Seeing is not believing


We have just had Good Shepherd Sunday, which in the three cycles of readings in the Revised Common Lectionary encompasses much of John 10, Jesus' extended and familiar discourse on the good shepherd.

It is always interesting to note what comes immediately before those passages in the Bible that we know and love so well. In this case Jesus is giving the Pharisees a sharp lesson on spiritual blindness in John 9:35-41 that they almost certainly fail to understand.

Earlier in the chapter Jesus has healed the man born blind, and the skeptical Jews have grilled the man and his parents relentlessly and cruelly about the miracle before driving him from their midst. Hearing of the debacle, Jesus finds the man, reveals himself fully to him as Lord, and blesses him with these words: "I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind." Some Pharisees who are still lurking nearby sense uneasily that this might apply to them: "Surely we are not blind, are we?" they mumble. Jesus then turns his withering beacon on them: "If you were blind you would not have sin. But now that you say, 'We see,' your sin remains."

In the ears of the world this may sound cryptic, but to Gospel ears it is crystal clear. Those who think they have all the answers have none; what defines them is the sinful arrogance of their pride. Those, on the other hand, who accept that they are truly in the dark about God are acting without sin. So, those who think they see do not, while those who admit they are blind grasp that we are led by God's will alone. The man born blind puts it well in his response to the Jews' accusations: "We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will" (John 9:31).

This goes to the heart of what it means to trust God. When we really, truly give ourselves over to God, we let go of our own presumptuous answers, our ways of "solving" problems, and all the habitual behaviors that the world has taught us as coping mechanisms. Jesus says, "not my will but yours be done" as he prays to his Father at the Mount of Olives immediately before he is arrested (Luke 22:42).

Instead, we are to listen attentively for what God would have us do.

This is how we arrive at the Good Shepherd discourse--with open ears and a listening heart. These are the means by which we let Jesus in. We hear in John 10:2-4: "The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out...the sheep follow him because they know his voice."

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