Around 360,000 people in the UK are registered blind or partially sighted. An estimated 25,000 children in Britain are blind or partially sighted. In the UK 86% of people value their sight above any other sense.
Jesus’ healing of the man born blind takes up the whole of John chapter 9. This remarkable miracle is a sign pointing to the mystery that Jesus is the Light of the World. We can divide the chapter into three parts: the first, the account of the miracle itself, the second, the investigating by the Pharisees, and finally the problem of spiritual blindness. We shall focus on the final part of the chapter, the problem of spiritual blindness.
It is said that there are none so blind as those who will not see. When someone doesn’t understand our point of view or what we are trying to say we protest, ‘You just don’t see, do you?’ What is seen is temporary, but what is unseen it eternal and God wants us to see with eyes of faith. Perhaps the following story might help to explain this. A man once stood on a soapbox at Hyde Park Corner, pouring scorn on the Christian faith. A gifted orator, he mocked, ‘People tell me that God exists, but I can’t see him. People tell me that there is life after death, but I can’t see it. People tell me that there is a heaven and a hell, but I can’t see them.’ The gathered crowd cheered and congratulated him, loud and effusive in their praise. Suddenly, a second man was helped onto the soapbox. He tottered on the fragile podium before collecting himself. He too was a gifted orator: ‘People tell me that there is green grass all around me, but I can’t see it. People tell me that there is a blue sky above, but I can’t see it. People tell me that there are trees nearby, but I can’t see them. You see, I’m blind.’
