Sunday, March 15, 2026 – Lent 4
First Congregational Church of Cheshire
© the Rev. Dr. James Campbell
John 9:1-41
As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am he.” But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then 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 mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided. So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.”
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, 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 worshiped him. Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see may see and those who do see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees who were with 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.
On March 19, 2014, a man named Fred Phelps died. And when Fred died, people around the world rejoiced. When Fred died, I rejoiced. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I did.
So just who was this Fred Phelps that so many people were glad to see him go? Well, he was the pastor and founder of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. Maybe you’ve heard of them.
These folks are best known for their protests at the funerals of people in the news, like fallen soldiers, and the children of Sandy Hook, and the murdered patrons of the Pulse nightclub. They stand outside with their bullhorns and placards, declaring that these deaths are the judgment of a very angry God, who just happens to hate all the same people they do.
They use the Bible as justification for their actions and their attitudes. And they feel righteous in what they are doing. They believe that they are prophets, warning us all of the judgment to come.
So, when Fred died, people rejoiced. But here’s the thing: before Fred did all that damage in the world; before he inflicted such needless pain, Fred Phelps actually did some good. His New York Times obituary revealed that before Fred began to preach hate, he was a very successful civil rights attorney. He took on the cases that no one else wanted, and won many of them. At one time, Phelps’s law firm made up 1/3 of the state of Kansas’s federal docket of civil rights cases. There was even a local chapter of the NAACP that honored him with an award.
Which begs the question: what on earth happened to Fred? How did this one so full of promise become so full of darkness? How did Fred lose his vision of the love of Jesus? Sadly, the answer to that question is religion.
Religion can let loose a lot of hatred in our world. Religion is at the root of much of the anger now plaguing our country. And sadly, this is nothing new. In the wrong hands, religion has always been a powerful weapon of control and manipulation. And sometimes it makes this pastor despair.
There once was a man who had been born blind. And in that world and in that time, everyone thought that there had to be someone to blame for this misfortune. Their religion had taught them that. So, it was really no surprise when the disciples asked Jesus: “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” But Jesus didn’t buy into their presupposition. Instead, he replied: “Nobody sinned. But this illness will be an avenue for the glory of God.” And, by the way, all of this transpired on the Sabbath.
What happened next is strange as strange can be. Jesus spat on the ground and made a muddy poultice of saliva and dirt. And then, he rubbed it on the blind man’s eyes and told him to go wash it away in the public bath. And lo and behold, when the mud fell off, for the first time ever, this man who had never seen his own face, now saw it reflected in the water.
When his neighbors saw the man, with his sparkling, curious eyes, they didn’t even recognize him. They had always defined him by what he didn’t have. Even when he told them who he was, they didn’t believe him. And so, they took him to the religious authorities to have all this checked out. But when the man described how Jesus had made some mud and rubbed it on his eyes, the authorities were incensed because the act of kneading mud was one of 39 things that was expressly forbidden to do on the Sabbath.
Well, that sealed the deal. Jesus could not be from God because he has broken the rules. And that meant the miracle could also not be divine. Therefore, this man had to be a fraud. And so, they decided to prove it. They called his parents in for a conference. But the parents were no fools. When the religious authorities asked them how it was that their once-blind son could now see, they replied: “He’s an adult. Ask him.” And then they went home.
When they asked the man again about how he had received his sight, this time his answer was bolder still. Maybe his self-esteem had been repaired along with his vision. Whatever the case, his new attitude was just too much for these religious people who thought they knew everything about the way God works. And so, they kicked him out.
It was at that precise moment that Jesus reappeared looking for the man. And the two of them talked about who Jesus was and what he came to do. And the man believed it. And he worshipped Jesus - the only time anyone worships Jesus in the entire Gospel of John. And then Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.”
Which takes me back to the tragic character of Fred Phelps. Doesn’t old Fred seem to be a poignant example of the second part of Jesus’s enigmatic statement about those who see becoming blind?
Now, truth be told, we much prefer our sermon stories to go the other way. We want stories about people who gain their sight, not about people who are blinded by the light. Wouldn’t it be better if old Fred had once been a hateful bigot who was saved by Jesus and then became an award-winning civil rights attorney? Then we could all feel good and praise God together for the miracle of someone who once was blind but now he sees.
But the truth is, that is not how everyone responds to the light of Christ. Some people, in the blaze of all that glory and the brightness of all that love, lose their sight. They shut their eyes. They refuse to see what is right in front of them. For some folks, the simple fact that love always wins is just too much of a challenge to the way they want the world to be; and the vengeance and fire and fury they seek to exact.
But truth be told, that also makes me wonder about myself. Because I am remembering all those times I hated Fred. Oh, it seemed perfectly reasonable, respectable even. Because Fred had done so much damage. He had compounded so much misery. He beat his chest and yelled at the world and bullied everyone around him. And he seemed to delight in the pain of it all. So, when he died, I thought: maybe the hell he used to threaten everyone else with is exactly what he deserves.
Except that when Fred died, he saw everything clearly – maybe for the first time ever. In the presence of Jesus, his eyes were opened. The mud of his religion and pride and anger was washed away. And in the presence of all that pure light and amazing grace, is it really so hard to believe that Fred was truly sorry for all that he had not seen?
And I can either hold onto that hope for someone like Fred, or I can choose to be blind.
First Congregational Church of Cheshire
© the Rev. Dr. James Campbell
John 9:1-41
As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am he.” But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then 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 mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided. So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.”
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, 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 worshiped him. Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see may see and those who do see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees who were with 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.
On March 19, 2014, a man named Fred Phelps died. And when Fred died, people around the world rejoiced. When Fred died, I rejoiced. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I did.
So just who was this Fred Phelps that so many people were glad to see him go? Well, he was the pastor and founder of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. Maybe you’ve heard of them.
These folks are best known for their protests at the funerals of people in the news, like fallen soldiers, and the children of Sandy Hook, and the murdered patrons of the Pulse nightclub. They stand outside with their bullhorns and placards, declaring that these deaths are the judgment of a very angry God, who just happens to hate all the same people they do.
They use the Bible as justification for their actions and their attitudes. And they feel righteous in what they are doing. They believe that they are prophets, warning us all of the judgment to come.
So, when Fred died, people rejoiced. But here’s the thing: before Fred did all that damage in the world; before he inflicted such needless pain, Fred Phelps actually did some good. His New York Times obituary revealed that before Fred began to preach hate, he was a very successful civil rights attorney. He took on the cases that no one else wanted, and won many of them. At one time, Phelps’s law firm made up 1/3 of the state of Kansas’s federal docket of civil rights cases. There was even a local chapter of the NAACP that honored him with an award.
Which begs the question: what on earth happened to Fred? How did this one so full of promise become so full of darkness? How did Fred lose his vision of the love of Jesus? Sadly, the answer to that question is religion.
Religion can let loose a lot of hatred in our world. Religion is at the root of much of the anger now plaguing our country. And sadly, this is nothing new. In the wrong hands, religion has always been a powerful weapon of control and manipulation. And sometimes it makes this pastor despair.
There once was a man who had been born blind. And in that world and in that time, everyone thought that there had to be someone to blame for this misfortune. Their religion had taught them that. So, it was really no surprise when the disciples asked Jesus: “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” But Jesus didn’t buy into their presupposition. Instead, he replied: “Nobody sinned. But this illness will be an avenue for the glory of God.” And, by the way, all of this transpired on the Sabbath.
What happened next is strange as strange can be. Jesus spat on the ground and made a muddy poultice of saliva and dirt. And then, he rubbed it on the blind man’s eyes and told him to go wash it away in the public bath. And lo and behold, when the mud fell off, for the first time ever, this man who had never seen his own face, now saw it reflected in the water.
When his neighbors saw the man, with his sparkling, curious eyes, they didn’t even recognize him. They had always defined him by what he didn’t have. Even when he told them who he was, they didn’t believe him. And so, they took him to the religious authorities to have all this checked out. But when the man described how Jesus had made some mud and rubbed it on his eyes, the authorities were incensed because the act of kneading mud was one of 39 things that was expressly forbidden to do on the Sabbath.
Well, that sealed the deal. Jesus could not be from God because he has broken the rules. And that meant the miracle could also not be divine. Therefore, this man had to be a fraud. And so, they decided to prove it. They called his parents in for a conference. But the parents were no fools. When the religious authorities asked them how it was that their once-blind son could now see, they replied: “He’s an adult. Ask him.” And then they went home.
When they asked the man again about how he had received his sight, this time his answer was bolder still. Maybe his self-esteem had been repaired along with his vision. Whatever the case, his new attitude was just too much for these religious people who thought they knew everything about the way God works. And so, they kicked him out.
It was at that precise moment that Jesus reappeared looking for the man. And the two of them talked about who Jesus was and what he came to do. And the man believed it. And he worshipped Jesus - the only time anyone worships Jesus in the entire Gospel of John. And then Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.”
Which takes me back to the tragic character of Fred Phelps. Doesn’t old Fred seem to be a poignant example of the second part of Jesus’s enigmatic statement about those who see becoming blind?
Now, truth be told, we much prefer our sermon stories to go the other way. We want stories about people who gain their sight, not about people who are blinded by the light. Wouldn’t it be better if old Fred had once been a hateful bigot who was saved by Jesus and then became an award-winning civil rights attorney? Then we could all feel good and praise God together for the miracle of someone who once was blind but now he sees.
But the truth is, that is not how everyone responds to the light of Christ. Some people, in the blaze of all that glory and the brightness of all that love, lose their sight. They shut their eyes. They refuse to see what is right in front of them. For some folks, the simple fact that love always wins is just too much of a challenge to the way they want the world to be; and the vengeance and fire and fury they seek to exact.
But truth be told, that also makes me wonder about myself. Because I am remembering all those times I hated Fred. Oh, it seemed perfectly reasonable, respectable even. Because Fred had done so much damage. He had compounded so much misery. He beat his chest and yelled at the world and bullied everyone around him. And he seemed to delight in the pain of it all. So, when he died, I thought: maybe the hell he used to threaten everyone else with is exactly what he deserves.
Except that when Fred died, he saw everything clearly – maybe for the first time ever. In the presence of Jesus, his eyes were opened. The mud of his religion and pride and anger was washed away. And in the presence of all that pure light and amazing grace, is it really so hard to believe that Fred was truly sorry for all that he had not seen?
And I can either hold onto that hope for someone like Fred, or I can choose to be blind.
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