After reading today's passage from John, I went back into Matthew, the source of recent readings from the Revised Common Lectionary, to review some of the references to eyes and found, among others, these: "Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye." (Matt 7:5); the story of the healing of two blind men (Matt 9:30); and "But blessed are your eyes: for they see; and your ears for they hear." (Matt 8:16) There are also many references to light and darkness, seeing and not seeing, understanding and missing the kernel of truth threaded through these passages about eyes, and the like.
I say this because verse 16 stood out to me today. So often, we think that all of the Pharisees opposed Jesus; this passage says "some" felt he was not of God because he did not keep the Sabbath day. Others wondered why a sinner could do miracles.
In every age since the story of the healing of this blind man took place, most of us have gone along, doing our worship of God in almost the same way we have always done it, feeling right about it, feeling comfortable. And every once in a while, someone or something enters the picture and shocks our vision. In this case, the upstart itinerant preacher from the Galilee performs miracles on the Sabbath day in the name of the one who sent him. The villagers, the Pharisees, and even the man's parents were comfortable with the man's blindness. He was a beggar and outsider, but they were used to that. They were uncomfortable with his ability to see and how he came to see...some of the Pharisees cast him out.
Jesus had told the disciples early on in the story that "neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." (v.3) Jesus was showing all of the characters here a new way to understand and that caused division among the Pharisees (v.16). It takes courage to see with new vision.
It does take courage to see with new vision. There is lovely prayer that includes the request "God be in my eyes, and in my looking." One of the great reasons for going to church Sunday by Sunday is to correct our vision, so that we might gain a fresh perspective each day. How is it that two people can look on the same experience and draw radically different conclusions from it? Some let life's disasters overwhelm them, while others learn to rise through them. Learning to see with the eyes of spiritual understanding, which a prayerful approach to the scriptures enables us to do, is one of the great goals of Christian discipleship , until that glorious Day when our faith shall be sight, and "We shall see Him as He is, for we shall be like Him."
ReplyDelete