The Fourth Sunday in Lent: John 9:1-41 - The Rev. Colette Hammesfahr

 

            John 9:1-41, March 15, 2026

            Most of you may remember the children’s show Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood on PBS. Fred Rogers once said that when he was a little boy and saw scary things in the news, he would get frightened. His mother would say to him, when you see scary or bad things happening, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

            That is a wise thing to say to a child who is scared. She was not pretending that what he saw was not real. Scary things do happen. Bad things do happen. What she was doing was giving him a way to look at the world when it felt frightening. She was teaching him where to turn when fear began to take over.

            “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

            I have thought a lot about that this week, because I think many of us know what it feels like to live through a stretch of time when there has been a lot to carry. There have been ups and downs. There has been grief, worry, and stress. There have been moments when it would have been very easy to ask, “Why?” Why is this happening? Why now? Why one more thing? Why this person? Why this family? Why this church?

            “Why?” is not necessarily a bad question. It is a very human question. It is usually the first question we ask when people are hurting. I read something to those attending this week’s healing service. The writer wrote that when people face loss or tragedy, they need to be careful not to get trapped in the “why” question, but to move toward the “how” question instead. Because “why” often leads nowhere. But “how” is a question with answers. How do we walk through this? How do we live through this? How do we find our way forward? How does God meet us here?

            In today’s gospel, the disciples begin with a “why” question. They see a man who has been blind from birth, and they ask Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” They want an explanation. They want a reason. They want something they can make sense of.

            But Jesus does not answer the way they expect. He does not point a finger. He does not assign blame. He does not turn this man into a parable about what somebody did wrong. Instead, Jesus turns toward the man. And he does not only speak. He acts. He kneels in the dust. He makes mud with his own hands. He touches the man’s eyes. He sends him to wash. And the man comes back seeing.

            That miracle is not only about sight restored. It is also about dignity restored. It is about a man who has been talked about finally being cared for. It is about a man others keep at a distance being touched by mercy. It is about Jesus refusing to leave him in the middle of everyone else’s questions.

            The point of the story is not simply that a man who lived without sight can now see. The point is that the people around him do not see him. All they see is a question. They see a problem. They see something they want Jesus to explain. But Jesus sees a person. The disciples want to stand back and talk about him. Jesus steps forward and meets him.

            People get reduced to categories, labels, and explanations. People get talked about more than cared for. When someone is hurting, we often want to figure it out before we are willing to sit beside them. When someone is grieving or sick or overwhelmed, people rush to answers because answers make us feel safer.

            We still ask some version of the disciples’ question all the time. Whose fault is this? What caused this? How did this happen? But most of us know by now that pain does not always come with an explanation that helps. Why did this person die too soon? Why did this diagnosis come? Why did this season become so heavy? Why does life sometimes change so quickly?

            Those questions are real. They are honest. But they do not always bring peace. And that is why I think moving from “why” to “how” matters so much. Not because “why” is wrong, but because “how” can help us live. How do we care for one another now? How do we keep loving each other now? How do we keep trusting God now? How do we walk through this without losing heart? How will grace meet us here?

            That is what Jesus does in this story. He does not stay with the disciples’ question of “why?” He leads them toward “how.” How will this man, who has spent so much of his life being spoken about, now be treated with dignity and care?

            Jesus does not give us a tidy answer about suffering. Instead, Jesus meets us in suffering. Jesus sees the person others overlook. Jesus moves toward the person others discuss. Jesus restores dignity where others have brought blame, fear, and distance.

            And there is something else beautiful in this story. The healing of the man does not end the trouble. In some ways, it starts a whole new set of problems. The neighbors question the man. The religious leaders question him. His parents are afraid to say too much. And eventually he is pushed out. But then Jesus comes back for him. Jesus finds him again. I love that part of the story because it tells us something true about the heart of Jesus. Jesus is not only present in the first moment of need. He is still present when the confusion continues. He is still present when others misunderstand. He is still present when someone feels pushed aside. Jesus finds him again.

            And that is good news for us. Because many of us know what it is like to need Jesus to find us again. Not just once. Not just at the first hard moment. But again. When the grief lingers.
When the stress keeps building. When the fear returns. When the answers do not come. When we are tired. When we are trying to hold faith and sorrow in the same heart. Jesus finds people again.

            And very often, one of the ways Jesus does that is through helpers. Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping. In times of fear, look for the ones who show up. Look for the ones who bring calm. Look for the ones who care. Look for the ones who do not need to explain everything, but are willing to stay close.

            And if we are honest, we have seen those helpers all around us. We have seen the one who makes the phone call, the one who sends the note, the one who sits quietly in the room, the one who brings the food, the one who offers the ride, the one who prays when words are hard to find. The one who remembers. The one who checks in again. The one who does not explain your pain away, but reminds you that you are not alone. That is holy work.

            In John 9, Jesus is the helper. He is the one who stops. He is the one who sees. He is the one who moves closer. He is the one who restores dignity. He is the one who comes back. And if we belong to Jesus, then this is how we are sent.

            We are not sent to have an answer for every mystery. We are not sent to explain every pain. We are not sent to decide who is to blame. We are sent to love. We are sent to notice people, to move toward those who are hurting, to sit with those who are grieving, and to protect the dignity of those whom others overlook. We are sent to become helpers.

            Maybe that is the word for us today. Not that every “why” will be answered. Not that every burden will disappear by tomorrow. Not that every hard thing will make sense. But that Christ is still here. Christ is still seeing people. Christ is still finding people again. Christ is still at work in mercy. And Christ is still sending us to be helpers for one another.

            The invitation today is simple. When life feels heavy, look for the helpers. When fear begins to rise, look for the helpers. When grief clouds everything, look for the helpers. And then, by the grace of God, become one. Be the one who notices. Be the one who calls. Be the one who listens. Be the one who stays. Be the one who prays. Be the one who reminds another person that they are seen, loved, and not alone.

            The disciples asked, “Why?” And Jesus showed them “how.” How mercy looks. How love moves. How grace comes near. And that is still the way of Jesus now. Not always answering every “why,” but showing us how to live, how to love, how to care, how to keep walking, and how to trust that even in a hard season, God is still at work.

            So look for the helpers. Look for Christ among them. And let Christ send you out to be one. Amen.