He was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of the One who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Narrator: The disciples did not understand this. But they were getting used to that feeling. Meanwhile, Jesus spat on the ground and made some mud with his saliva. Then he took the mud and placed it on the blind man’s eyes. Jesus told the man, Jesus: Now, go, wash in the pool of Siloam. Narrator: The blind man did as Jesus told him: he went to that pool, washed, and he could see! He came back to where Jesus was. The neighbors were confused. Neighbor 1: Isn’t that the man who used to sit here and beg? Neighbor 2: No, that’s not him. Man: Yes, it’s me. I am that man. Neighbor 1: I think that is him. Man: Yes, I am the man. Neighbor 3: That’s not him, but somebody who looks like him. Man: No, really, it’s me. Neighbor 2: Okay, if it’s you, then tell us: how were your eyes opened? Man: Jesus did it. He made mud, put it on my eyes, told me to go wash… and here I am. Neighbor 1: Yes, but where is Jesus? Man: I don’t know. Remember? I was blind when that happened. Narrator: The neighbors were confused. To get things straightened out, and to make sure they weren’t in trouble, since the healing had been done on the Sabbath; they took the man to the Pharisees. Pharisee: Okay, man….what happened to you? Man: Jesus made mud, put it on my eyes, told me to go wash…and I could see. Pharisee: This Jesus must not be from God, because he did this thing on the sabbath, and it is wrong to work on the sabbath. Pharisee 2: How can he not be from God? Look at what he did! How can a sinner perform such signs? Pharisee: But doing work on the Sabbath is wrong. Pharisee 2: But look what he did! Narrator: And the Pharisees kept arguing among themselves. They asked the man, “what do you think, it was your eyes he opened.” Man: I think Jesus may be a prophet. Narrator: The Pharisees continued to argue among themselves. In order to determine just what had happened, they called in the parents of the man who had received his sight. Pharisee: You there, are you the parents of this man? Was he born blind? If yes, how does he now see? Narrator: The parents sensed that, no matter what they said, somebody might find fault with them, so they ducked the whole issue. Parent: Yes, this is our son, and yes, he was born blind. But if he sees now, we don’t know how that happened. Haven’t a clue. You know, he’s old enough, you ask him. Pharisee 2: Hey, you, man who was born blind! Praise God! and tell us what happened to you. Jesus is just a sinner like the rest of us, he can’t be the reason you can see. Tell us what really happened. Man: Look, I was blind. Now I see. I don’t know anything about Jesus, I just know that now I can see. Pharisee: How did Jesus make you see? Narrator: The man started to get a little testy. Man: Look, I told you already and you didn’t believe me; why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciple? Narrator: That remark made the Pharisees really mad. Pharisee: You nut case! You must be his disciple! We follow the true faith, we are disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses. We don’t know anything about this Jesus guy. Man: Oh really! That is astonishing! You don’t know anything about him, yet “this Jesus guy” opened my eyes, gave me sight! We know that God isn’t swayed by sinners…..yet this man gave me my sight. If this man were not from God, I would still be blind. Pharisee 2: Are you trying to teach US? We know better than you, you sinner! Go away! Narrator: And the man left them. Now, Jesus learned that the Pharisees had harassed and then dismissed the man, so Jesus went looking for him. Once he found him, Jesus then asked the man, Jesus: Do you believe in the Son of Man? Man: Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him? Jesus: He is the one who gave you your sight. It’s me. Man: Lord, I believe. Jesus: You see, this is why I came into the world: so that those who do not see, can see; and so those who do see may become blind. Pharisee: Wait a minute. Are you calling us Pharisees blind? Jesus: If you were truly blind, you would have no sin. But because you claim you can see, when you don’t……brother, you have sin. Message: “What matters” Rev. Jane Sorenson John 9:1-41 March 8, 2026 What matters? Isn’t that the central question we ask, over and over, every day? What matters? Does it matter that I didn’t get the laundry done yet this week? Does it matter that my child traded away his sandwich at lunch for a Twinkie? Does it matter that I saved less than usual out of my income last month? Does it matter that my co-worker seems to get along with everybody better than I do? What matters? In today’s Scripture story, we witnessed a whole lot of people get hung up on stuff that doesn’t matter as much as they think it does. We got the neighbors, who can’t decide if this guy was the blind guy that they had passed so often, they didn’t really even see him any more…or if he was somebody else. We got the Pharisees, who are more concerned about whether the Sabbath rule got broken than they are about a man being cured of blindness. We got the parents of the man, who are more concerned with what the religious authorities might do to them than they are about rejoicing in their son’s great good fortune of being able to see. We got a whole lot of fussing about details….and a whole lot of missing the point: a man of God healed another man who had been blind from birth. Hello! What matters here? For the writer of John, what mattered was the astounding power that dwelt within Jesus; that Jesus was God in some incredible, amazing way; that God cared about us humans so much that God sent us Jesus. What matters for us? Well, for one, I think what matters to us in this story is that we never diminish the possibility that God might do something extraordinary. I know that I don’t believe in an interventionist God, a God who will step in and fix something if I ask. I don’t believe that I can pray my way to physical safety, or that through prayer, I can force or cajole God into making me prosperous or safe or healthy. That said….I have witnessed, and maybe you have, too, the healings, the coincidences, the jobs that come through in the nick of time, the stuff that makes us ask: “Was that you at work, God? Did you fix that, or make that work out?” God is God, and we aren’t….and so even though I don’t think it happens reliably, or often, I think we have to give God room to do whatever it is God might do. To not count God out at any time. The other thing that I think matters for us out of this story is encouragement to keep our eye and heart open for what really matters in any given circumstance. Did it matter whether the neighbors recognized the man or not? Well, if you were focused on proving that a miracle actually happened, maybe….but maybe it’s okay to just take it for granted that a man saying, “Hey, look, I can see!” is worthy enough of celebrating, without needing to know just how long it was that he could not see. Did it matter whether the Pharisees would acknowledge a God-given healing? Well, if you wanted the Pharisees to affirm Jesus as the Son of God, maybe…..but the man’s healed, either way. Doesn’t his welfare matter more? Every day we are bombarded by society, media, advertising, family members and friends and co-workers who want to tell us what matters. High prices, the latest fashions, what your dog eats, how much exercise you get, the highest rated food processor or skill saw, a thousand things we can form an opinion about or work on or make fun of or ignore. Every day, a thousand things we might focus on. What really matters? How are you going to know what really matters, if you don’t enlist God’s help in sifting through it all? How are you going to know what really matters if you don’t stop….and take a deep breath….and take stock?