A Liberating Sight
Jesus said, "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 of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not blind, are we?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.”
John 9:1-41
March 3, 2026, Words By: Esau Oreso, Image By: Street Psalms
Made Flesh
My late grandmother told my brother and me a story every time we were together. A story we never grew bored of. Nostalgically, she narrated how she and our mum overcame a traditional belief that perpetuated death in the community. According to the dominant traditional belief in the days we were born, twins were considered an evil omen to the family and community. Therefore, one of the twins was to be disposed of like garbage, left in the bushes to be consumed by wild animals, such as hyenas. My brother and I are fraternal twins.
Usually, this fate would fall on the weaker twin. (I was always the weaker one as an infant, the more reason for my grandmother’s joy seeing me fully grown.)
Stories are told of mothers who developed mental breakdown and never recovered from such harmful traditions. My mother, unlike most, was lucky to have us both alive and to have a supportive mother-in-law. With courage and determination, my mum and grandma protected us by hiding us, never allowing any guests with ulterior motives to visit or come near us. That was how I survived the violence of a harmful traditional belief.
In the text this week, Jesus disabuses the “rightness” of the dominant beliefs held by many in his time, including the Pharisees and his own disciples. He says that neither the blind man nor his parents sinned, but that this happened so the works of God might be displayed in him. And the works of God are displayed by Jesus calling out the Pharisees for their callousness at the plight of the blind man, as he gives the same man both physical and spiritual sight.
In the story, Jesus’s miracle sparks a conflict with the Pharisees. But the formerly blind man continues, with determination, to grow in his understanding of who Jesus is, culminating in his faith in Jesus not just as healer but as the son of God whom he worships. Even in the confrontation with the Pharisees, who deny or downplay the healing, the no-longer-blind man, with courage unlike his parents, refuses to yield to pressure. He insists on how he was blind but now has full sight courtesy of Jesus, whom he now knows is from God and is greater than any other prophet.
In the end, Jesus contrasts the man’s restored physical sight with spiritual blindness, and condemns the self-righteous Pharisees as those who are truly blind and needing sight. The Jewish religious elders are shown to be blind custodians of life-stifling beliefs.
Under the traditional belief, the blind man suffered — and so did many others — with unexplainable causes of pain and suffering. Sadly, the religious beliefs discouraged showing acts of mercy to such people, for fear of being an accomplice in their “divinely-ordained” fate.
The question of suffering has been with humanity for a long time. With it comes the question of justice and fairness, good and evil, and to whom blame should be apportioned. There are forces and persons partially or wholly responsible for violence and sufferings in the world, but not all suffering has someone or something to blame. Suffering takes various forms, and can trap people in identities that traditional beliefs normalize, never giving hope for real change to those who are suffering. Leaders and communities may, in the name of defending and preserving traditional norms, wound and perpetuate violence, sufferings, death and exclusion.
True healing stops violence, restores dignity, and brings about social inclusion. Jesus demonstrates that he stands with those excluded by systems that thrive on perpetuating violence, suffering and death while blaming it on others. He warns against unchecked loyalty to traditional beliefs that promote violence, suffering and death. Jesus’ liberation exposes the systems and their custodians for what they are: blind, and in need of sight.
During my years serving as a pastor in the informal settlements of Nairobi, I have on numerous occasions encountered people who have embraced and protected harmful traditional beliefs that squeeze life out of people, just like they almost did to my brother and me in our infancy. The liberating sight that only Jesus provides helps people to break away from blaming others, and to walk away from fear into freedom.
Dwelling Among Us
How would a blame-free and fear-free spirituality impact how we live out our faith and practice leadership in the world today?
How might we be blind to the plight of those who continue to suffer, and to our own role as custodians of the beliefs that keep them suffering?
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