Blame

One of Molly’s friends has a magnet on her refrigerator that reads, “I didn’t say it was your fault, I said I was going to blame you.” As it turns out, blame is a pretty old thing. In the story of the Fall in Genesis, blame was everywhere. When God confronted Adam and Eve after their disobedience, there was blame displacement everywhere. Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the snake. We humans have been blaming ever since. Parents know that when kids argue in the house they will each blame the other. When something is broken, no one will take responsibility.

Of course, when the problem is bigger than getting caught doing something against the house rules, even adults rush in looking for someone to blame. When we are in distress, we blame most often. We fixate our distress on a person, and they become the objects of our ire.

Jesus’ first followers were no different. In the Gospel according to John 9:1-12 we have a story of blame and the healing of a blind man. It is important to note the setting of the story. In chapter 8 Jesus has just said that He is the light of the world. At the end of chapter 9, He tells the Pharisees that they are blind. In the middle we find a man that was born blind.

Jesus and his disciples were walking when Jesus saw a man born blind. I think the word “saw” is important to note. Jesus is able to see more than just the outside of a person. Jesus can see the heart, the soul, the full measure of the person. In looking at the text, the disciples did not see the man, they saw a theological problem to be solved. They were wondering why someone was born without sight. They were thinking about the problem of evil. Why do bad things happen? For them, the solution was a very easy one. Bad things happen because of individual sin. The man was born blind because he or his parents sinned. Their theology was simple. You sin, you suffer. You sin, your kids suffer.

I want you to think about this from the perspective of the blind man. Wonder if he could hear the conversation? If so, his thought process might have been something like, “I’m sitting right here!” I think he would have to be livid. Now, I am a southerner. We southerners might fight tooth and nail in the family, but nobody, nobody from the outside talks about our family. You can say something about me, but—again as a good southerner—don’t say anything about my Mama! There the disciples were saying that the mother and the father of the blind man may have been so perverse that God punished their kid with blindness. Anger would be a normal response to what the disciples said.  

There is another possible reaction to what the disciples said that would be worse than anger. He might have accepted the blame. After all, blindness happened. It must have been someone’s fault. Someone must accept the blame.

The disciples’ reaction as wrong as it was, gave someone to blame. Have you ever wanted that? As we are in the middle of the Coronavirus outbreak, are you looking for someone to blame. Imagine if we are forced to quarantine. I think of my own house. I would be quarantined. There is no March Madness. There is no baseball. There is no NBA. There is no spring football. There is no hockey. Worse, the Hallmark Chanel is starting a Christmas movie marathon, and my baby girls have just discovered Frozen II. Trust me. If that is my lot for 2 weeks, I will need Advil and someone to blame!

The disciples blamed the man or his parents. We might blame God. In looking at the news year week we have had a worldwide plague. We have had an earthquake in Utah. We have had swarms of locusts in the Middle East and Africa. We have had fires in Australia, and the stock market is off 30% from its highs. Now I’m no expert on the Revelation, but pestilence, locusts, fires, earthquakes, and economic devastation sure sound like wrath of God stuff! I have a couple of good friends I text with daily, and after the last batch of bad news I texted, “Ok which one of you ticked God off?”

Blame is easy right now. Who do you blame for our current situation? Do you blame China? Do you blame the government? Do you blame big pharma? Do you blame God?

Is God to blame for Coronavirus? Is God to blame for our diseases. Was God to blame for the man born blind. If his parents were not to blame, was God? Jesus refuses any easy answer. He ruled out sin, but in our English translations, He seems to blame God. He said, “It was not this man who sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (Jn 9:3 NASB 1995), but the translation is tricky. It hinges on the Greek word hina, here translated “but.” It can also be translated “In order that.” The question is, “should hina be read as meaning ‘with the result that,’ or ‘with the purpose that’ in this passage?” If purpose is the meaning then we would have God made the man to be born blind just to heal him later and get glory. [1]That does not sound much like the God revealed in Jesus to me. If John means result, then the blindness presents an opportunity for God to do works only He can do in the man’s life.

I hold that it should be “result.” This man’s blindness was an opportunity for God to show grace. In a sense, this is how I see all of the suffering in the world. The world, as long as we live under the shadow of the fall, is full of disease and suffering. Rather than point and blame, we should see the events of suffering in the world as chances to shine the grace of God.

One commentator translates it this way, “Neither has this man sinned nor his parents. But that the works of God should be made manifest in him, I must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day.”^[2]Notice Jesus moves beyond blame to action.

Right now, is not the time to focus on blame. There will be plenty of time for finger-pointing and blaming later. It is your choice, however. You can focus on blame. You can choose to get angry at hoarders. You can go to the grocery store and look at the empty shelves where toilet paper should be and get angry at those who stockpile it. You can look at those who will not adhere to the advice of health officials and wonder at what in the world they are thinking. You can be angry with them. You can blame them. You can look at the guidelines as unnecessary restrictions of our freedoms that cause economic calamity and personal frustration. You can see the guidelines as arbitrary and unnecessary and as part of a panic. You can blame them. If you spend time too much time in blame though, you might miss an extraordinary opportunity: to shine the grace of God.

Jesus is insistent on something. Time is of the essence. In 9:4 He says, “Night is coming when no one can work.” Right now, you and I have time. In a few days, we may not. We may no longer be able to move freely. Non-essential services may be closed down. But right now, we can use the time we have to shine the light of grace.

Here are somethings you can do:

1. Local restaurants are struggling. They are unable to have seated customers. You can buy a gift certificate to use later. That way they have funds to stay in business.
2. You can do the same thing for your hairdresser.
3. You can help protect someone’s income by doing business with them.
4. You can check on your neighbor.
5. You can send a card to the lonely.
6. You can get supplies for someone who has a critical need.

Take this time to find something positive to do. While you or I may not be able to heal a blind man, we can help people find the courage to get through this difficult hour.

Grace and Peace

[1]Newman, Barclay Moon, and Eugene Albert Nida. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. UBS Handbook Series. New York: United Bible Societies, 1993.

^[2]Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary(Vol. 1, p. 324). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.