When blindness goes viral

The story of Jesus healing the man who was born blind is found in John 9. Pastor Phil Kniss pointed out that the story of the healing is only two verses long, and the other 39 verses are taken up with arguments between various people. Throughout all of this story, the only person  really interested in the blind man is Jesus. The story begins with one blind man surrounded by people who can see, and ends with this same man, now able to see, surrounded by people who are blind. Blindness has gone viral. Pastor Phil stated that this same condition is ripe in the church and our society today, around the issue of how we view same-sex relationships. Our fears and strongly held beliefs can blind us to engaging our brothers ans sisters in a loving way. Can we as a church model a different way of relating in the midst of differences instead of re-playing the bitter comedy of John 9:1-41? We all suffer from partial blindness. Can we open ourselves to the God who brings light, who heals blindness?