“There are none so blind as those who will not see.”

This proverb which goes all the way back in England to the 16th century just about sums up the conclusion of the today’s gospel account of the creation of sight by our Lord Jesus Christ for the man born blind. Of course, Jesus is referring not to the blind man who now sees but rather addresses the hostile questioning of the Pharisees who see physically but not spiritually.  In this they fail to understand the significance of what they have just witnessed. They have neither ears to hear not eyes to see. This analysis of the cussedness of human beings some of whom deny the truth when it, or rather in this case, He is standing right in front of them goes back even further in the Scriptures to such prophets as Jeremiah.  God spoke through him these words to His people:

Hear this now, O foolish people, Without understanding, Who have eyes and see not, And who have ears and hear not: (Jeremiah 5:21)

What all of us need is the ability to understand what God is doing right under our noses. This spiritual sense of vision is crucial both in relating to God and also achieving union with Him. This is how St John Chrysostom describes and contrasts these two senses, the physical and the spiritual:

For there is a twofold vision, and a twofold blindness; namely that of sense, and that of the understanding. But they were intent only on sensible things, and were ashamed only of sensible blindness: wherefore He shows them that it would be better for them to be blind, than seeing so: If you were blind, you should have no sin; your punishment would be easier; But now you say, We see.  (St John Chrysostom, Commentary on John 9:39-41)

We have all met people in life who are “none so blind that they will not see.” Often they have closed or dull minds. They tend to be rigid or shallow in their thinking or both. They say to themselves: “this cannot happen,” yet it does and so they say: “this has not happened, something else must be the case.” You cannot reason with people like this. In the Gospel today, for example, even the creation of sight to the man born blind fails to impress. The Pharisees prejudge the event according to their uncritical assumptions and criteria. However, if appeals to reason or evidence will not work, what else can we try? How do we get people truly to see what is staring them right in the front of their faces?

When dealing with difficult pastoral situations I sometimes decide to start from a place much further back in people’s thinking, or maybe I should say deeper in their minds.  Unexamined and unchallenged assumptions often block an openness to change. Getting someone to understand and appreciate the value of something new first involves gently opening up those controlling thoughts and ideas that stand in the way and are not susceptible of rational argument.  I try to help the person discover what it might be that is underneath and unknown in their minds driving their thinking and behaviour. Let me give you an example.

One thing every parent should know is that your child is not your friend. Your parental relationship with your child is not based on the precise equality and mutuality of friendship. Your child deserves your love, but this is not the same as being its friend. Even if you were to die for your child it would not be out of friendship that you did this but rather from the self-sacrificing initiative of love.

How is it then that some parents are deeply wedded to the idea that they should be friends with their children? There are many possible deeper reasons which leave these parents blind to the true nature of their relationship with their children. It could be that they have an aversion, a horror, of seniority or hierarchy in life. This might be based on a notion of equality that covers up their own insecurity and doubts about being different from or responsible for others. Deep-seated fears, mostly critically unexamined, around the possibility of failure and rejection can lead to neediness and passivity when confronting difficult issues.  Our children, for example. may sometimes present unreasonable demands and unacceptable behaviours, but if we shirk our parental responsibilities for fear of what this might involve, how much more comforting it might be for us to think that friendship is the issue here rather than obedience. Deep down we may feel very uncomfortable with the idea that anyone (not just our children) should obey us.  Notice though how Jesus highly commended the Roman centurion when he linked faith in His healing power to obedience.  This is something we may need to look into if we are going to overcome our temptation to be our children’s friend rather than their parent.  With these insights let us return to the reaction of the Pharisees to the miracle of Christ in the Gospel.

In one of the verses the Pharisees are recorded as saying to the blind man, now seeing:

We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.  (John 9:29)

This, of course, is a confession of their own spiritual blindness.  However, they think that they can truly see, that they know, that they understand. The Prophet Moses has been established by God in Israel as the oracle of the Torah. There is no need for anything new; indeed, there can be nothing new!  God has spoken. That is the end of the matter.

But why are they so stuck on this point? What are they so afraid of that they cannot embrace the possibility of a new thing that God might doing through his Messiah?  No one is expecting them to sign up as yet to the Incarnation, but why can’t they at least loosen up a bit and allow the possibility that this might be the Christ? Just a question at this stage, not a firm conviction, but not a complete denial of the possibility either. My guess is that deep down they are really uncomfortable with this, even scared. The settled and established ways of Israel do not look so secure any more. Their beloved nation has been successively overrun by the Greeks and the Romans. They serve puppet kings. A faith that once steered the affairs of state now simply becomes, in Roman eyes at least, a private personal matter; communal celebrations such as the Passover, now simply seen as something that the Jews do from time to time but without any implications for national life in this forgotten eastern precinct of the Roman Empire. They are almost strangers in their own land. The last thing these Pharisees want is disturbance and disruption in matters of faith and religion. They are scared that if they indeed embrace this new thing that God may be doing then the whole of their lives will unravel. The storm will then truly breach the ship and the water will rise up to their necks. Safer to stick with Moses and not look any further or beyond.

Healing for the Pharisees boils down to one crucial question. Is your faith a living faith or merely repeating the hallowed formularies of your ancestors?  Would a living faith open you up to new possibilities, new hopes, new dreams, a conception of Israel perhaps transformed into something wonderful, even more glorious than even Moses could have ever conceived? Could even the Gentiles be brought in?  Was there not something in the Prophets about that?

Of course, there are no guarantees that such a deeper questioning and search in a loving, supportive, trusting environment will open anyone up, then or now; but it might be worth a try. So, when dealing with those parents who want to be friends with their children, perhaps we could encourage them to understand and accept the great dignity and responsibility of being encouraging guides and instructors to their children.  This will offer them the possibility of a life which will be both secure and joyful.  For the parent, in turn, the sacrifice and weight of this responsibility will not be a burden but a privilege.

I hope I have shown here how these principles of helping people, who are currently blind to see, apply both to spiritual and practical issues in life. Whatever their applications they will involve a certain degree of wise soul guiding which is why in the Orthodox Church we have spiritual fathers and mothers.  These are not the blind guides that will lead both into the ditch (to quote the Scriptures), but rather those who can see, at least a little distance forward, to help those who are blind regain their vision so as to walk more confidently and with greater wisdom toward salvation. We should seek out such men and women for ourselves but always remembering that God may call upon us as well to bring sight to the blind. Let us first be sure, however, that we can truly see and are not blind ourselves.