Division - Making Scripture Relevant
The interaction between Jesus and the Blind Man was simple. Jesus saw a man with a need he could satisfy and he did exactly that. However, many in the village missed out on the miracle. Why? Because they were too distracted by what they thought they needed instead of allowing God to provide us with what we need.
You see, Jesus wasn’t supposed to “work” on the Sabbath but he did. He gave a man who had been born blind his sight and the man was grateful. When he was called to the Synagogue the Blind Man who could now see told the Elders what happened. They simply couldn’t see past the fact that someone, Jesus, had “worked” on the Sabbath…he MUST be a sinner!
Then, because the Elders couldn’t make sense of the Blind Man gaining his sight, they determined that he must not be the man they know who was born blind. So, they call upon his parents to come and testify. The parents were afraid, they didn’t know what to say, other than, ask our son.
It makes me laugh that the Elders called the Blind Man back to tell them what happened but his story remained the same. He tells them how Jesus spit on the dirt and made clay to wipe on the man’s eyes, then instructed him to wash after which he was able to see. The Blind Man said, “This is what is so amazing, that you do not know where he (Jesus) is from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him. It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything.” Upon saying those words, the Blind Man was thrown out of the Synagogue.
Jesus said he came to bring us life in abundance but he also came to bring division. The type of division that we hear about in Matthew’s Gospel about the final judgement; they will be separated into sheep and goats (Matthew:25:32).
Today, March 22, 2020 the world is fighting a pandemic. The division of people is everywhere. There are countries closing borders, restricting travel, service and entertainment jobs revoked, schools closed and nursing homes on lock-down. Division is everywhere…why? It’s the same as in the Gospel. Fear.
People fear what is unknown. At the time Jesus gave the Blind Man his sight, it was unknown to have miracles of this magnitude happen, especially by someone who was doing it outside of the law. Today, there is fear of not being able to provide for our own basic needs for an unknown amount of time. When people become fearful, they self-protect, they become anxious and they can become close-minded.
Fear of the unknown certainly causes division among everyone! As I said, we see it in the Gospel reading and we see evidence of it in the world today. Instead of resisting what is true, I pray each of us can be more like the Blind Man and trust in God to clear our eyes (and our heads from worry/stress) so we can see that through a life of sacrifice and discipline, we can grow together in faith.
Instead of resisting what the restrictions that are being set (for our protection and safety of others), I pray we can trust the leaders who are making these difficult decisions have our best interests in mind. We have a choice; we can be sheep or goats.
A few years back, I heard a man named, Eric Buell share how there are times in our lives when we can feel overwhelmed, like we don’t have control and we can’t see what is ahead. He told us to “encourage the storm” and embrace the fear, the unknown. I see this today as the choice to either go all in and trust by adhering to the guidelines and restrictions set for our safety or we can resist and become bitter. I choose to “encourage the storm” and ride it through to the end, embracing each new opportunity I am given to practice love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
