162: Tom Rundel: Jesus Performs and Unauthorized Miracle
from Liminal Living Hosted by Liminal Living
Episode Summary Jesus heals a man born blind using mud and spit — a deliberate echo of Genesis 2 and a declaration that the sacred arrives through the physical, not despite it. But the miracle is almost beside the point. The real story is what happens next: a twenty-verse interrogation by the Pharisees who cannot allow this healing to mean what it means, because it would unravel the world they've built. The disciples' first question — "Who sinned?" — reveals a theology of retribution that places the cause of suffering in the body of the sufferer rather than in the structures that produced it. Jesus dismantles the question entirely: Neither this man nor his parents sinned. With one word — neither — he breaks open the either/or logic that has defined this man's entire life. We also examine what it means that the man's parents are too afraid to speak, that the formerly blind man ends up being the freest person in the room, and why Jesus' final words to the Pharisees are among the most quietly devastating in all of Scripture: "Since you say you can see, your sin remains." Lent is the season that teaches us how to see — not just what to see. This episode is an invitation to ask: what are we most certain about, and could that certainty be the very thing obscuring our sight? Key Themes The theology of retribution and why the church must repent of it Incarnation: why Jesus healed with mud, not just a word The Pool of Siloam and its prophetic significance Power, narrative control, and how systems respond to unauthorized transformation Perceptual confirmation bias as a spiritual condition The freedom of those who have nothing left to lose Sponsors Kineo Center: https://www.thekineocenter.com/cohort (mention "Liminal" in Application for $100 off) Monk Manual: https://monkmanual.com/LIMINAL (10% off all merchandise) Connect Find us on the web: https://liminalliving.simplecast.com/ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liminalliving Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCseqDsKpQv2r7AbFfrWF0ow Follow us on Patheos: patheos.com/editorial/podcasts/liminal-living
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What this episode covers
What if the most dangerous blindness is the kind that doesn't know it's blind? In this episode, Pastor Tom explores one of the most psychologically rich and theologically challenging passages in John's Gospel — the healing of the man born blind. What begins as a miracle story quickly becomes a courtroom drama, a liberation text, and a mirror held up to every system — religious or otherwise — that has ever made peace with suffering by blaming its victims.
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