When Jesus heard what had happened, 

he found the man 

and asked, 

"Do you believe in the Son of Man?"

The man answered, 

"Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him."

John 9:35-36 NLT

Jesus had given this man who had been on the outer of society all his life, the opportunity to  enter in, to belong, by removing the barrier.

The barrier was not just his lack of sight but the stigma attached to it by his culture. 

Remember the opening question from Jesus' disciples in verse 1?

Who sinned. 

Who is to blame. 

And they only saw two options, the person in front of them or his parents. 

Jesus healing the man, effectively giving him entrance back into society challenged the systems and thoughts that had kept him on the outer.

Kept him excluded.

Made him "less than". 

Systems and thoughts that allowed the church to flourish, society to function all the while stepping past a blind man begging for survival. 

And Jesus fixed that without asking him to believe first. 

Without inviting him to church first.

Jesus' disciples couldn't see the problem because they'd been raised in it. This is the way the world is. 

They were blind to it.

Allow the gospel, the good news of grace, to open our eyes to those around us, to systems that benefit some and oppress others, to those who are on the outer. 

#sunday

#thisisworshipbringinghealingandhope

#whereamIblind