Sent and Sight
Don’t you find it fascinating that Jesus tells the man born blind in John Chapter 9 - ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ and St John immediately tells us Siloam means ‘sent’? Jesus sends the man to the pool, ‘sent’, to receive his sight! I believe St John, the master mystic, is sending a coded message that being sent by Jesus gives sight to the spiritually blind (see yesterday’s post).
The pool originally functioned as part of Jerusalem's ancient water system, later becoming a site of religious significance for ancient Jewish people. Religious pilgrims used it as a "mikveh," or a ritual bath, to cleanse themselves before visiting the holy Temple.
There are associations of being sent by Jesus, cleansing and being healed from spiritual blindness.
Like with the blind man, Jesus suddenly breaks into our lives, initiates a new depth of relationship, sending us in a new direction, and curing us of our spiritual blindness. This intrusion, on the surface, is terrifying: a sudden loss of job, the passing of a loved one, a diagnosis of an illness, the end of a career, having to move house, news of the onset of mental illness - but beneath, at a spiritual level, it is being sent by Jesus to receive new sight.
I refer to these moments as life transitions. Moments when the normal routine of our lives are disrupted in a significant way, sending us on a new path in life. I write of them from experience. I remember receiving news of a request to consider becoming a deacon, news of the sudden loss of my eldest son as I was about to begin diaconate studies, and recently to embark on a new career. Messages I would have preferrred not to have received. Messages, disrupting my life, sending me along unknown paths.
As Jesus said of the man born blind - ‘he was born blind so that God’s work might be revealed in him’. Jesus calls us to new roles - the man born blind was called to be an evangelist for Jesus - often in confusing ways. I think of Peter’s statement to Jesus when he realized where all this was leading him - ‘depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man’! It is as if he was saying - ‘I wasn’t expecting this - I dont want this’.
As much as these moments can be disruptive, heavy on the heart and confusing - be assured that God’s work is being revealed in us. We must persevere and be patient, have faith and trust in Jesus. As St Paul says in 2 Corinthians - we may feel knocked down at times, but rest assured we are not destroyed.