What’s new under the sun? Nothing (Eccl. 1:9). Cancel culture, too? Yup, it’s been there done that.

Reading in John 9 again this morning — in the middle of three days of some of my favorite readings in my reading plan. Love setting the table every fall with the account of the seeing blind man.

Born blind from birth, this man encounters Jesus. And with a little spit and a little dirt, Jesus puts a mud pack on the guy’s eyes and says, “Go wash it off in the pool of Siloam.” The guy goes, the guy does, and the man born blind “came back seeing.” Now things get interesting.

Enter the Jews. Not happy about a seeing blind man who says Jesus was the one who gave him sight. Sounds like a God thing. But they refuse to believe Jesus is from God. So they spin the God thing as really being an evil thing, because the day on which Jesus made mud to open this guy’s eyes was the Sabbath. Sounds like Jesus is a Sabbath-breaker to them. Forget that He’s also a blindness-breaker and sight-giver. Interrogation time.

First they talk to the guy. But hard to have an argument with a blind guy about him being healed of his blindness when that guy’s looking you straight in the eye. Time to grill his parents.

The Jews did not believe this about him ​— ​that he was blind and received sight ​— ​until they summoned the parents of the one who had received his sight.

They asked them, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”

“We know this is our son and that he was born blind,” his parents answered. “But we don’t know how he now sees, and we don’t know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he’s of age. He will speak for himself.” His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews, since the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him as the Messiah, he would be banned from the synagogue. This is why his parents said, “He’s of age; ask him.”

(John 9:18-23 CSB)

Banned from the synagogue. Kinda’ sounds like cancel culture to me. Being shunned for looking at the same facts and coming up with a different conclusion — even when that conclusion seems to be the most plausible conclusion. And so, the seeing blind guy’s parents take the Fifth. Despite the fact that their kid is now looking into their faces for the first time, they are not prepared to call it a miracle or to consider that Jesus, the One who gave their boy sight, possibly is the Messiah. Nope, not going there. ‘Cause they want to go to church on Saturday.

But their boy? Well, a seeing blind guy doesn’t have the luxury of not taking a stand.

So a second time they summoned the man who had been blind and told him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.”

He answered, “Whether or not he’s a sinner, I don’t know. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I can see! . . .

“. . . Throughout history no one has ever heard of someone opening the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, He wouldn’t be able to do anything.”

(John 9:24-25, 32-33 CSB)

Give glory to God, they say. I will, he says. Tell us the One who healed you is a sinner ’cause He did it on the Sabbath, they say (remember, they’re not disputing the miracle — after all they are nose to nose with this guy, looking into his twinkling eyes). Can’t tell you that, the seeing blind guys says. All I know is that I once was blind but now I see. And Jesus did it! To God be the glory!

Canceled or not, we can’t help but testify of what Jesus has done for us . . . and to us. Foolishness or not, the cross is our confession, Popular or not, the blood is our belief. Deemed in our right minds or not, the resurrection is the reason we own Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Blind people seeing; that’s who we are. Once in darkness, but now children of light. Once in bondage, but now free.

Canceled or not, because of the grace of God we can’t help but give glory to God!

Amen?