Manchaca UMC

Week 10- “who sinned....that he was born blind?” John 9:2

As we conclude our journey through hospitality in John, we come to a story which could be viewed as a comedy if it weren’t so tragic. John 9 tells the story of a man born blind. The good news is that Jesus heals him; the bad news is that his troubles actually increase with the healing! Along the way he encounters much inhospitality from folks who should know better.

The story begins with the disciples turning the man’s blindness into a theological debate. Who sinned causing him to be born blind? It is a form of inhospitality to blame the needy for their situation, thus delaying or denying the help they desperately need. After Jesus heals the man, his neighbors also engage in debate. Is this the same man who was born blind or is it someone else? They display incredible inhospitality to God as well by denying the possibility of miraculous change in the man’s life.
“People change,” said Will Rogers, “ but not much.” Hospitality is more hopeful than that view.
The religious leaders also fail to appreciate the healing of the blind man and they subject him to an inquisition of sorts. It is again inhospitable to God to cling so tightly to our religious traditions and beliefs that we miss the new thing which God is doing. Finally the blind man’s own parents, fearing excommunication from the synagogue by those religious leaders, refuse to support their son or celebrate his healing. Inhospitality is likely present whenever we let fear of ridicule or rejection prevent us from celebrating God or others.

The story ends as Jesus finds the man again and reaches out to him. It is the highest form of hospitality to welcome and include people who are lonely, outcast or victimized. The tragic comedy ends as Jesus condemns the religious leaders for their blindness. Their inhospitality has revealed them to be the ones who are really blind. This teaches me that it is a form of hospitality to speak out against inhospitality! May we as a people of faith both practice and proclaim hospitality to others- especially those in need.

~David