Have mercy on us, O Lord, son of David!

 

 Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him.  And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, son of David!"  Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, son of David!"  So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened."  So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes.  And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.  

 

- Matthew 20:29-34

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."  Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.   And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with, but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

 Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him.  And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, son of David!"  Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, son of David!"  So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened."  So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes.  And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.   My study Bible comments that the two blind men greet Jesus as Lord, which is the common title for God, and also Son of David, a title deeply associated with the Messiah.  Although Jesus knows what we want before we ask, it notes, Jesus calls us to ask freely so that we might learn of His mercy.  There is also a patristic spiritual interpretation to this miracle; in that understanding, the blind men symbolize future generations who would come to faith only by hearing, without the benefit of seeing Christ in person (see John 20:29).  Those who tried to silence the blind men are persecutors and tyrants who, in each generation, try to silence the Church, and still attempt today to do so.  Nonetheless, under persecution, the Church all the more confesses Jesus Christ.

 

 Blindness has an important significance in spiritual terms.  We first might turn to Christ's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount regarding the lamp of the body, or the eye:  "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"  My study Bible interprets this symbolically and spiritually, indicating that Christ is referencing the mind.  It says that the mind (νους/nous in Greek) is the spiritual "eye" of the soul.  It illuminates the inner person and governs the will.  To keep one's mind wholesome and pure is fundamental to the Christian life.  This word for mind in Greek is used widely in Orthodox theology to indicate our capacity for the grasping of spiritual things, and is what is understood to be referenced by Christ in the many times He echoes the words of the prophets regarding spiritual blindness (see Isaiah 6:10, Jeremiah 5:21, Ezekiel 12:2, Matthew 13:15, Acts 28:27, Romans 11:8).  In Matthew 15, Jesus referenced the Pharisees as those who are blind, meaning spiritually blind.  When the disciples asked Him if He knows that the Pharisees were offended by His teaching, He replied, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch" (see Matthew 15:1-20).  But here, by contrast, we are ask to see the poetic symbolism of the Holy Bible in a different way.  For these men, although physically blind, are apparently the only ones in this crowd in Jericho who have true spiritual sight.  They see the truth about Jesus, as is evident in their calling to Him, using correct titles for His authority and Person, such as Lord, and Son of David.  They also perceive enough to know to ask for His mercy, for it is God's mercy in action, even Incarnate, that Jesus embodies for us in the world and in His ministry.  Note also how they are set apart from the crowd, which does not understand Jesus' nature, as evidenced by their attempting to shut down the pleas (read that as "prayers") of the two blind men.  There is also an interesting connection, as occurs in the Gospels from time to time, between the senses of sight and of hearing and of speaking.  For while these blind men may not have the physical use of their sight (their eyes), Jesus stops and encourages them to use what they do have -- their hearing and their ears.  They have already made themselves a chance through the use of their voices, addressing Jesus by true titles, and pleading for mercy.  Here He stops and asks them to explicitly plead or pray for what they want, "What do you want me to do for you?"  They must use their voices to articulate what diminished sense they wish to be restored -- importantly, to be "opened" to them, saying:  "Lord, that our eyes may be opened."  We are told of Jesus' response with compassion, and He touched their eyes, and they immediately they received their sight.  These three components of the story:  Christ's compassion, His healing by touch (that His body is life-giving), and the immediacy of the healing are again all hallmarks of Christ's work in the Gospels.  But let us consider once again that before receiving their physical sight, these formerly blind men first had spiritual sight enough to know who Jesus is, to address Him unceasingly despite the attempts of the crowd to silence them, and to respond to Christ's question in the way they were asked to.  It is their spiritual sight, their inner mind's understanding, that comes first, and makes possible this outcome through faith.  It helps also to understand the context of this miracle, the city of Jericho.  Jericho was a low-lying city strongly associated with sin.  The parable of the Good Samaritan is set on the road to Jericho as travelers there were a frequent target for ambush by bandits.  Sin and blindness, such as the blindness of the crowd that seeks to silence the blind men, are strongly correlated; so Jericho functions as a backdrop of a sinful world into which we're all born.  Blindness of many kinds infiltrates our lives in the ways of the world and its limited understanding and sight of the ways of God, and God's salvation plans for us.  Let us consider also that it is often through affliction that we are visited with opportunities for healing in spiritual terms.  Just as these blind men are encouraged by Jesus to use their other senses to communicate with Him and request what they want so they are drawn out in their expressions of what they want, so our own obstacles and perceived "handicaps" and challenges may also be the instruments of our coming to God, our learning to overcome what hinders us and moving toward Christ in our own lives.  Prayer is so often a response to difficult circumstances, and so such opportunities may be in fact in disguise, so to speak, as the ways in which our true enlightenment may be made possible for us.  Let us consider the poetic reality of the Gospels as well as this dimension of how our spiritual lives and God's presence is at work in the world.  For "we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).  And to this, the blind men testify.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

 

 "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke and departed, and was hidden from them.  But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:

"Lord, who has believed our report?

And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?"

Therefore they could not believe, because Isiah said again:

"He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,

Lest they should see with their eyes,

Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,

So that I should heal them."

These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.

Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. 

 

- John 12:36-43 

 

The setting of yesterday's reading is just after Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, having been welcomed by crowds with a messianic joy, and with all kinds of expectations of Him.  But He began to teach about His coming Passion.  In yesterday's reading, He said, "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save Me from this hour'?  But for this purpose I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your name."  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."  Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered.  Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."  Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.  Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.  The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up/"  Who is this Son of Man?"  Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.

 

 "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke and departed, and was hidden from them.  But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:  "Lord, who has believed our report?  And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?"  Today's reading begins by repeating Jesus' statement from yesterday's reading:  "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  John's Gospel has, from its beginning, referred to Jesus as the light, and here He also refers to Himself as that light (see John 1:4-9; 3:19; 8:12; 9:5; 11:9-10; 12:35).  His emphasis is on faith, belief.  But here we are confronted with non-belief, and how faith exists or does not exist in the heart of a human being.  The quotation is from Isaiah 53:1, a prophesy regarding the Messiah.

Therefore they could not believe, because Isiah said again:  "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them."  These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.  My study Bible notes the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, who teaches that Isaiah's prophecy does not mean that God causes spiritual blindness in people who would otherwise have been faithful.  This is a figure of speech which is common in Scripture, and reveals God as giving people up to their own devices.  There is a similar understanding in Romans 1:24-26.  To say that He has blinded them is to say that God has permitted their self-chosen blindness (compare Exodus 8:15, 32 with Exodus 10:20, 27).  The people did not become blind because God spoke through Isaiah; Isaiah spoke because he foresaw their blindness.  The quotation is from Isaiah 6:10.  Isaiah . . . saw His [Christ's] glory in about 700 BC (Isaiah 6:1) and spoke of Him in many places through the length of his extensive prophecy. 

Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.  According to St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible notes, these rulers are in truth the worst of slaves.  They are enslaved by the opinions of men.  This keeps them from leading as God would have them lead. 

Once again, the Gospel emphasizes that we have a choice.  Belief is a matter of accepting a truth that roots itself in the heart, that comes through the approach of God.  How do we perceive this light?  Where does this perception of light and spiritual truth come from?  Which part of ourselves is capable of discerning it, of taking it in and nurturing it?   In the tradition of Greek philosophy there existed the concept of what in Greek is called the "nous" (pronounced noos).   Some consider it merely to be the intellect, but in the tradition of the Church and theology it came to be understood as the specific faculty capable not just of discursive reason but also of apprehension of things beyond ourselves, spiritual truth, spiritual reality.  It encompasses both mind and heart, in the sense that the heart indicates the center of a person, of the soul, the place that unites soul, spirit, mind:  the intellect and intuition.  This is a place that is not only aware of who we are and what we are, but which can permeate experience with meaning, especially that which is given through prayer and other ways in which the things of God reach to us and communicate with us in the subtle language of this kind of perception.   It is this place of light that constitutes spiritual illumination, and it permeates our lives and the fullness of who we are:  body, soul, spirit, mind -- and mingles with our experiences and our walk in the world.  Hence, Christ's words, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going" (John 12:35).  Prophets and saints throughout the ages saw by this light and spoke by this light.  But clearly, and for all kinds of reasons, this light is neither understood nor perceived by many; there are those who are blind to it, and those who prefer the darkness without it.  At least, this is the language of Scripture, and especially John's Gospel.  Hence, Isaiah's questions, "Lord, who has believed our report?  And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?"  In Christ's foundation parable about Himself, the parable of the Sower, He speaks of many reasons why the seed of His truth does not take root.  One of them is illustrated by allegorical thorns that choke the word, said by Christ to be the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches (Matthew 13:22).  In today's reading, John indicates that for many of the rulers on the Council, the truth of Christ was clear to them, but choked from fruition because "they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God."  They feared exclusion and isolation, being put out of the synagogue by the Pharisees who had chosen as a body to oppose Christ.  (Nonetheless, John's Gospel tells us that Christ had followers among them.  Nicodemus in particular is a Pharisee and also a believer in Christ.)  But this particular fear, of being excluded, socially isolated, stripped of place and position, remains a great power in our world today, and especially through the prominence of social media.  We're all familiar with bullying and what it does, in school among children as well as in the workplace among adults.  We know the impact of exclusion on our lives, psychologically and materially.  We also know the impact that psychological and social isolation can have on our physical health.   But the Scriptures teach us that nonetheless, we are called to faith and to live our faith.  The heroic life of the early believers in Christ makes that clear, and our Savior's Passion sets that example regarding the strongest, highest, and best calling that we have.  We have to consider clearly what a desire to accept this light and live it means to us.  We will always find the compassion and love of God, even when we are called to sacrifice something worldly for that love.  Again, Isaiah asks, "Who has believed our report?  And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?"  The prophets and saints we know chose to live this calling, even at the risk of life, reputation, belonging.  Let us seek God's light for ourselves, and our own particular way we are to live it.  Let us ask for the discernment to walk in the way we're called through the world and the thorns it seeks to bring to us today.  For we are called not to be a part of the darkness of the world -- He calls us out of the world (John 15:19):  to walk in the light and become His children of light.   When we love the praise of men more than the praise of God we so easily stumble in our own darkness, our self-imposed blindness.  

 

 

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world

 

 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.  And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"  Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.  I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."  When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.  And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent).  So he went and washed, and came back seeing.  Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, "Is not this he who sat and begged?"  Some said, "This is he."  Others said, "He is like him."  He said, "I am he."  Therefore they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?"  He answered and said, "A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to this pool of Siloam and wash.'  So I went and washed, and I received sight."  Then they said to him, "Where is He?"  He said, "I do not know."

They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees.  Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.  Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight.  He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see."  Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath."  Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?"  And there was a division among them.  They said to the blind man again, "What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?"  He said, "He is a prophet."

 

- John 9:1-17 

 

In our recent readings, Jesus is attending the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, and it is the final year of His earthly life.  He has been disputing with the Pharisees and others among the religious leaders.  In yesterday's reading, He told them, "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?"  Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.  And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.  Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death."  Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon!  Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.'  Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?  And the prophets are dead.  Who do You make Yourself out to be?"  Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.  It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.  Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him.  And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."  Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"  Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."  Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

 

  Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.  And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"  Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him."  Today's reading gives us the sixth sign of seven recorded in the Gospel of John.  Let us note first that this man was blind from birth.  Of all the miracle stories in the Bible, my study Bible says, this is the only one in which the person was blind from birth.  Here Jesus also rejects the assumption, which was common in the ancient world, that all troubles and maladies are necessarily the consequence of personal sin or even the sins of one's parents (see Exodus 20:5, Deuteronomy 5:9; contrast with Ezekiel 18:19-21).  Although suffering can be the direct result of personal sin, my study Bible reminds us, this is most certainly not always the case.  In this particular instance, the man's blindness provides the occasion for the works of God to be revealed, and was not related directly to the man's (nor his parents') personal sins.

"I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work."  My study Bible comments that the work that people do consists of faith (John 6:29), good deeds (John 5:29), and repentance (John 12:40).   It says that the night that comes refers both to the time after a person's death and also to the age to come, when there is no longer an opportunity to express faith.  On that day, according to St. John Chrysostom, there will not be faith, but all will submit, whether willingly or unwillingly.  

"As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."  We should recall that, as Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles, this is the last, eighth day of that feast.  On this day the great lamps were illumined at night in an outer courtyard of the temple, a commemoration of the pillar of fire which guided the Israelites at night as they followed Moses.  These huge oil lamp menorahs burned so brightly and with so much fire that they illumined great sections of Jerusalem at night.  In this context, Jesus makes this claim, and will go on to bring "light" and sight in an unprecedented way to the eyes of one who was born blind as a manifestation of what is true for all of us. 

 

When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.  My study Bible notes the commentary of St. Irenaeus, who sees in this mixture of clay and saliva a type of the creation of humanity from the earth (Genesis 2:7).  It says that Christ reveals His divinity by restoring part of creation using the same material with which He created humanity in the beginning.

 

 And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent).  So he went and washed, and came back seeing.  Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, "Is not this he who sat and begged?"  Some said, "This is he."  Others said, "He is like him."  He said, "I am he."  Therefore they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?"  He answered and said, "A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to this pool of Siloam and wash.'  So I went and washed, and I received sight."  Then they said to him, "Where is He?"  He said, "I do not know."  The pool of Siloam was on the outskirts of Jerusalem, so Jesus has directed this man to go a considerable distance from the temple.  Water was taken from this pool for the rites which were connected to the Feast of Tabernacles, to purify the altar and as remembrance of the water flowing from the rock struck by Moses (Exodus 17:1-7).  Siloam, translated Sent, is a symbol of Christ, the One sent by the Father (John 5:36, 20:21).  As the healing of this blind man confirms Christ's claim to be the light of the world (John 8:12), so also, my study Bible comments, His making use of the pool of Siloam confirms that He is the true purification of the temple and those who worship in it. 

 

They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees.  Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.  Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight.  He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see."  Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath."  Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?"  And there was a division among them.  They said to the blind man again, "What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?"  He said, "He is a prophet."  My study Bible notes that just as the Pharisees had ignored the healing of the paralytic and focused only the perceived violation of the Sabbath (in John 5:10-16), here many of them cannot see the glory of God through their own prejudices. 

Today's reading gives us the sixth sign of seven in John's Gospel, the restoration of sight to a man born blind.  My study Bible says that this man is symbolic of all of humanity:  all need illumination by Christ, who is the Light of the world.  It says that this sign is an illustration of baptism, which is also called "holy illumination."   We get other suggestions of baptism in the reading as well, as the man is told to go wash his eyes in the pool of Siloam (meaning "Sent"), the waters of which were also used in the temple ceremony at the Feast of Tabernacles for purification of the altar.  There are ties between baptism and this pool also in addition to its aspects of purification, in the context of restoration and rebirth.  The pool was used for ceremonies commemorating the water flowing from the rock struck by Moses.  But Christ has already taught that, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38).  This living water is the Holy Spirit, which grants a rebirth in baptism, and ongoing regeneration.   Therefore in the granting of sight to the man blind from birth, we see a kind of baptism, of illumination as well as the Lord's gift of the Holy Spirit to the faithful.  Christ as Lord is also clear in the symbolism of the clay made from earth and His saliva.  We know that figures of clay were made into false idols, supposedly given life in pagan ceremonies, but dead and lifeless.  It is only the Lord who can give life, and it is He who through the clay gives life more abundantly to the blind man, illumination in the restoration of his sight.  The magnificent lamps of the temple courtyard illumine Jerusalem in commemoration of the pillar of fire that went before the Israelites as they followed Moses.  Here, the healed blind man grasps for an understanding of who Jesus is, and tells the people who question him that Jesus must be a prophet.  But He is more than a prophet, and this we know, and the blind man, in his ongoing illumination on a number of levels, will also come to know.  Christ is the Lord who sent the pillar of fire to illumine the way for Israel through the darkness, and He is the light who shines in the darkness for us (John 1:5).  In all of these ways, we can come to understand the symbolism present, which, particularly to ancient eyes, and throughout the understanding of the Church, is a means whereby we perceive the poetry of God, the meanings and substance that echoes and manifest through these images.  Let us consider their powerful message, and seek Christ's light for ourselves -- and to live out the promise of our baptism.  We should note how Christ leads the disciples with His light shed on the man's blindness from birth.  Moreover, as the Cross will be transfigured by His Passion, so this man's blindness becomes occasion for the works of God.  Let us seek that same light that transfigures our lives and our own circumstances, and gives us insight into things we are otherwise blind to.

 

 

What do you want Me to do for you?

 Now they came to Jericho.  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

- Mark 10:46-52

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." 

 Now they came to Jericho.  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.  My study bible comments that the restoration of sight to the blind was a sign which was expected to be performed by the Messiah, and a power that God had reserved for only God's use alone (compare John 9:32).  That Bartimaeus calls Jesus Son of David shows his faith that Jesus is the Messiah, for was a messianic title.  There is in tradition also a spiritual interpretation of this miracle.  Jericho was a low-lying city associated with sin, and notorious for crime (see the parable of the Good Samaritan, which takes place on this dangerous road to Jericho).   Here, the city symbolizes fallen humanity with all of its imperfections, limitations, problems.  Bartimaeus' blindness becomes an image of our struggles in this darkness.  In this perspective, Christ passing through Jericho is an image of the Incarnation.  Jesus' restoration of sight to Bartimaeus, my study bible says, parallels His restoring humanity to glory.  It is a picture of "enlightenment."  Bartimaeus is made whole by Christ, and thus human nature, transfigured by the light of grace, is capable of following Christ on the road to the Kingdom -- symbolized in Christ's later entrance into Jerusalem.  

In all of this week's readings, Jesus emphasizes to the disciples the importance of humility in their understanding of power and its use in His kingdom, His way.  He repeatedly has told them that He will suffer and die in Jerusalem, and rise on the third day.  He has emphasized to these men who will become the first bishops of His church, how power and authority must be wielded in His name, that in even the littlest ones whom they receive in His name they must see Him, Christ -- and also the Father who sent Him.   This is the way He defines the order of true greatness, through service and humility, expressions of active love in the way of the Cross.  In a particular sense, the healing of Bartimaeus is an image of this teaching.  If we consider the place of Bartimaeus, it is as one of the "littlest ones" in the sense of power or authority.  He can do nothing but sit by this dangerous road, in a place notorious for sin, begging.  He is an image of helplessness, powerlessness, and infirmity.  But he has one thing at hand, he has faith that Jesus is the Christ.  He is such a lowly person that when he shouts out to Jesus in this no doubt tumultuous and noisy crowd, he is told by many to be quiet.  But Jesus hears him, and stands still in order to call out to him.  To be called by Christ speaks clearly to vocation, to spiritual hearing.  Bartimaeus may not be able to see, but he can hear, and with the important spiritual sense of hearing, which Bartimaeus uses to the fullest of his capacity, he may respond to Jesus' call answering his own pleas.  There is a message there that even in our weakness and imperfection, even with wounds and with severe loss, handicap, or lack, what we have -- with faith -- is enough.  In Thursday's reading, Jesus taught, "With God all things are possible."  Our limitations and imperfections do not really limit us, for we as human beings possess a nature capable of development and compensation for the things we lack, for what is missing from our lives, what we wish we had and think we need.  We are capable of developing whatever it is we do have, even with faith as tiny as a mustard seed.  This is  the true image of human nature which Christ teaches us, our capacity as spiritual creatures made in the image and likeness of God.  Throughout the Gospels, the stories teach us about persistence, awareness, and resourcefulness, making the best of what we have with our intelligence and capacity for the love of Christ and responding to the good He offers.   The people who approach Christ all lack something; the ones who find redemption are those who, despite circumstances, find a way to Christ:  whether we are speaking of a Gentile woman outside of Israel, a paralyzed man taken to Christ by his friends by lowering him through a roof, a woman who had bankrupted herself on failed medical treatments, or a forsaken demoniac living among the tombs.  The one man, whom Christ loves, who fails to find that extra effort to follow Christ is the rich young man who has so much, and who cannot see a way to part with his possessions.  Bartimaeus means "son of Timaeus", and Timaeus comes from a Greek word meaning "to honor" or "esteem."  He may be the lowliest person on that road through Jericho, but he gives us the truth of our nature -- though disfigured, capable of the greatest virtue through the faith that recognizes and fervently desires what is truly good.  He follows Christ on the road to Jerusalem, becoming one of those who travel with the disciples to Jerusalem.  He will see the Triumphal Entry, symbolizing Christ's entrance into His kingdom.  It is he who will live the words of Simeon's song.  We recall Jesus' teaching regarding John the Baptist:  "For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he" (Luke 7:28).  Where will grace take you with whatever it is you have, in the ways you might not yet know you are capable of following Him?  This is the real story of who we are in the light of Christ, and it is the meaning of salvation and redemption.  He doesn't call us in our perfection; He calls us as we are right now.  Christ's strength is made perfect in our weakness and infirmities  (2 Corinthians 12:9).  This is the great beauty revealed in His ministry and mission.  All we need is our own love and trust in Him, and a deep desire for what He offers.

Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod

Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him and begged Him to touch him.  So he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."

- Mark 8:11-26

Yesterday we read that at this time in Jesus' ministry, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar."  Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"  He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.  They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.  Now those who had eaten were about four thousand.  And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."   My study bible explains that a sign from heaven means a spectacular display of power.  The Pharisees want Him to "prove" that He is the Christ (the Messiah) by such a sign.  The time of the Messiah was expected to be accompanied by miraculous signs, but these men fail to recognize the signs which are in fact happening through Christ's ministry and its expression of God's love.   Jesus will not give proofs upon demand; His ministry must unfold according to the will of the Father. 

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"  My study bible says that the leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine and their hypocrisy (Matthew 16:12, Luke 12:1).  My study bible adds that in various places in Scripture, leaven is used both positively (as in Jesus' parable given at Matthew 13:33), and also negatively, as Jesus uses it here.  In both cases, leaven represents a force which is both powerful and subtle -- so that it permeates and affects everything around it (see 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 in which St. Paul uses the term both ways).   Jesus also expresses clearly that the two feedings in the wilderness are separate events.  It is essential for us to be aware that the disciples also misunderstand Christ and seemingly fail to "take in" the facts of His ministry.

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him and begged Him to touch him.  So he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."  My study bible comments that the people of Bethsaida were unbelieving (Matthew 11:21), and therefore Jesus leads the blind man out of the town in order to heal him.  It is yet another occasion in which He avoids the scoffing of the crowd (see also the healing of Jairus' daughter, in this reading).  But my study bible adds another important reason for this, and that is because those who would scoff would bring upon themselves greater condemnation.  Note clearly that the Gospel presents this blind man's healing as progressing in stages.  My study bible says that this shows he had only a small amount of faith, as happens according to one's faith (6:5-6).  Nevertheless, this little faith was enough, and it increased with Christ's touch and presence.  His command not to return to the town can be seen symbolically as the idea that we mustn't return to our sins -- this environment in which there is scorn for the things of faith -- after we've been forgiven.

There are elements which tie all of today's Scripture together in each event recorded.  There is the element of hard-heartedness, which Jesus mentions in the context of the disciples' lack of comprehension that by speaking about leaven, He wasn't referring to bread.  He asks them how they could make that particular mistake in the light of the two separate occasions upon which the miracle of the multiplication of loaves of bread occurred.  In this case, He asks them if their hearts are hardened as symbolizing the inability of the inner self to grasp the things of God, to "take them in."  Hard-heartedness also applies to the Pharisees who demand a sign, at the beginning of our reading today.  But such hard-heartedness as they present is a deeper problem than that of the disciples, as it is not only more ingrained but present in these men who are experts in Scripture and the work of the Holy Spirit throughout the spiritual history of the Jewish people.  The disciples do not have the kind of education and knowledge that the Pharisees do.  The Pharisees' hard-heartedness is complicated by envy (15:10), a jealousy for their places of authority over religious life in Israel.  Jesus also mentions Herod, another who is fearful of losing his place of power and authority to the holy.   Hard-heartedness is linked to spiritual blindness or deafness (4:10-12), and also the hypocrisy against which Jesus teaches here (7:6).  Then we come to the healing of the blind man.  He must be taken out of the town, away from those whose faith is non-existent.  These townspeople, in effect, function in the same way that the demand for proof by the Pharisees functions, to cast doubt on the action and presence of the Spirit at work in Christ's ministry, to deny the presence of the holy.  Moreover, this blind man's healing is gradual, teaching us that no matter where we are, there is capacity and potential for growth in our faith and our spiritual understanding:  the perfect example for the disciples' own lack of understanding of Christ's words about the Pharisees and Herod.  In the Pharisees and Herod, Christ gives us a picture of the potential to cast scorn and doubt upon anything, to deny the presence of God at work where holiness is manifest.  In effect, this kind of "leaven" creates an impermeable hard-heartedness, a barrier to spiritual perception.  But the disciples are in a different place; their lack of comprehension will change with growth in faith, a receptiveness to the things of God which Christ brings into the world, and a response through repentance (metanoia in the Greek, meaning "change of mind") that will enable them to grow and cast off the thinking that makes them blind.  In the blind man, we see the stages of growth in faith, the work of ongoing repentance and enlightenment, the change that is possible in us through time.  Let us understand that each one of us possesses this potential, but the further along we go down a road of denial, the more there is to overcome, to reverse and change in our minds and hearts.  It is in this context that my study bible comments, above, that by taking the blind man out of town for healing, Jesus prevents the townspeople from incurring a deeper condemnation.  We begin with Christ Himself at the center of all of this, and His clear frustration even with His closest disciples.  It cannot have been easy for Him, and yet His patience and love for us is infinite.  He walks with us, inviting us always to the journey on which He will take us, if we but let ourselves hear and see what He's showing us, and where He would have us go.   He illuminates the sight of the blind man, and His light illuminates the way, if we accept in trust to take it.  It's easy and simple to cast doubt and aspersion on anything.  What is more difficult is accepting, cherishing, and growing the precious treasure that is offered to us.  That takes faith, and our struggle for our faith is real and true.

What do you want Me to do for you?

 Now they came to Jericho.  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

- Mark 10:46-52

 Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And he said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

Now they came to Jericho.  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.  Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem.  Encountering a blind man is symbolic of a humanity fallen into sin, or what we may rather term the things that separate us from God, make God hard to "see."   In a parallel vein, the restoration of sight to the blind was a sign expected to be performed by the Messiah (Isaiah 29:18; 35:4-5).  My study bible says this was a power God had reserved for Himself (compare John 9:32).  As God is light we can see both the literal manifestation of that truth in restoring sight to the blind, and the figurative in liberating (redeeming) humanity from whatever holds it hostage and keeps us from fulfillment of our image in God.    Bartimaeus calls Jesus Son of David, a messianic title.  This tells us that Bartimaeus had faith that Jesus was indeed the Christ.  There is also a patristic spiritual interpretation to this miracle.  Jericho was a low-lying city associated with sin and all manner of evil, crime and danger -- in Luke's Gospel, the story of the Good Samaritan (a foreigner) who helped a man besieged by robbers who injured him takes place in Jericho (Luke 10:30; 19:1).  It symbolizes fallen humanity.  Christ passing through Jericho is an image of the Incarnation.  Jesus restoring sight to Bartimaeus parallels the restoration of humanity to glory.  Having been made whole by Christ, my study bible says, human nature can now follow Christ on the road to the Kingdom, symbolized by our Lord's subsequent entrance into Jerusalem (11:1-11).

What does it mean to be unable to see?  In our story, Bartimaeus clearly "sees" something, even while he is still blind.  He knows, or at least has a strong, urgent hope, that Christ can help him and give him what he needs.  He has a faith that opens his eyes, in other words, to the hope that his eyes may be opened by Christ.  That is a kind of nutshell hidden "in plain sight" in this story.  It is not only the Messiah that delivers us from what ails and holds hostage, but it is our faith that makes that possible, that gives us the urge to make connection with our Redeemer.  Atonement and redemption in various contexts can often blind us to the reality of what a Redeemer is.  A deliverer or redeemer is a champion, someone who liberates or frees us what from binds us.   In the time of Christ and earlier, we can think of the endless skirmishes and battles between kingdoms and tribes.  Slaves were often those peoples who were simply conquered by others.  Even in the Middle East today, we can see active hostage taking as part of warfare.  A redeemer is one who liberates, who pays the ransom for a hostage in order to free them.  If we are speaking about a humanity held hostage by the evil in the world, then we can see a great parallel here to the healing by Christ.  Humanity awaits its redeemer and liberator.  All the things that ail us keep us blind to what life could be, what we could be, what our Creator wishes for us, and all the potentials contained within the image in which we were created.  In the Incarnation, it is Creator who comes as Liberator -- to free us from the "strong man" because He is the stronger.  Jesus Himself gives us precisely this parallel when He responds to the accusation that He casts out demons by the power of the devil ("No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house" - 3:27).  The power of evil is a kind of blindness that manifests as a fetter or chains, a stumbling block, that which binds us and keeps us captive to something.  It manifests as hopelessness and despair, a lack of faith, an inability to find solutions to problems, to think outside of the box or the bind we seem to be in.  It keeps us from seeing.  It is darkness itself that limits, stifles, and dictates there are no alternatives.  It is the opposite of creativity, opposed to the energies of grace which are of the Creator.  Christ is the hope of the hopeless, and His saints the same (particularly an attribution of the Virgin Mary) precisely because of faith, and the connection that faith makes to the energies of grace, to Creator and thereby to what is hidden from us in our darkness and blindness.  When we struggle against an unseen enemy, even forces which seem to be within ourselves, impulses we can't understand and that work like demons within us, it is hope and faith that sustains to try again, to find a new way, a gleam of an idea where we hadn't looked or thought to see before.  Faith knows we have another day to try again.  Faith gives us a chance to find a way out, a way through -- when the world will shut us out and tell us we're finished.  So often, it is faith we need to take courage and face the fears that keep us stuck, so we can try a new way.  Isaiah tells us the truth of God whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whose ways are not our ways.  Bartimaeus finds his Redeemer, and so may we do likewise, with the hope He extends to us, His way. Note that the patristic spiritual interpretation tells us this is just the beginning of the road.  Only God can say where we may go with Him (see 10:27, in yesterday's reading).  Only He can show us what life may look like in the Holy City and what we ourselves may be like as one who lives in it.  That's what the road is for.

One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see

 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight.  And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind?  How then does he now see?"  His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know.  He is of age; ask him.  He will speak for himself."  His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.

Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."  So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory!  We know that this Man is a sinner."   He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know.  One thing I know:  that though I was blind, now I see."

Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you?  How did He open your eyes?"  He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen.  Why do you want to hear it again?  Do you also want to become His disciples?"  Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples.  We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from."  The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!  Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.  Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.  If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."

They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?"  And they cast him out.  Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"  He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"  And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you."  Then he said, "Lord, I believe!"  And he worshiped Him.

And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who may see may be made blind."  Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?"  Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.'  Therefore your sin remains."

- John 9:18-41

Jesus is at the Feast of Tabrernacles in Jerusalem.  He has preached to the leadership, "Before Abraham was, I AM."  They took up stones to throw at Him, but He hid and passed by them out of the temple.  Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.  And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"  Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.  I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."  When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.  And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent).  So he went and washed, and came back seeing.  Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, "Is not this he who sat and begged?"  Some said, "This is he."  Others said, "He is like him."  He said, "I am he."  Therefore they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?"  He answered and said, "A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.'  So I went and washed, and I received sight."  Then they said to him, "Where is He?"  He said, "I do not know."  They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees.  Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.  Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight.  He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see."  Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath."  Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?"  And there was a division among them.  They said to the blind man again, "What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?"  He said, "He is a prophet."

 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight.  And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind?  How then does he now see?"  His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know.  He is of age; ask him.  He will speak for himself."  His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.  Again, it's important to remember that in John's Gospel the term "the Jews" is used sort of like a political affiliation; most of the time it's used not to refer to the Jewish people, but rather to the religious authorities, those who consider themselves the "regulators" of the faith.

Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."  So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory!  We know that this Man is a sinner."    My study bible suggests that while Jesus isn't present, the Pharisees call Him a sinner, but earlier He's already asked them face-to-face, "Which if you convicts Me of sin?"  (8:46, see this reading), and they evaded the question.  Give God the glory! is an oath formula that was used before giving testimony.  But the whole purpose of this man's blindness from birth, as Jesus has indicated in yesterday's reading, was to "give God glory" via his healing.  My study bible says that he also gives God glory in that, the more he is pressed, the more fervent his faith becomes, while the Pharisees "lapse into deeper darkness."

He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know.  One thing I know:  that though I was blind, now I see."   My study bible says, "This healed man becomes a model of Christian witness.  Many people do not bear witness to Christ because they fear they will be asked questions they cannot answer.  This man's answer to people much more educated than he provides the solution:  he admits what he does not know, but follows up with what he does know.  The formula, 'That I don't know, but what I do know is this,' is foundational to witnessing one's faith to others."  Another form of giving God glory is this model of witnessing for all the rest of us.

Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you?  How did He open your eyes?"  He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen.  Why do you want to hear it again?  Do you also want to become His disciples?"  Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples.  We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from."  The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!  Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.  Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.  If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."    This unprecedented nature of opening the eyes of one born blind is a kind of confirmation that Christ is Messiah -- it was one of the signs indicated by Isaiah (Isaiah 35:5; 42:7) and, my study bible says, "a prerogative belonging solely to God"  (Psalm 146:8).

They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?"  And they cast him out.  Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"  He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"  And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you."  Then he said, "Lord, I believe!"  And he worshiped Him.   My study bible points out that "having opened the blind man's eyes, the Lord also opens his heart and illuminates his spirit."   He's moved from knowing nearly nothing about Christ, to the conclusion that Jesus can't possibly be a sinner ("God does not hear sinners"), to a confession that Jesus must be from God ("If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing"), to finally seeing Him as the Son of God and worshiping Him.   The Pharisees can't and don't refute his logic or the truth of what he reveals in testimony; instead they resort to personal insult (see also 8:48).

And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who may see may be made blind."  Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?"  Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.'  Therefore your sin remains."    My study bible says, "Our Lord's coming brought judgment into the world not because He came to judge (12:47-48), but because of man's accountability to Him.  Those who see and hear Him but do not believe are judged by their own faithlessness."  Quite clearly, these men don't want to believe; their concern is to zealously guard their positions of authority against Jesus and his criticisms, as they did against John the Baptist.

Witnessing is an important and essential thing to think about.  How do we witness to what we have experienced, or to the things that have illuminated our own vision?  Yesterday, we read a comment in my study bible that baptism has always been understood as "illumination," that this was the goal of the catechumens in the ancient Church.  In our past two readings, a man blind from birth has had his own illumination.  His eyes have been opened to the light of day, the light of the world, even as we've read that Jesus taught, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."  As "light of the world," or of the cosmos, His is the light by which we are taught to see the many things truly there for us in our lives, and it's to that kind of light that we witness.  What have you discovered on your own journey with Christ?  Christ's light can also illumine the not-so-pleasant things in our lives, the dark corners, the things that we need to change or at least acknowledge.  Many forget that part of the journey, or talk like it's not there.  But His light is always leading us somewhere, on a closer road with Him, and with the Father, and the Spirit.  So, how do you need your eyes opened today?  To what can you witness as to the light that has illumined you in your life, one way and another?  This is the important vision and goal we take with us as we understand our faith, what it means to glorify God, and to testify as witness.

How is it you did not understand?

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given this generation."

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you did not understand?"

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."

- Mark 8:11-26

Yesterday, we read that at this point in Jesus' ministry, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar."  Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"  He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.  They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.  Now those who had eaten were about four thousand.  And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given this generation."   A sign from heaven would be some spectacular kind of display of power, something that will "convince" others to believe, beyond a doubt.  But this isn't the way that faith works, at least not the kind of faith that Jesus wants people to have in Him.  That's not the kind of trust that faith implies, and not the type of relationship Christ offers.   Love and trust work in other ways.  In addition, we already know the signs that are happening within the ministry:  the healings and His miraculous feeding of the many in the wilderness.  What the religious leadership wants is to define the terms in which Christ would be recognized, to frame His ministry in their vision of what His holy power and authority is and how it should work.

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you did not understand?"  My study bible explains that "the leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine (Matthew 16:12) and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  In Scripture, leaven is used both positively (as in Matthew 13:33) and negatively, as it is here.  In either case, leaven symbolizes a force powerful enough (and often subtle enough) to permeate and affect everything around it (see 1 Corinthians 5:6-8)."  Again, Mark's Gospel repeatedly seems to give us hints as to how Jesus is thinking and what He is thinking.  Here, Jesus is rather incredulous as to why His own disciples still do not perceive the miraculous nature of the feedings in the wilderness, and instead believed that Jesus' real concern in remarking on the "leaven of the Pharisees" was with the fact that they hadn't brought bread!

 Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."  My study bible explains that the people of Bethsaida were unbelieving (see Matthew 11:21).  Therefore, Jesus leads the blind man out of the town in order to heal him, so that "people would not scoff at the miracle and bring upon themselves greater condemnation.  It adds that the fact that the blind man was healed in stages indicates a small amount of faith, because healing occurs according to one's faith (Mark 6:5-6).   But a little faith was enough -- and it increased with the touch of Christ.  My study bible also notes that Jesus' command not to return to the town symbolizes that we mustn't return to our sins once we've been forgiven.

 Of course, the first thing we notice about today's reading are all the parallels in the stories.  The Pharisees are surely blind to what Jesus has been doing in His ministry.  In Monday's reading we read about a deaf and mute man who was healed, and about the attendant "publicity" which Jesus didn't want.   (He commanded them not to tell others, but of course, "the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it.")  The healing of the deaf and mute man is a sign of the Messiah, as proclaimed by Isaiah, and today's reading confirms yet another one of those signs -- that "the eyes of the blind are opened" (see Isaiah 35:5-6).   So the Pharisees, in demanding a great sign of proof of identity and authority from Jesus, are also showing a great blindness themselves.  And then there are the disciples, who take Jesus' remark about the need to "beware the leaven of the Pharisees" and decide that He must be upset because they'd forgotten to bring bread with them.  It's really amazing to read Jesus questioning His disciples regarding the two feedings in the wilderness.  Don't they remember how He fed five thousand on one occasion?  Or more recently, when He'd fed four thousand -- with just a few loaves and fishes that were on hand?  How is it they don't know what He's talking about?  Don't they have eyes to see?  Don't they have ears to hear?  Don't they remember?  How is it they didn't understand?  Once again, it's remarkable to consider all the glimpses that Mark gives us into Jesus' thinking.  He's baffled by the lack of understanding and recognition even in His disciples.  There is a lot of blindness going around!  And so, then we come to His tremendous healing of the blind man.  We have to understand what kind of powerful and potent sign this really is of the presence of the Kingdom, and the Messiah in their midst.  But this isn't a kind of overwhelming sign in which Jesus would come into the world and "prove" to everyone who He is.  His power doesn't work that way; His power works via faith, and that's the key, really, to understanding what all of these intersecting threads are really about.  What's happening with the faith of the Pharisees, or how about His own disciples, whose hearts are still too hardened to understand about the feedings in the wilderness?  The blind man is taken out of the town, because (as my study bible explains) there just isn't enough faith there for Jesus to do His holy work.  Rather than creating some overwhelming sign for the world to be convinced, Jesus takes this man away from the town.  And then his healing comes in stages.  "I see men like trees, walking" is a sign of growing awareness, yet still not clear sight.  It's the way we are when we can't quite grasp something, but we edge a little closer even though we don't have the full picture.  And it's the great metaphor that makes the difference for us between the people of the town who have no faith, the Pharisees who demand a sign -- and the disciples.  The disciples have a little faith.  There are things that even Jesus finds hard to grasp that they haven't understood yet.  But they are on a road going somewhere.  They have started the journey of faith.  They're like this man who can't quite see, and can only make out "men like trees, walking" -- something that doesn't make much sense at this point.  But "a little" faith is the great difference here; with "a little" we are on our way somewhere and we have a chance to go further down that road and truly see where He is going and where He is leading.  But it takes discipline and persistence.  It also takes the courage to steer clear of those who'd seek to destroy that faith, and to persist in the commands of the Teacher.  That's the lesson we take for the day, the difference between a little faith and no faith.  Remember the parable Jesus gave us of the mustard seed, or the first parable we were given, that of the sower.  What really matters is what we do with the seed of "a little" faith, and how we continue on the journey with the Teacher, the One who's sown the seeds.  Are we ready to take the steps we need today?  Can we follow His teaching in discipleship?

For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind

But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?" His parents answered them and said, "We know that he is our son, and that he was born blind, but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself." His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."

So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner." He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know; that though I was blind, now I see." Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?" He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?" Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses, as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from." The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from, yet He has opened My eyes! Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing." They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?" And they cast him out.

Jesus heard that they cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?" He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?" And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you." Then he said, "Lord, I believe!" And he worshiped Him. Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind." Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains."

- John 9:18-41

In yesterday's reading, Jesus has just passed out of the temple where the leadership sought to stone Him for declaring Himself equal to God, whom He has said is His Father. It is at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, where Jesus had debated with the authorities who by this time seek to have Him arrested. In yesterday's reading, He saw a man who was blind from birth as He passed by. His disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus told them that neither he nor his parents sinned, "but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Jesus spat on the ground, made a clay and put it on the man's eyes. He told him to go wash in the pool called Siloam (which means Sent). He came back seeing. The neighbors who knew him said, "Is not this he who sat and begged?" Some said, "This is he." Others said, "He is like him." He said, "I am he." They asked, "How were your eyes opened?" He answered and said, "A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed, and I received sight." Then they said to him, "Where is He?" He said, "I do not know." He was brought to the Pharisees who also asked him how his eyes were opened. He said, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see." Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" And there was a division among them. They said to the blind man again, "What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."

But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?" As we said in yesterday's reading, in all of the Bible, there isn't another healing of a man born blind since birth. This was considered something extremely extraordinary, as such affliction would have been considered the result of personal sin. The authorities find this too difficult to accept, they must discredit its possibility. So they call the parents to question them that he was really blind from birth. My study bible points out that his parents are called in, even though the age of legal responsibility was 13.

His parents answered them and said, "We know that he is our son, and that he was born blind, but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself." His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him." The parents testify as to the blindness of their son, but they will say nothing more -- they are too afraid of the leadership. By now their open hostility to Jesus is no secret. Earlier in the Gospel, at the beginning of the readings about the Feast of Tabernacles, we're told that the people are afraid to speak openly for fear of the leadership, even though they debate about Jesus. So the parents say the son can speak for himself.

So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner." "Give God the glory" is an oath formula which was used before giving testimony or confession of guilt. The leadership accuses Jesus of being a sinner. They want the testimony of this man to help them say so. My study bible points out that earlier at the Festival Jesus asked them Himself, "Which of you convicts Me of sin?" and they didn't answer Him.

He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know; that though I was blind, now I see." All acts of grace become an opportunity for choice. What are we going to believe? What are we going to accept? Here is the division: the blind man testifies. Ironically, my study bible points out, he is truly giving God the glory.

Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?" He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?" As he digs into the truth, the formerly blind man riles the leadership. He asks them the obvious question, but it's not what they want to hear. He's not testifying the way they want him to.

Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses, as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from." The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from, yet He has opened My eyes! Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing." They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?" And they cast him out. Again the formerly blind man digs into the truth, following it to its logical conclusion, saying the obvious which no one else will say in front of the leadership. For his truthful testimony, he is cast out of the temple, out of community. They not only seek to accuse Jesus, but now "convict" the formerly blind based on the mere fact that he was born blind. They are outraged that their authority has been violated.

Jesus heard that they cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?" To my mind, this next part of this story is stunning and tender. It's John's telling us about our relationship to this Savior. Jesus finds the man after he is cast out from the temple. Actually, in the Greek version I have, Jesus uses the title "Son of Man" here, something with which the formerly blind may have been familiar. But, either way, it is a question about his faith in the One who was prophesied, his truth.

He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?" The formerly blind, a great stickler for truth, we now know, asks the direct question. In some way he is now a metaphor for all of us when we feel baffled by life, perhaps formerly blind, and looking for our way, the One to guide us.

And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you." Then he said, "Lord, I believe!" And he worshiped Him. Let us consider the man's experience of Jesus, his encounter. It is from the experience that he knows he can put his trust, his faith, in this Man.

Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind." Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains." The encounter with grace brings with it choice, and judgment. Those who claim they see are responsible for that choice. My study bible puts it this way: "Jesus' coming brought judgment by increasing the accountability of those who saw and heard Him . . . The brilliance of Christ's light becomes an illumination to some, but a blinding glare to others."

What is it to be accountable, responsible? Here we can see an indication of degrees of responsibility, degrees of choice. The Pharisees and all the leadership are particularly responsible for their choices in this scene, not only because they know and have been exposed to Jesus and the signs He makes of the presence of the Father, but also because they are experts in the Scripture. They know the prophecies. They are the leadership in the temple and are responsible for the religious welfare of the nation. They bear a special capability for faith, and a special responsibility for it. Therefore when confronted with Christ, they also bear a deep accountability for their response. The irony of the formerly blind man is that he is so alone. Born into sin, it is assumed by everyone else, and yet abandoned when he receives his sight, it is he who simply digs in to the truth, and will not let go of it. It is he who stands firm and who comes to faith. So Jesus' great presence in the world, the great gift of the Father who loves the world, becomes yet again a leveling force, something that turns our world somewhat upside down. The things to which the leadership clings: their authority and position and envy of Christ, all work to deny them their place with Him as He also comes for judgment. But the faith of the formerly blind places him by the side of Christ. Let us remember this scene, and let it play out for us when we're tempted by envy, when we can't open our eyes, when we're afraid of change, of God's shaking up our lives. Maybe, what we need to lose is our blindness.