Psalms 89:1-18 * 89:19-52; Genesis 30:1-44; 1 John 1:1-10; John 9:1-17Some folks, no matter what you do, are going to be obstinate and not "get it." Frustrating, absolutely. What are we to do about those folks?
Jesus deals with some of that in today's Gospel from John. He heals an individual, blind since birth, and because he did this unheard of miracle on the Sabbath, the strict constructionists, the literalists, claim he cannot be of God. Thick-headedness, myopia, narrow-mindedness surrounded Jesus, all of which still exist around us in various forms today. Do we stand in front of these folks and yell "fool!"? Do we simply ignore them, chastise them, belittle them? As good as that might make us feel at times, no, that is not the way either, although, Jesus does have a pretty sharp tongue for these folks at times. Should we model that sharpness?
But that isn't all that Jesus does: he continues on, he keeps at it. He stays true to his mission and journey: opening and creating the kingdom for all of us. Even those of us who, at times, are the thick-headed, myopic, narrow-minded literalists. We are given a model of continuing our efforts, continuing to invite those who don't yet want to be invited: again, sometimes who are us. That is the good news....it is never too late to join up with Jesus.....We need to ask ourselves, What blinders do we need to take off today?
jfd+
Copyright 2012, The Rev. John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.
Photo: Provincetown Harbor, 2006, jfd+
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