Pandemic Worship March 22, 2020: Who Sinned?

A “socially distanced” worship service during a time of pandemic for St. Peter Lutheran Church in Greene, Iowa. March 22 is the fourth Sunday in Lent, and our readings are Psalm 23 and John 9:1-15, the story of Jesus healing the blind man. 

Grace to you and peace, from the One who was, who is, and who is to come, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

When I was in high school, I went on a weekend mission trip with a small group from church – a very small group. In fact, it was only two families and one other girl named Paige. Somehow on the way, we decided that if anything went wrong, it was Paige’s fault. Traffic jam? Wrong turn? Somebody having a bad day? We blamed Paige.

I think—I hope—we were all in on the joke. We all knew it was not Paige’s fault if it rained when we were going to eat lunch in the park. Sometimes things just go wrong.

But imagine what it would be like if we weren’t joking, if we truly believed everything that went wrong had to have an explanation.

Put yourself in the shoes of the man in that Gospel story. He’s been blind his whole life. And for his whole life, he’s had to put up with people wondering why exactly what the disciples ask out loud: “Whose fault is it? Why did this happen?”

I’m sure the disciples don’t mean anything by it. They’re not teasing the man, or trying to hurt him. They’re trying to learn more about God. And so they ask Jesus, “Who sinned, this man or his parents?” I mean, someone must have done something to deserve this, right? God must be trying to send a message through this guy’s condition.

I think it’s human nature to want to assign blame when something bad happens, or if not to blame, at least to explain. After all, if there’s an explanation, if it’s someone’s fault, then there must be something I can do to avoid having it happen to me. I just have to not do whatever sin that guy did, and I’ll get to keep my sight. It’s a way of feeling in control.




This week especially, I think we’ve all experienced what it’s like to not be in control. Everything feels disrupted right now. People can’t go to work, schools are closed, you can’t visit relatives in nursing homes, we’re not physically together as church. And maybe you’ve noticed, people react to disruption and stress in different ways. Some people shut down. Some people try to pretend everything is normal. Some people suddenly need constant updates to make sure loved ones are ok.

I read something from a psychologist that even hoarding toilet paper is a way of trying to feel in control, because it’s something big and bulky that you can get for not too much money, and if you fill your closet with it, well, then it really feels like you’ve done something to stay on top of all the changes happening around you.

So, who sinned? What message is God sending? If we can just figure out who’s fault it is, then we’ll be able to manage the crisis.

As it turns out, the disciples are partially right. God is trying to send a message. But it’s not a message of punishment, Jesus says, but an example for us to follow.

The man’s blindness is not a result of sin. Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. This is an opportunity for Jesus to do God’s work.

Be careful here. I don’t believe Jesus is saying God caused the man to be born blind. That’s a slippery slope to saying God causes people to get cancer, or causes car accidents. That’s not the way God works. The man’s blindness is an opportunity for God’s work to be done, an opportunity for God’s goodness to be revealed, but God did not set this man’s life up just to be an object lesson.

The situation we are in right now is full of opportunities for God’s work to be done, yet I don’t believe God caused a pandemic to kill thousands of people. This world is not as God meant it to be, and yet God is working to redeem it.

The disciples got hung up on trying to interpret a message in the man’s suffering. Jesus moved to meet his needs.

As the people of God, rather than trying to assign blame, rather than getting stuck looking for an explanation, we are called to do as Jesus did and respond to those who are suffering. We’re called to love our neighbor as best we can, whether that’s by staying away from people so as to not infect them, by supporting those fearful of job loss, or just reaching out to those who are lonely or afraid.

It’s ok to not feel in control, to feel overwhelmed, to wonder and to worry about what’s happening, even to get upset at all the disruptions around us. And it’s ok to ask for help.

But in the midst of this pandemic, look for opportunities to follow Jesus’ example. Look for the opportunities all around us to do God’s work. May God open our eyes to see them, that we may love our neighbors in Jesus’ name. Amen