It Knows the Address | Valley of Fear

 On Sunday we looked at why we keep going back to what hurts us. The wound is old — but your sinful nature knows the address. Today we sit with that pattern a little longer. 

Transcript

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Good morning. This is Northword.

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Today I want to go a little deeper into the Gospel because one of the most important things in Sunday's Gospel wasn't the miracle. It was what the miracle revealed about the people who refused to see it. Good morning. This is Northword, the word the North, your week, a daily podcast from St. John's Fort Smith in collaboration with the Anglican family. I am your host, Father Aaron. There's a line at the very end of John chapter 9 that doesn't get enough attention. The Pharisees have just finished grilling the formerly blind man, trying to discredit Jesus, trying to explain away the healing. And Jesus turns to them and says, If you were blind, you would have no sin. But because you say we see your sin remains. Think about that carefully. The blind man, the one with the obvious, visible, undeniable condition, is healed, and the religious leaders, the ones with credentials, training, authority, are declared blind, and their blindness is worse because they don't know they have it. One of the early church fathers wrote about this in his commentaries. He said, The man born blind represents all of humanity. We all come into this world with a condition, not a punishment, but a corruption. We can't see clearly. We reach for the wrong things, were shaped by the wounds and the fears we didn't necessarily choose. But the man born blind did one crucial thing. He told the truth about his condition. He never claimed to be able to see. He knew what he was, and that honesty was the door Jesus walked right through. The Pharisees, on the other hand, were so invested in being seen as the ones who could see, they couldn't admit what they lacked. Their identity was built on their spiritual sight. To admit blindness would cost them everything, so they stayed blind. This is the theological danger of pride, meeting fear. Pride says I cannot be seen as broken. Fear says, if they find out what's underneath, I'll lose everything. And together they lock the door from the inside. The question for today is this Where are you most convinced you can see clearly? And most resistant to being challenged. Because that historically is exactly where the blindness hides. This has been Northward, the Word of the North, your week, a daily podcast from St. John's Fort Smith in collaboration with the Anglican family. Follow us, share this, and text us through the link in the description. Until tomorrow, God be with you.