There
are times in our life when we are aware of our blindness and times when we are
not. Blind Bartimaeus is keenly aware he
cannot see and he reaches out for wholeness.
When he heard that it
was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David,
have mercy on me!” Many sternly ordered
him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy
on me!” Mark 10:47-48
He
has called Jesus “Son of David,” a statement of faith; an implication Jesus is
Messiah come to him. Jesus calls him and
heals him. “Your faith has made you well.”
Inside this faith is firm hope.
In
every arena of life there is something out of our vision range. That is natural. We can only see what is before or behind us
and the latter we only see by memory which has its own filters. Sometimes we call
this perspective as we grow clearer about what is essential and core to
comprehend the past. Sometimes we do not
think to reach for perspective and we grow blind spots. They can go unaddressed for years.
Paul
shows perspective in his speech in Acts.
He looks back as he greets a difficult chapter in moving forward. Jerusalem which holds the heart of orthodox Judaism
is not so open to his coming. There is
legend that he has destroyed much of the core of the Jewish faith. In some sense he has by inviting gentiles
into what will be called Christianity but is not yet so called. He and Peter have recognized that gentiles
need not follow the Law as Judaism practices it to become followers of Christ. And yet the salvific work of God with Israel
and the Prophets are the essential backdrop to fuller understanding of Jesus
and his mission and his salvific work.
So
today Paul begins to share his journey, how he was a devout Jew, a righteous
one, set to protect any change in the tradition as he saw and understood
it. He was you might say blind to God’s
other salvific work in Jesus, ready to kill this tradition. Then he was
literally blinded by Christ on the road to destroy this new tradition. Then he was granted new sight and now he
tells how.
“A certain Ananias, who
was a devout man according to the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living
there, came to me; and standing beside me, he said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your
sight!’ In that very hour I regained my sight and saw him. Then he said, ‘The
God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One
and to hear his own voice; for you will be his witness to all the world of what
you have seen and heard. And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and
have your sins washed away, calling on his name.’” Acts 21:12-16
The
great opportunity and challenge of the Christian life is to see Jesus in every
situation and to see him as he might be in his fullness not simply as we might
somewhat blindly put him there. When we notice another’s sin, we may stand in
judgment mostly. When we see our own or
that of someone we love, we may go quickly to compassion (though I know some
who go the opposite). The spiritual art
is to hold them together.
Too
often the tradition has either leaned toward Jesus’ corrective judgment or his
forgiving compassion; finding it too challenging to hold both together and seek
understanding. Paul was a case in point,
judging harshly. King David might have
been one who was wrongly compassionate or afraid of his judgment in family and
is now living its sour fruit. Later
perspective will clarify their vision, at least Paul’s. Yet we also know he continues as we all do
with a lack of perspective on say the role of women, the full unrighteousness
of slavery and other culturally bound issues of sight.
Perhaps
the thing we are to hold today is simply an awareness that when I fall into
judgment and taste my rancor, I need to also seek my compassion. When I fall into full compassion, I need to
see my disappointment. From there I need
to wonder about balance. In any
situation how might Jesus tip me from the place of genuine care?
And
later, when I can stand back and seek perspective, how have I done? Is there
something here to be grateful for or something to repent from and make amends?
We
are not called to perfection as much as we are called to healed sight and
eternal hope for a centered life.
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