“What Kind of Mud-Person Are You?” 

John 9 

What kind of mud-person are you? There are different kinds of mud-people you know. 

There's the kind of mud-person who, when he gets mud on himself, washes it off right away. He doesn't like feeling dirty. He then looks around, to clean the mud off of everything else. 

There's the kind of mud-person who, though she doesn't have a particular problem with the mud, is concerned about what others will think, that you're dirty and so she tries to hide the mud from everyone else. 

There's the kind of mud-person who's just plain afraid to get muddy for one reason or another. Are you one of these? 

Or are you the kind of person who, when you get a little muddy, think it is an opportunity for fun, a chance to get real muddy, and you look for more? Are you the kind of mud person who just loves mud, who at a summer rock festival loves to take a running start and dives into the mud pit and doesn't stop until every inch of you is covered? 

What kind of mud-person are you? Think back to when you were a kid, did you like mud? Did you revel in it, or run from it? One of my early memories is eating mud in some playground. Don't ask me why. 

I am asking because this story from the bible, from the gospel of John-centuries old, inspired by the Holy Spirit-is about mud people, different kinds of mud-people. Perhaps I should put it this way, the story is about what people do with the mud that Jesus makes. 

This story is not primarily about Jesus himself, at least not directly. He is certainly an important player, the author of the action, but really he is only around in the beginning and the end; a mere 13 verses out of the whole 41 that we heard. In these 13 verses, Jesus plays with mud. In the heart of the story, the other 28 verses, we see how the others react. 

First we have the Pharisees, among whom are those opposed to Jesus; those who cannot see beyond the rules and regulations of their faith. They cannot get over the fact that Jesus has played with mud on the Sabbath. You're not supposed to do that. They cannot receive what the mud proclaims: that God is doing something new, something powerful, something unexpected. 

They only see the mud as a threat. They are so averse to the mud and what it represents, that they not only quickly wash themselves of it, they do their best to eradicate any sign of it. They get their spiritual wash clothes and start scrubbing away wherever they see a speck. Eventually, these kinds of mud-people will kill the mud-maker. 

Then there are the parents of the muddy man born blind. We don't know what they think about the mud itself. We don't even hear any thankfulness that their own son has been healed by the mud. What we do hear is that they are afraid of the first kind of mud-person. They don't want to have anything to do with the mud because they fear the scrubbing of the clean freaks. 

Then there is the man himself, blind from birth. The subject of theological debate. Marginalized because he must be paying for some sin, whether his own or his families. Here with this nameless individual, we have the model mud-person. He allows Jesus to spread mud on his eyes, mud made with Jesus own spit. Perhaps he was so desperate he would try anything. When he washes at Jesus' direction his eyes are opened. He can see! This is only the beginning of the story. 

As the long chapter unfolds, he is tried and tested. He is questioned and threatened. He is scoffed at and driven out of the synagogue, the focal point of his faith. Through it all, he does not forget the mud, and what it did for him. He sticks to it. He continues to proclaim what the mud did for him. He grows in understanding of the person who made the mud. When pushed to it, he gets in a few licks of his own on the ones who are trying to scrub him clean of that “Jesus mud.” 

In the end, he shows us that there is more than one kind of mud in this story. There is the mud that Jesus puts on his physical eyes. This is the mud we see, the mud we can touch, and feel, and taste if you are so inclined. This mud heals his eyes. 

Then there is the mud you can't see. This is the mud that heals the eyes of his spirit, that opens his eyes to a savior. While this mud is more enigmatic, more elusive, and less easily defined, it certainly sticks. And when it lands on you, or more precisely, when Jesus lovingly spreads it on your spiritual eyes, it changes you in ways so much more profound. This mud also brings sight where there is blindness. With mud on the eyes of his body and also on the eyes of his Spirit he responds and proclaims, “I believe.” 

Here we have this sacrament that we receive this morning. In this cup we have wine and bread. This morning I want you to think of these ordinary things as mud. 

This mud is for you. It is offered to all who trust in the one who makes the mud. Like it happened for the man born blind, it is offered to open our eyes to a new kind of seeing. 

What will we do with this mud that Jesus makes? 

When we are under stress, we tend to see things differently. We look at ourselves, our relationships, our world through darker lenses, as if the world was a crime scene. We are forever asking what is wrong, what's missing, what doesn't add up, and who is to blame. 

When it comes to church, and when we see all the things that need to be done, we see work to do, burdens to bear, meetings to endure. 

When it comes to the building campaign we think of the things that we wish we could do if we had more money. We think of how long it has taken. We think of how we could do it better if we were on the committee. When we are approached by someone on the building committee we think, “Oh, they just want my money again!” 

In our relationships under stress, we look at our loved ones as if they are suspects. We see differences and despair at how they can be overcome. We look at their short comings, their faults, their weaknesses. When we come together after being apart for the day, we first think of the things that our spouse, or child, or parent, didn't do, or did wrong, or we exasperatedly ask, “What do you want from me now?” We focus on the “me”. 

If we are the self critical sort, we look at our own faults, our own short comings, our weaknesses, and we dwell on them. 

This is how the Pharisees in the story saw things. Truth be told, there is Pharisee in all of us.

But Jesus this morning says, “Here's mud in your eye!” 

As he gently spreads goop on your eyes, Jesus whispers, “Life is not a problem to be solved. It is possibility to be explored. I am the light of the world, let me brighten things up for you.” 

When it comes to faith, instead of seeing duty and burden, we can see opportunity to celebrate God's goodness, opportunity to participate in something meaningful, opportunity to grow and order our lives as God intends, and opportunity to give until it feels great! “Here is a vision for ministry and I can be a part of it!” 

In our relationships, instead of picking others apart, we can see goodness and growth. We can see the gifts that each of us has. We can see the things we share, and celebrate the diversity that sets us apart as unique. Instead of driving out, we can bring in. Instead of the cold shoulder, with open eyes and spirits we can offer the warm embrace. We can see the innate worth and beauty in each and every one of us. 

“Here's mud in your eye.” Jesus says this morning. 

He invites us to see, and say, with the man once blind but blind no longer, “I believe. Lord, I believe.” Amen. 

      March 2, 2008

Rev. Paul Heins

First Presbyterian Church

Logan, Utah