The Role of the Holy Spirit in Helping us to Overcome Spiritual Blindness
Good Morning Friends,
William Molyneux, an Irish philosopher, whose wife was blind wrote to the philosopher John Locke in July 1688 and asked whether a man born blind and taught to distinguish things by touch could attain the same knowledge by sight if he was suddenly able to see. The answer came back, “No.” Now today we meditate on the story of the man born blind, who has his sight restored by Jesus and we ponder how he could have said what he said about what he saw in front of him without the help of the Holy Spirit. So this morning, continuing on the road to Pentecost, we ponder Molyneux’s Problem as we open our eyes to Greek Philosophy in the mystic perspective in John’s Gospel story all against the backdrop of the simple logic of the twelve articles of faith presented in the Apostles Creed. Today we affirm that we believe Occam’s razor… that the simplest explanation is generally the right one. Today we affirm our belief in The Role of the Holy Spirit in Helping us to Overcome Spiritual Blindness.
Scripture: 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.”
John 9:1-17 (NRSV)
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.
John 9:30-41 (NRSV)
I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth: And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary: Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell: The third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty: From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead: I believe in the Holy Ghost: I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of saints: The forgiveness of sins: The resurrection of the body: And the life everlasting. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed
Message: The religious authorities of Jesus’ day, crawled all over this story from John’s Gospel and they seem to ask the very question that is posed by Molyneux’s problem. They seem utterly convinced that the blind man could not possibly draw the conclusion that Jesus is the Messiah because they imagined he had no point of reference to form this view. But here’s the thing: what happened to that man was not that he had his sight restored but that God had, in Jesus, created something entirely new in him. Yes, he received his physical sight: but the greatest part of this story is how pliable his spiritual sight is in adapting. The beauty of Molyneux’s question is not just that it relates to how representations are formed in the brain but how the Holy Spirit works in helping us to see. Now that science has answered Molyneux’s question with a short term “No” and a near term “Yes” it appears that the simplest solution to the problem’s resolution is in the work of the Holy Spirit. The paradox of the story is that those who are without physical sight can see spiritually, but the Pharisees, who all have their physical sight are, nonetheless, blind. They cannot for the life of them see the obvious in front of them. The take away is that people need to have the gospel presented to them in a way they can relate to easily but they also must receive the Holy Spirit helping them to see. So now with eyes opened by the Spirit we see how the Apostles’ Creed helps us to grow in focus. We see how easily it is divided into three main sections, one for God the Creator, a second for Jesus the Redeemer and a third for The Holy Spirit the Sustainer. We can imagine Peter, James and John each leading a section with each section building on the other and coming into greater focus. At first glance, one might look at The Creed and think that there is only one line devoted to the Holy Spirit. But on closer examination, there is more that links it all together. The punctuation that resides at the end of that phrase on the Holy Ghost, connects the Person of the Holy Spirit to that which follows. So it is the Holy Spirit that empowers the church, unites the saints, regenerates sinners, breathes resurrection life into transformed bodies, and sustains us in the life everlasting. The Holy Ghost who conceives Jesus is also birthed in us so we too might see with new eyes as the three becomes one.
Pray we not be blinded by judgments, traditions, skepticism and fear. Pray the hole in our heart, the blind spot in our sight is filled with the Holy Spirit. Pray we feel and see the Spirit at work in us. Pray that the Spirit of God takes us in the direction God has planned. Pray the spiritual seal of our heart’s meditation open our eyes to the treasure of our soul growing in a community of love. Pray we see the fruits of the Spirit in front of our eyes. Pray we know in our hearts that the Holy Spirit comes from God. Pray we humbly understand the sight of the blind and the blindness in sight. Pray we, for the love of God, experience God and share the Spirit’s purposed focus in our own lives so others in faith might also come to see spiritually.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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