5th Trinity August
Luke 18, 35-43
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| Brian Jekel |
It happened as he approached Jericho: a certain blind man was sitting by the road begging. Hearing the crowd going by, he wanted to know what was happening, and they told him Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. He cried out in a loud voice: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Those leading the way threatened him and wanted him to be quiet. But he cried all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus stopped and had him led to him. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want that I should do for you?”
He said to him, “Lord, that I may look up and see again.”
And Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight. Through your faith and your trust, the power for healing has been awakened in you.” ( your faith has healed you)
In that moment his eyes were opened. He followed Him and thus revealed the working of the divine within the human being--and all who saw it praised God.
5th August Trinity
August 19, 2018
Luke 18: 35-43
If at night the lights suddenly go out, we stop. For we can no longer see our surroundings. We cannot even take in what light there is, for we are temporarily blind.
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| Josephine Wall |
Once upon a time in Paradise, humankind could see the creative divinity, working in the flowing ether light that forms and shapes the world. But since Adam and Eve ate the fruit of knowledge, humankind has inherited a kind of blindness. We no longer look up and see God; no longer see the angels; no longer see the Light behind our daylight. We are blind without even knowing it. The common light of day obscures our vision. But we can still hear.
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| Holman Hunt |
The blind beggar hears that Jesus is passing by. He engages Him and asks to look up and see again—not just to see common objects; not even to see the faces of his loved ones. He wants to look up and see God, see the angels, see the Light behind the light. His firm knowledge that there is such a realm, and his trust that his eyes can be opened to it, opens his vision. And he sees before and above him—Christ—the Light of the world, the creator of Life, the very essence of Love.
We too will one day look up and see again. For we can hear the promise in Paul’s words as he says, ‘For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face.*
Or as a modern version puts it:
We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!**
*1 Corinthians 13:12, King James version
** 1 Corinthians 13:12, The Message (MSG) Bible, by Eugene Peterson
