Going on blind faith.
That's what comes to mind when I consider this next section of verses. But first for a geography / historical
tidbit,…
Bethsaida -- "the
house of the hunt." Located at the delta of the upper Jordan river entering
to the Sea of Galilee (northern part), this area was known as a crossing of the
ancient trade routes, for its year-round flow of water, with plenty of fish and
game, as well as the fertile soil. [i]
DID YOU
KNOW…?
Bethsaida was the
birthplace of three of the disciples -- Andrew, Peter and Philip.
No sooner than Jesus and
his disciples arrive, concerned citizens bring forward a blind man for healing.
Similar to the healing of the deaf / mute man (MARK:7:31-37),
Jesus takes the afflicted man outside the village. NOTE -- The healing of the
deaf / mute man, and of this blind man in Bethsaida, are recorded only in MARK.
Last weekend, a
conversation at a workshop that I attended at the Claremont School of Theology
reminded me of this action taken by Jesus -- taking the blind man aside from
others. Often we do the same when we are aware someone is in need. There's no
need to make a big show of it; we don't want to embarrass the person in public.
We focus on them, away from others. They have our undivided attention. We
pour our love on them, give assistance, provide a listening ear,... The person receiving the attention is all the more appreciative of
not being made a spectacle. Plus, it's a more honest exchange between people, don't you think?
And spit is involved again
(from the previous story and now this one). When you think about it, while we
might wince at the act of Jesus spitting on the man's eyes,… what is our first
instinct when we cut ourselves or burn a finger? We put our injured finger into
our mouth. Why? To ease the pain. To provide comfort (in a way). Also, in my
study research, various sources indicated the healing power of spittle was
important to those in the ancient world. Hence, what Jesus does is not out of
the ordinary for the times.
But… Jesus doesn't heal
the man on the first try. Yes? No? Maybe? Actually healing did occur. The man
is no longer blind because he says, "I see people." They just look
like trees walking around. Like a good optometrist, Jesus listens to his
patient, then makes an adjustment. The man's sight is a perfect 20/20.
So what's the point of
this story? Is it just to add another healing to the "Yay, Jesus Does It
Again" statistical chart?
No. What this moment does
is bring into focus what happened in verses 14-21. The disciples, who have been
following Jesus for a long time, are themselves blind (or less harshly stated, they
have blurred vision). They can't see clearly. This healing of the blind man
"in progressive stages symbolizes the progressive journey to understanding
that the disciples must make." [ii]
"Do you have eyes but
fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?" [iii] Jesus gives vision to
the blind and hearing to the deaf. In both stories, faith is the key. Take it
on faith what Jesus is doing. Blind faith, if you will.
Yet it's difficult to
put our trust into what is so often invisible. Right? It's sometimes hard to accept
that we can't see God's truth all at once. In our "I want it now" society, patience is definitely a virtue in this instance, because God's truth is revealed over time. It's not a "one and done." What looks
to be the definitive answer is only partial because there are many layers
involved. And "time" could be days, weeks, months, years,… a
lifetime.
As with the disciples, the
learning doesn’t stop. The journey on the road continues. We set forth with
blind faith so that we may be fully restored.
NEXT
"Our god is better
than your God"
No comments:
Post a Comment