As I noted yesterday, I may stay on this section of Alison's work. And again today.
Jesus' final comment, "For judgment I came into the world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind," is his assessment of the whole story (that of the blind man). In the first place Jesus has carried out no active judgment at all. The only judgment related in the story has been that of the Pharisees, casting the man out. This is part of the ironic Johannine recasting of judgment: it is by being crucified that Jesus is the real judge of his judges. So because Jesus is the cause of the former blind man's expulsion, the former blind man shares Jesus' role as judge of those who have expelled him. It is not that Jesus simply abolishes the notion of judgment or is merely much more of a judge than the other judges: the sense in which Jesus is a judge is a subversion from within of the notion of judgment. The judgment that excluded the former blind man is revealed as the judgment (also discernment) that the expellers are really blind.
Imagine a world in which the judgments of the day are not how we begin things. That would be a world in which each one of God's children would be seen and treated as though they are the beloved of God - and by that, the beloved of all of us. When people are our beloved, there is a good chance, we will see them with new eyes. We may not be so willing to judge their actions or inaction We may not be so willing to make note of the differences among us and make those differences issues that create or build divisions. We will see the truth of God's love that does not let anyone go. Then again, we must remember that as we 'expel others' we are - as Alison note - really blind. That is, blind to the reconciling love of God among us.
Connection: Seeing the other as beloved is no easy piece of work. I know it is not that way for me. And yet, the Spirit of our Lord continues to tickle us with that vision of wholeness that we so often want to reject. It is just too easy to draw a line or make a judgment that separates in order to make our world into one we want - that, as always, is idolatry.
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