour ago I was driving down Fort Hunt Road and I saw a man I thought was naked like that man in Mark's gospel when Jesus is arrested. What an odd detail. Anyways, I thought this man was naked, but when I got closer, I saw he just had a shirt off and some terrifically short shorts. When I saw that it was you I whistled out my window.
Did you know it was me?
You should be careful going around like that, half naked. There's a lot of older women in our congregation who've been missing their men for a long time.
Ha!
Lord, I hope you never mention that in a sermon.
My real point was to say that years ago, seeing you like that, running around like a Chippendale, would have irritated me something awful. But instead, I just laugh because I've grown to appreciate you.
I guess that's God's grace.
Lovingly,
Shirley
May 22, 2013
Subject: Les’s Funeral
Jason,
You did a wonderful job with the funeral yesterday. In fact, I left praying that you'll be the one to do my service one day. Funerals should be honest about how every Christian is a mixture of sinner and saint. You know better than most my ratio of those two qualities. I think funerals can afford to be honest too because of how you put the gospel one time in your sermon on the prodigal son. You said God says to us, nothing you can do can make me love you more, nothing you do can make me love you less. I've done plenty, I confess.
Your precious boys who are Hispanic, your precious boys make me regret every ignorant thing I have ever said about Hispanics. I've never been racist, I don't think. But ignorant? Probably. Probably in ways you can't even notice when you've grown up in a place like I did in Arkansas. I wonder if that's what's meant by original sin. You're just born into sins like racism and you need God's help to exercise it from you.
Shirley
February 10th, 2015
Subject: I love you
Jason,
I don't know if you're checking your email or not. I heard about your surgery and how it's likely cancer and how it's likely bad. I just left a message on your voicemail. I called the nurses station at the hospital too, but they said they couldn't connect me since I'm not family.
I thought about telling them a thing or two about church family, but I worried that if I was pushy, they'd take it out on you, and I'm sure you're hard enough to handle as a patient as it is.
Anyways, I wanted you to know that I love you. I prayed for you tonight and for your wife and your beautiful boys.
Love,
Shirley.
February 5th, 2016
Subject: Cancer Buddies
Jason,
Who would have guessed that we'd end up getting cancer together at the same time? I'm down in Richmond now in a facility. It's nice and it's near Allen and Steve, but I miss my church. I hope that before I die, and I know I'm dying, you can come visit me. In the past, I would have been too vain to have anyone see me like this, but I don't care now. I guess that sounds like bragging, doesn't it? And that's a sort of vanity, too. Being Christian never really gets easier, does it? Have you seen those bumper stickers that say, “God's not a Republican?” Lord, I hope they're not wrong.
In Christ,
Shirley
In his inaugural lecture at Gettysburg Seminary, Robert Jenson began by asserting an axiom.
He writes:
“Humanity comes to exist in and out of the world of animals and plants and galaxies precisely when we realize that we do not yet exist. My humanity is not a set of characteristics which I may be counted on to exemplify: like being vertebrate or brown-haired or sapient. My humanity is rather something that happens. Our humanity happens as we become something that we were not before.”
We become human; we’re not born human.
At this juncture in the Gospel of John, Jesus has already multiplied loaves and fish. From the get-go of the Gospel, Jesus turned over two thousand glasses of water into top shelf wine for drunk people to drink.
Restoring sight to a man born blind?
No big deal. Not much of a feat.
What is a miracle— what is proof of everything the gospel promises— is that, simply as a product of his interactions with Jesus, the blind man’s neighbors, who have known him his whole life long, no longer see him.
Jesus has made the man born blind unrecognizable!
“Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?”
“No, but he is like him.”
December 11th, 2014
Subject: Church Directory
Jason,
You probably know I'm volunteering to help with the pictorial directory for the church. How are you doing? Are you okay? The reason I ask is because I was looking at your picture in the old directory and your picture in the new directory and you look like you've gained a lot of weight. Especially in your face. Like a little baby angel.
Ha!
There was a time when I probably would have said that to you differently without even thinking about how mean it would sound.
I like to think I'm different than I was. I wonder if my husband Paul would even recognize me now. Does it sound strange if I say, I hope not?
I love you,
Shirley
Christ is risen indeed.
So come to the table.
Because someone might need to be able to point to you as evidence that Jesus is the Way and the Life and Truth.
