A theological word that seems have entered into the vocabulary of many armchair theologians in this country is the word and concept of “karma”. People talk about instant karma, bad karma, good karma, karma is a blank, et cetera. When most people talk about karma in this way, they are not even talking about the concept of karma as the Eastern religions of Hinduism and Buddhism teach it, as it pertains to reincarnation which, by the way, is also false. Very often they are using karma to describe the thought that there is a causal relationship between what you do or have done and what happens or will happen to you and what you receive as a result in the here and now. In other words, you get what you deserve based on your actions. If you have been bad then some kind of cosmic energy will end up punishing you, if you have done something good, then something good will come back around and help you at some point in time. This karma concept is a false teaching; a false teaching which is not Scriptural and therefore not Christian. The idea behind it, however, is nothing new. In fact, we see the effects of this cruel and false teaching in today’s Gospel text.
“Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” the disciples asked Jesus. There is no question as to why bad things happen to some people in the minds of the disciples or the Pharisees in our text. They had it all figured it out. Bad things happened to people because they deserved it. They believed that God specifically judges people or persons in this life as a result of their specific sin. There may be some truth to the statement that sometimes bad things happen in this life as a direct result of their bad decisions, but it is not consistent and cannot be applied in all cases.
What is true is that ultimately all evil in this world finds its origin in the result of the bad decision of Adam and Eve. By their disobedience, all creation has been subjected to futility and the curse of death brought about by sin. Because of God’s righteous judgment upon sin now there are weeds, earthquakes, floods, droughts, mosquito bites, dog bites, blood, sweat, and tears. There are illnesses, weaknesses, blindness, deafness, birth defects, old age and even death. Much of this cannot be blamed on anyone’s willful sin or decision but is part of this fallen world. However, the evil actions here in life that ought to be restrained and condemned are a direct result of the cruelties of the sinful wicked human heart: unrighteous anger, hate, gossip, hypocrisy, slavery, usury, violence of any kind, war and corruption. Many of the people guilty of such crimes go unpunished in this life, yet many in their wake received much more suffering than their sins would have seemed to deserve. Where is karma in that? I wonder.
The reality is that this life does not show itself to be fair. Whether people want to call it karma or not. The reality is that God will judge and He will avenge, in some cases, here in time, but for sure at the last day. Know that at the last, He will punish evil doers, He will lay waste mountains and hills, even though God allows evil to happen in this world, He restrains it in ways that we do not see. God withholds His righteous wrath more than you, me, and the entire world deserves. It could, in fact, be much worse even as we might think that it could be much better. The fallenness of creation and its futility is used by God as part of His alien work. I am not talking about spaceships and little green men, but the alien work of God is the working of His Law. The Law is at work in creation showing the wrath of God upon sin. This work of the Law has a purpose, it is for people to remember that they are not in charge but should appeal to God for justice and mercy.
You are not God. I am not God. The government is certainly not God. As much as our society wants to live as though they are gods themselves making their own rules and living as they see fit, the fact remains, they are not God, and every so often we are reminded of that when there is an earthquake, a flood, a mudslide, an illness, or a death. The purpose of these works of the Law in creation is to turn people to repentance, to seek out the truth of God’s Word and admit that they are not in control, that they are sinners. It is a wakeup call to realize one’s spiritual condition in light of God’s Law. This leads to repentance and mourning over sin, admitting that one has been spiritually blind as diagnosed by the Law. Only then can the healing of the Gospel take place. That was the lesson within the Gospel lesson for today. The blindness of the man was not a result of his specific sin, nor because he deserved it more than any other man, but “that the works of God might be displayed in him” as Jesus said. These “works of God” are the proper workings of God which Jesus came to reveal and to perform: namely to perform mercy, to show love, to give healing and forgiveness through His Word and in His actions. The healing of the blind man using mud and saliva with the washing of the water at the pool of Siloam pointed to the reality that the greater shame is not physical blindness but spiritual blindness. This blind man was made to see physically, but more importantly, he was made to see Jesus as the Son of Man and Son of God. The Jewish leaders and Pharisees were blinded by their unbelief and in their hypocrisy and cruelty could not see Jesus as anything but a sinner and false teacher because He healed someone on the Sabbath. They did not understand and could not fathom that mercy and not punishment is the proper work of God. To them this mercy was foolishness. Behold the irony that they, the learned teachers of the Law, were shown to be spiritually blind and ignorant and in need of instruction by the witness of the one who had been born physically blind, the one whom they believed was more a sinner than they. What the formerly blind man said to the Pharisees that made them so angry and respond, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” is this: He had said, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
The wonderful reality is that Jesus was from God and was and is God. He came to reveal that there is no such thing as Karma which does not explain evil or mercy. Jesus came to end the blindness of unbelief, to show the true and proper workings of God’s love and mercy despite what humanity deserves. We deserve far worse than blindness, because of sin and rebellion all mankind deserves to be laid waste and sent to hell forever. This alien work of God’s judgment and righteous anger is not His desire for humanity; therefore He sent Jesus to suffer His Father’s wrath as the Son of Man upon the cross of crucifixion. Jesus took what you deserved. He became sin so that you and I might be born again through the washing of water and the Word, that our sins might be crucified through His blood. Now through repentance and faith we have been remade children of the light no more subject to the darkness, no longer blind and scraping about for answers. We have been brought to salvation and to the hope that is in Jesus Christ. We will not receive the full suffering which our sins have deserved. Now through faith, as here in Absolution for Jesus Christ’s sake the Father has declared you guiltless and has declared Himself blind to your past sins and deaf to your former blasphemies. Those sins are now in the past, and in the present, He gives you the power of His Holy Spirit to put to death again your old sinful self as it has been drowned in baptism. You are a new creation in Jesus Christ. You may rejoice in doing good works and by serving Him in your vocation, by being His instrument of witness mercy and love to all around you. When you witness to the love which He has shown you as your speak Law and Gospel to the world, they may indeed persecute you and reject you, you may be tempted to hypocrisy, and you may fall again into sin, but if you lose sight of that which saves, return here. Return to the cross, repent, call out to the master and creator and He will come to your aid. He will restore your spiritual sight and your strength here in the message that again you are forgiven for Jesus Christ’s sake. Come here and receive the body given for you and the blood shed for you. Here He will restore you bodily and spiritually and prepare you for the eternal life which is granted you for Jesus Christ’s sake. You have been blessed with more than you deserve in this life for the sake of Jesus Christ, but the best is yet to come in His resurrection which is also your resurrection in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pr. Aaron Kangas