Blind leaders and faithful servants

John 9:18-41

          All of my life I was drawn close to God. You might think it was a form of indoctrination. I am sure some of it was. After 20 ears of Catholic education at the hands of nuns, Priests and brothers, I firmly believed  ( and experienced ) the love of God in my life. From the ever so simple, "Jesus loves me, this I know" to the moments in the desert and the highs of the mountaintops, I know how much God loves me.  It was a sad moment then that when I realized I was gay and decided to be honest and up front about it, that I could not fathom the Churches de-facto stance that God no longer loved me and that being exactly who I am  was wrong (that is "intrinsicallly disordered") . It was too late though, I already knew God loved me just as he (or she) created me. All that love they gave so freely and all the mantras about God is love came around to bite them in the ass. I was gay and I know that God loves me just as I am - no matter what they say or have postulated.

            I have mentioned for several days the story of Daniel Ashley Pierce whose (so called) Christian family disowned and beat him for coming out gay. Undoubtedly raised as a Christian from day one, he (like myself) was able to integrate the fact of being gay and loved by God. His actions show it. This week he announce he wanted the monies donated to him to go to an LGBT charity called Lost N'Found. This organization helps those in similar situations as Daniel. It seems wholly appropriate and a truly Christian action to offer to help more than just himself. Daniel is spreading the love in his heart as a true Christian does. He did not embrace the hate or answer in kind when faced with his pseudo Christian family.  Once Daniel integrated a) I am gay and b) I am loved by God, everything was possible. It was too late to tell Daniel he was a sinner. Daniel knows in his heart he is loved, cherished by God and inherently good.

           If they will know we are Christians by how we act, countless televangelists from Pat Robertson to Pastor Robert Gallatry to any number of the NOM cult will all be marked by God as grand hypocrites and sinners. Those that love and seek love in the word of God will be believers and faithful servants.

           You cannot see the positive actions of God and contort it into acts of the devil. The blind man from today's passage knew this and the religious elite could not see it at all. The irony of their blindness is comical and is a true message to all of us. 

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 worshipped him. Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgement 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.