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This story is sometimes entitled “Jesus heals the Blind Man.” I wonder how you might name this story? Suggestions? What about Barclay’s title: The Man who would not be silenced. Naming a story can greatly influence how we understand and interpret the passage, what meaning we draw from it. Tonight I would like to share some of the insights that I gained as I reflected on this passage this week and make some observations about the passage as they came to me as I prayed my way through the text. The passage raised some challenging questions for me also which I would like to share with you. The Man who would not be silenced. The one thing that stands out for me in this story is the sheer desperate persistence of the blind man and how his desperation drove him to Jesus. Jesus was travelling to Jerusalem via Jericho on his way to celebrating the Passover. He was like many others at this time walking, with a band of pilgrims teaching them as he went. Crowds of spectators who were for whatever reason not able to make the journey to the temple that year, were lining the streets and as these pilgrims made their way to Jerusalem, they cheered them on. We are told that there was a beggar amongst the crowd, a blind man. There is pathos in his isolation as he cries out “what is going on? What is happening?” His disability has isolated him. Information is power and it is true that much social inequality in the world is based on the unfair distribution not only of wealth but also information. Once he found out that Jesus was passing by he cried out to Jesus for help and for healing. As I read this I wondered about our world today, here in Devonport. Those of us here tonight know about Jesus. We know that he is passing by here, in our very presence. We as Christians are party to that information and so we also have the privilege of being able to pray to him and ask him for help. What about those outside this space? How will they get to know that Jesus is passing by here this week and indeed every week and that they too are free to ask him for help and for healing? Surely as the Church, this is our task, our mission and our ministry. To share Jesus with the blind, the lonely, the disabled, the frightened and others like ourselves who need his healing? The reaction of the crowd is truly shocking. Here is a man who desperately needs to speak to Jesus and the crowd tries to sabotage that by silencing him! Does the church ever do that to people who are on the outside? But the human spirit is made of stronger stuff than that. The man we are told would not be silenced! He shouted again with a primeval desperate ungovernable shout! So when Jesus heard the man he stopped and the blind man found the healing he so passionately desired. What might we learn from the blind man? He was determined to come face to face with Jesus and so he did. Nothing would stop him. What might be cutting us short in our faith? How determined are we to actually come face to face with Jesus? We might determine to do this in simple ways like praying daily, or attending church. How easily do we allow circumstances to distract us from our search for a personal interaction with God? Nothing would stop this man. His need for Jesus drove his behaviour and his responses. His need for a miracle in his life drove him relentlessly into the presence of Jesus. If we want a miracle in our lives then this is the spirit of determination we too must show. It is the passionate, intense desire of the very depths of our hearts that taps the power of God. Such a search for God will always bear fruit. If we want God to intervene in our lives and to act for us we must approach God not with some sentimental, limp wristed, half-hearted plea, but with a sincere, committed faith. And what might this story teach us about Jesus? The moment Jesus heard the blind man’s cry for help he stopped. I can imagine that being a rabbi Jesus would have been slap bang in the middle of some very important and erudite theological discussion. Jesus instantly abandoned his conversation in order to address the man’s need for healing. His compassion for one man ‘s urgent need usurped any other important discussions he might have been having. He didn’t say “I have a schedule and no time for this.” He delayed his journey for someone he hardly knew, if he knew him at all. God is never too busy with other important things to hear your prayer, your cry for help. You are as important to God as the next person and God cares for you just as much. The man came forward and it would have been obvious to Jesus that he was blind. Yet Jesus asks him: ‘What would you like me to do for you?’ It is such a respectful question. Jesus partners with the man in order to find the solution to his problem. Free will is a precious gift from God that all humans are given. Jesus respects the man’s right to choose how he would like to be helped. When we extend help to others as the body of Christ we must be careful to do the same. We must be careful not to just assume we know how to help the person who has come to us for help, what they want or need, what they should or shouldn’t do. We must learn about pastoral care from Jesus, the master, the perfect Shepherd and instead respectfully ask “What do you want me to do for you?” When we as Christian ministers become prescriptive and moralistic, we create huge difficulties in the way of pastoral dialogue. We remain religious moralists but we cease to be Christians in the mould of Christ. Pastoring is finding out where somebody is at and then supporting them as they take the next step which they have identified on their way to healing. The best way to do this is often to simply ask a question. What do you want me to do for you? |
