Wackadoodle Nutburger Supreme

John 9:1-41

As he walked 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?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him 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.” When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.

The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided. So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.” The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” Then they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out.

Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him.

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.

The disciples watched the news story about the Man Born Blind with fear, disgust, and a bit of panic simmering up into anger. They turned to Jesus and asked, “Who’s fault it this!? Did a Chinese virus make that man blind? Or is it the government’s fault that this man is blind? Maybe it was all the people who kept saying that science was a hoax that caused this man’s blindness? Or was it the deep state… a giant conspiracy... or billionaires that put profit over people that caused this man’s blindness?”

Jesus slowly turned his head to look at the disciples who were all sitting on the couch and said, “Wow guys!” Then, after a slight pause, Jesus asked, “How has trying to find someone or something to blame been working for ya? Has your finger pointing or your blame finding helped you feel better?  Has it healed that guy’s blindness?” The disciples shrugged. “Not so much… huh? Well, do you want to keep looking for someone to blame? You can keep doing that if you want to… lots of people do just that. Or… do you want to try something different?” The disciples shrugged again. They knew that looking for fault and trying to find someone to blame wasn’t working, but they were stuck. They had even tried buying more toilet paper than they would need for an entire lifetime, but NONE of it had helped!

So Jesus asked them, “When you watch the news, who does your heart go out to? Who is it that you love?” One of the disciples said. “Well, I love that poor man who was born blind. That guy whose been told his whole life that he’s a sinner and his parents are sinners. That he’s worthless. I really feel for that guy who’s been carrying around that heavy, horrible story he’s been told his whole life. He’s been carrying around that heavy-leaky-stagnant water bucket of a story his whole dang life just like that woman at the well! That’s the one my heart goes out to.”

“All right!” said Jesus. “Then, instead of endless reruns of who’s to blame, let’s move toward helping this guy live a REAL life!” So, they got up off the couch and off they went to find the man on the news who had been born blind. When they found him, Jesus didn’t ask him to unlearn or forget that heavy-leaky-stagnant water bucket of a story he’d been taught his whole life. Jesus was also wholly uninterested in the endless loop of blame that so many had tried before. Instead Jesus tried something new.

Now,“NEW” is great when it’s a phone or a TV, but when we’re asked to see the world in a “NEW” way… well, then “NEW” isn’t always seen as such a great thing and sometimes being asked to see the world in a new way is seen as nothing less than a Wackadoodle Nutburger of an Idea. And to be honest, what Jesus did that day looked like a Wackadoodle Nutburger Idea! Because what Jesus did was to use his own SPIT to make MUD and then SQUISH it into this man’s eyes! That’s not just a regular Wackadoodle Nutburger Idea. That’s a Wackadoodle Nutburger Idea Suprmeme! Which is a Wackadoodle Nutburger Idea with sour cream and guacamole on top!

BUT… but… what it was NOT, was yet another lap around the endless LOOP of pointing fingers and finding blame that had been the heavy-leaky-stagnant water bucket of a story this man had been told on a never ending loop for his entire life. A story, by the way, which had NEVER ever helped him to see! So, with a face full of spit-mud, Jesus sent the man off to the pool of Siloam, which means “Sent”… as in, the water for that pool had been “Sent” through two aqueducts into the pool so the water in that pool was always moving… some would even say that pool was filled with “LIVING” water.  But whatever you called it, it was definitely NOT the sort of water you’d find in an old heavy-leaky-stagnant water bucket.

This Man Born Blind had been told, just like that Samaritan woman at the well had been told… they had both been told a heavy-leaky-stagnant water bucket of a story about who they were their entire lives. His family had told him that story, his community had told him that story and even (God help us) the religious leaders had told him this story. They had told him that story in a never ending, circular search for someone or something to blame and they ground that life-sucking story deep into his soul.

What Jesus did, with his Wackadoodle Nutburger of an Idea, was to break open that never ending rerun of a story which allowed this man to leave that heavy-leaky-stagnant water bucket of a story he’d always been told behind him.  Just like that Samaritan woman did with her heavy leaky bucket of a story.  With bucket set down, he could move toward a new, living-waters, kind of life. With one step and then another and then another, he moved toward the pool of Siloam… toward a living-waters, shooting-out-of-an-aqueduct-like-a-geyser sort of life!

Now, his leaky old bucket story didn’t magically vanish.  It still rattled around in his head from time to time and his new life was far from trouble free, but for the Man Born Blind that old constantly repeating story had been broken open and he was now free to take one step and then another, and then another toward a new story and an abundant life.

Like those disciples, you and I sit down these days and watch the news and while our news doesn’t feature a man born blind, it sure shows us a lot of people running around searching for someone or something to blame for the pandemic we are living in. If Jesus were here… and I’m inclined to say he is. He would likely ask us, “Has your search for someone or something to blame made things better for you? Does living more angrily, more loudly, or more desperately, seem to help? Has stockpiling enough toilet paper for the next hundred years helped? No?…. Huh?”

Then, I suspect Jesus would say, “Well, if you’re ready to do something different then first, picture in your minds, the neighbors that you love? Got them in your mind? Good. Now, what Wackadoodle Nutburger Idea can you think of that will help them to live a better life, EVEN in the midst of all the world’s current crazy?” Jesus would remind us that we’ll have to be super creative! We’ll need to keep that physical distance. We’ll have to always Wash our hands, wash our hands, wash our hands. But with all of that in mind, there are still millions of creative ways we can we care for our neighbors today so they have a chance to live a life that’s better than a heavy stagnant water bucket sort of life?

Finally I think Jesus would tell us, "Why don’t you go now and give it a try! Even if the whole world thinks it’s a Wackadoodle Nutburger of an idea! Go! Give it a try! And go all out! Some people will think it’s crazy anyway, so why not pile the sour cream and guacamole and make it a Wackadoodle Nutburger Idea Supreme! Go! And leave that old stagnant water bucket of a story behind. Go on!” Jesus tells us, “I’ll be with you… always, through all of this, even to the end of the age.” Amen.