Believing without seeing

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. John 9:1-7

REFLECTION
For the orthodox believers there were only two possible explanations for physical blindness: either the blind person or his/her parents had sinned. Jesus, the One who had just proclaimed I am the light of the world, passes by. Jesus came from the temple where he had left the Pharisees behind – the spiritual leaders who were too blind to see where Jesus was coming from.
Jesus has another explanation for the blindness of the man - an explanation that is not to be found in the past, but in the present. “This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”
Jesus talks about day and night, says that he is the light of the world and does a miraculous healing with a strange mixture of saliva and earth from the ground. The man was not able to see what the Master was doing, but I wonder how many of us would accept such a treatment and how many of us would obey Jesus’ command to walk to the Pool of Siloam, take a bath and… find out that Jesus really is the light of the world!

PRAYER
Dear Jesus, I can’t help myself – I just have to say that you are a strange doctor! Spitting on the ground and putting mud in a blind man’s eyes doesn’t sound like professional medical treatment to me! But this man couldn’t be helped by a normal doctor – he needed a supernatural healing.
Lord, why didn’t you heal this man on the spot? Why did you tell him to walk to Siloam and wash himself? I believe this part of the story is not about the physical treatment, but about spiritual obedience. Just like Naaman the Syrian*, this man has to actively participate in his own healing. Naaman protested at first and relented later, but this man just did what you told him to do. What a bright shining example this man is for us, your disciples living in today’s dark world!
Lord, if we are suffering like this blind man, let it be for the glory of God. If no human doctor is able to cure our disease, we trust that you will heal us one day – even if we can’t see you right now. But more important than our physical condition, is our spiritual state. This wonderful man actively participated in his own healing by doing the strange things you told him to do. He didn’t ask how or why, but just took your word for it. I believe that the greatest miracle took place in his heart and mind that day! And you really showed that you were the one sent by God to heal us from blindness and deliver us from spiritual darkness. Thank you, Messiah Jesus!

* 2 Kings 5