Evil and the Works of God
John 9:1-41

Bernard of Cluney, a twelfth-century French Benedictine monk, described life in the Middle Ages by writing, “The world is very evil.” While the saying is universal in its estimation of the world, it is not to say that there was no goodness in the world. Rather, there was a preponderance of evil at the time.

We tend to think of evil primarily in moral terms: as morally reprehensible or as bad conduct, but that is too narrow a definition. Evil is a profoundly material reality. Evil is defined as the fact of suffering, misfortune, and wrongdoing. Evil is something that brings sorrow, distress, or calamity.

Although the worlds of the twelfth century and of the twenty-first century are vastly different, Bernard’s estimation of the world still holds true today. There is much suffering, misfortune, and wrongdoing. Sorrow, distress, and calamity are still very much with us. Yet, there is still goodness too.

The origins and causes of evil are a mystery. In the beginning when God created the world, there was already a watery chaos; “darkness covered the face of the deep.” In the rest of the scriptures, this reality was referred to as “the sea.” The LORD God tamed the chaotic sea in the acts of creation. God transformed the earth from a formless void into an inhabitable paradise during the six days of creation, and He pronounced everything very good (See Genesis 1.). In the new heavens and the new earth, “the sea” will be no more, but for the present it persists, challenging God’s good will. After God brought order to the chaos, evil still remained present. Evil slithered back into the Garden of Eden in the form of a serpent who beguiled Adam and Eve, convincing them to disobey the Creator’s commandment. “Thou shalt not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” As a result of our primordial parents' disobedience, sin and death entered the world, but evil was present before their fall from innocence.

Although we do not know the ultimate origin of evil, we still see its reality in the world. The unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin’s Russian army is a prime example of evil. His actions are causing untold amounts of suffering, sorrow, distress, calamity, misfortune, and wrongdoing. We are witnessing terrible evil on a grand scale. Putin has even gone so far as to put his nuclear arsenal on high alert. The patriotism, determination, and courage of the Ukrainian people are amazing as they battle against the leviathan of Russia’s military machine. Indeed, to borrow the words of one of J. R. R. Tolkien’s characters from The Lord of the Rings trilogy, “There is some good in this world and it is worth fighting for.” Let us pray to the Lord for their deliverance.

The invasion of Ukraine is evil on a grand scale, but evil is present in many other forms. The pandemic is certainly a manifestation of evil. Over 935,000 deaths have been attributed to COVID-19 in our country alone. Many more millions have been sickened, and there has also been a very high cost economically and psychologically.

The sharp increase in murders, violent crimes, and theft in our nation’s great urban centers, and in the city of Jackson, is a further example of evil.

But at a more personal level, sickness and death are powerful manifestations of suffering, sorrow, distress, misfortune, and calamity. We have experienced these ravages of evil as a family of faith in recent months. Even aging falls among the experiences of evil. We joke that “Aging is not for sissies,” but the declension of our bodies is no laughing matter.

In this morning’s reading from John, we encounter yet another instance of misfortune, distress, and calamity. As Jesus and his disciples were walking along, they saw a man blind from birth (Jn. 9:1) The disciples asked Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (vs. 2).

The disciples' question belies a general assumption in the ancient world. People assumed that suffering, misfortune, sorrow, distress, or calamity were the result of sin, of wrongdoing. This is termed retributive justice. They believed there was a cause-and-effect relationship between sin and the experiences of evil. They viewed the world as a kind of moral slot-machine, where people put in a coin (a good act or an evil one), and they got a particular result (a reward or a punishment). It was something akin to the Hindu law of karma. Hindus believe that good deeds result in reincarnation to a better life. Evil deeds result in reincarnation to a worse life.

The Book of Job gives voice to this belief in retributive justice. “Then Bildad the Shuhite answered: ‘How long will you say these things, and the words of your mouth be a great wind? Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert the right? If your children sinned against him, he delivered them into the power of their transgression. If you will seek God and make supplication to the Almighty, if you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse himself for you and restore to you your rightful place’” (Job 8:1-6).

While we probably do not think in these terms, when a calamity overtakes us or our loved ones, we sometimes wonder whether it was something we did that caused the evil. In some cases, there is a cause-and-effect relationship between sin and evil consequences. For instance, if a person becomes intoxicated, drives his or her car, and crashes it into another vehicle, killing or injuring its occupants, the drunk driver is the cause of evil. But in most instances of the experience of evil, there is no cause-and-effect relationship.

Jesus is emphatic about this. He says, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned” (vs. 3). Cancer, heart attacks, strokes, or accidents are not the result of sin. Jesus does not answer the disciples' question! He does not reveal the origin or cause of evil, the cause of the man’s blindness. Instead, he points the disciples towards God’s works.

The translation of the later part of verse 3 is problematic. The New Revised Standard translates it: “He was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.” This translation implies that God afflicts the innocent man with blindness to reveal his glory. The man’s blindness was an opportunity for God to show off his power. This is bad theology based on a bad translation.

The phrase “he was born blind” does not occur in the Greek text. You can draw a line through that phrase and put a comma instead of a period at the end of the sentence. Literally, the text reads, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but in order that the works of God might be revealed in him, we must work the works of him who sent me while it is day.” The man’s blindness was a given. It was part of the harsh reality of the present evil age, but Jesus came to usher in a new reality, a new creation devoid of evil in all of its manifestations. Jesus came to work the works of God along with his disciples.

Jesus proceeded to heal the man in a rather unusual manner. He spit on the ground, made some mud, and spread it on the man’s eyes. Then Jesus commanded the man to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. The man obeyed Jesus, and he received his eyesight.

The blind man also received spiritual sight. There was a progression of revelation in the story. In verse 11, the blind man says, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’” In verse 17, during the course of his first interrogation by the Pharisees, the blind man declares, “He is a prophet.” During the second interrogation by the Pharisees, the blind man says, “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” (vs. 30-33).

His final assessment was that Jesus had to be from God. The Pharisees expelled the man from the synagogue for his conclusion. However, Jesus found him and asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” (vs.35). The man responded, “Who is he, sir? Tell me so that I may believe in him” (vs. 36). Jesus revealed himself to the man, and the man, with physical and spiritual sight, declared, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshipped Jesus as God on earth.

Ironically, the Pharisees, who thought they had spiritual insight, became spiritually blind. Sometimes a light can be so bright that is blinding. Jesus said of himself in verse 5, “I am the Light of the World.” Jesus did not fit into the Pharisees' world view. He healed on the sabbath. That was work in their eyes, sabbath breaking, and that made Jesus a sinner, but Jesus was working the works of God. He was ushering in the new creation. God was doing something much more beautiful and stranger than the Pharisees could imagine. The Light of the World was blinding them.

At the beginning of his ministry in Luke’s gospel, Jesus, quoting the prophet Isaiah, said of himself, ““The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19). This is still Jesus’ ministry. Evil is a given in the present evil age. Suffering, sorrow, distress, calamity, misfortune, and wrongdoing are the status quo in this evil world. We are called to continue Jesus’ work. We must work the works of God who sent Jesus.

So let us bring good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and freedom for the oppressed. Let us declare the year of the Lord’s favor. Let us fill this sanctuary with such folks, people who are physically or spiritually poor, in bondage, blind, or oppressed. Through us, people will be able to get a glimpse of God’s works, God’s new creation emerging in this darkened world.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.