As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him. We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day; night comes, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." As he said this, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man's eyes with the clay, saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar, said, "Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?" Some said, "It is he"; others said, "No, but he is like him." He said, "I am the man." They said to him, "Then how were your eyes opened?" He answered, "The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash'; so I went and washed and received my sight." They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know." They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. The Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see." Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" There was a division among them. So they again said to the blind man, "What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet." John 9:1–17 (RSV)
The disciples and the Pharisees were in agreement concerning the man born blind. Someone must have sinned for this calamity to have befallen the man. It has to be someone's fault; blame has to be laid. We need to figure out who it is. We don't like the ambiguity the man's blindness raises. We prefer to condemn someone.
Jesus did not see sin in the blindness. He saw the glory of God about to be revealed. The man who had never seen light of any kind is about to encounter the light of the world. He will see for the first time all the wonders of the Father's creation. The subtle variations of color as light plays on every object's surfaces will be a wonder to him. Yet Jesus, who gave him sight, will become for him the very light of God.
Being blind from birth is a great sorrow, but the Pharisees' refusal to rejoice that a blind man could now see is a tragedy. They could not allow God to be God, even when a miracle had just taken place. Though not all clung to their rigid image of God, some took the risk to ask a question. Some began to wonder at what Jesus had done, as the first rays of God's light broke through their certainty.
Jesus has taught us to pray, 'Thy will be done,' in all circumstances. Our lives are filled with moments where the will of God is being played out. It is not always easy for us to see that will at work, but we should not willingly blind ourselves. Even if we cannot imagine God at work, He still is.