Another Look at John Nine – The Man Born Blind The Rev. Debra Slade – St. Francis Church, Stamford, CT, March 19, 2023
Firstly, I would like to say how how glad I am to be back with all of you today. It has been an interesting past two months for me since my surgery on January 24th, and I have been thinking about all of you a lot! I am so grateful for the prayers and good wishes I received, and I have used my beautiful blue prayer shawl you gave me almost every day. God has, of course, given me an interesting and dare I say, apropos Gospel reading for today, but I might have preferred a slighter shorter one, hence my decision to read it at the pulpit that gives me something to lean on. I have explored the subject of how to read the story of the Man Who was Born Blind in John Nine in previous sermons, but never during a time when I was so recently disabled by illness. My hospital job’s “Short Term Disability” period ends today (back to work tomorrow!) so what a better time to look at how the bible presents disability and to revisit and suggest ways to revise the biases, assumptions and prejudices that have affected people since they were written.
Over the last few weeks, I have read Amy Kenny’s book: My Body is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church which came out last year, and I highly recommend it. A Christian activist for disability justice and for new ways of looking at old bible stories on the subject, her book is passionate and funny about the way she has sufferred discrimination and been stereotyped by well meaning people of faith. Here is an example of the Top Ten reasons she has been told, unsolicited, by church people, whom she describes as prayful perpetrators, for why she is disabled. Kenny uses a wheelchair: Number 10. Your body is a result of the fall (and not the type where you fall down); 9. God needed a special angel; 8. You symbolize the worst fate that could happen to any of us at any time; 7. You’ve given up hope; 6. You represent the world’s decay; 5. You keep us grateful;4. You’ve sinned; 3. Your parents have sinned; 2. Adam and Eve sinned; 1. You just need to have a little more faith. And if the last few sound familiar – well – it’s because you have just heard some of them repeated more than a few times in the long Gospel reading I just read. In John’s Gospel of the healing of a blind man by Jesus, we see prejudice against the blind person (who is never named) at the very beginning of the narrative. The disciples ask Jesus when they see him begging– “who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Back then, and even now, this was a commonly held belief that physical ailments are a result of one’s sins, and if not your sin, the sins of your parents, and they can go as far back as the sins of Adam and Eve, as Kenny points out in her witty but alarming list. In other words, it is a belief that if you or your children are born with physical or mental problems or develop them later in life it is because of your sins. And from this follows the longstanding prejudice against the disabled – you are like this because God is punishing you for being a bad person. Over the years, I have heard this from patients and their families at the hospital, both a concern that they got sick because of previous wrong doings, and guilt when their prayers are not answered. This is a component of spiritual distress which recent studies have identified as being a factor that can impede recovery, and which certainly can affect wellbeing. There are numerous bible passages where Jesus heals people but three where he specifically tells them “your faith has made you well.” These are the healing of the ten people with leprosy (Luke 17:22-19), the healing of the woman with the issue of blood (Matthew 9:20-22) and the healing of another blind man, Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52). Some bible translations use “whole” instead of “well” – your faith has made you whole -- and it is also the same word as “to be saved” in other parts of the bible. Looking at t
ese from the perspective of disability theology, they raise problematic concerns. They imply that if you have faith, you get a miracle – you get healed, and conversely, if your faith isn’t good enough you aren’t entitled to a miracle. It also suggests that you are in need of healing if you are disabled – because you are not a whole or complete person. Both interpretations have led to serious discrimination against people with disabilities by Christians. In fact, much of the bible doesn’t deal with sick or disabled people very well. And the same thing can be said in the bible for other big categories of humanity – women, being the most obvious example. We are also shown people with symptoms basically equivalent to mental illness who are said to be possessed with demons. Unfortunately, this leads some Christians who believe in miraculous healings to put way too much stock on the size of one’s faith as a criterion for healing or even being worthy of healing. Another important book in this field of theology is The Disabled God: Toward a Liberation Theology of Disability by Nancy L. Eisland. She broke new ground in 1994 by describing the negative consequences of linking sin with disability, a theme that she and others, feel are perpetuated throughout both the Old and New Testament, and particularly in the healing narratives.
Like other liberation theologies such as feminist theology, black theology, queer theology, from the work of Eisland and others in the disability movement, came disability theology. The disabled, like other groups who develop a liberation theology, read the bible looking for clues about God’s purpose for them and the role their uniqueness plays in the world. Disability theology looks at texts to see if they make a connection between the disability and sin or transgression, and when the physical healing takes place, so symbolically, are sins forgiven. And if so, a disability theology perspective would try to debunk this classical interpretation in order to stop the harmful misconceptions of people whose impairments have no connection to their morality or their faith.
When looking at the story of the man who was born blind, disability theology looks for clues as to whether, as a narrative with plot, character and structure, it gives a positive or negative perspective of disability and disabled people. In no other traditional physical healings by Jesus in the bible are we given such a full characterization of the person who is healed. In almost very scene, the man who is born blind is the main character with, arguably, the biggest role. One important theme that can be derived from the elaborate details of the narrative is how the man who was born blind and his healing are not hidden in any way. Like the example, where Jesus shows his wounds to people, the man who is born blind, does not pretend that he was not formerly a person with a disability, he openly discusses this with both neighbors and authorities without fear and without shame. And importantly, it is Jesus who rebukes the disciples for their suggestion that he is blind because of his own sin or that of his parents. This characterization of the man who was born blind makes him a disciple of Christ and one who can be a role model for the disabled.
So what then is the role of prayer in illness and recovery you might ask given that it should not be used as a litmus test for faith or a ticket to a miracle? Well, many minds have tried to answer this question over the years and there have been several research based trials producing real scientifice evidence so to speak. But if we are to give credence to the personal experience of those who have experienced disablity or illness, I would like to offer my own testimony at this time. First, to the power of prayer in my own surgery and healing. I was nervous before the surgery for all sorts of reasons but particularly because of the thought of general anesthesia, intubation and the myrid of possible things that could go wrong that having been a chaplain for so long showed me. But that morning, one of my staff chaplains, Jessica came in early to pray with me and annointed me with oil as I waited. I was so appreciative of her calming presence and her reminder of the many others who were praying and thinking about me me that day. It seems cliché to say that I could feel the prayers but that is perhaps the only way to describe it – I just could -- and it provided so much comfort -- they gave me peace in a storm. The prayer shawls and blankets I received – all blue – my favorite color – awaited me at home and being wrapped in them reminded me of the prayers that were said as they were so carefully made. All contributed to my healing – all were a testimony of the faith of so many who believe in the message of love exemplified by our God, Christ Jesus – our God who knew injury, who knew suffering, who knew fear, who knew wounds, who knew scars -- our God -- who was disabled too. And may his comfort and his example be our model for how we navigate a world filled with sufferring – may we do it with understanding, with compassion, with service, and may we do it with love. Amen.
References Eisland, Nancy L., The Disabled God: Toward a Liberatory Theology of Disability, 1994. Kenny, Amy, My Body is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church, 2022. Koester, Craig R., Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel: Meaning Mystery and Community, 2003. Mashburn, Rebecca, What Did Jesus Really Mean by “Your Faith has Made You Well?, Christianity.com. 2