I thought I would take the sermons I hear on Sunday and expand on it here but I felt to go in a different direction because my church is right now on a series about Jonah and the Whale. I'm not so certain that Jonah and the whale actually applies specifically with my blog at the moment so I wanted to write about somebody else. I did say I'd keep this one short so it will be.
Mark 8:22-25
They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?" He looked up and said, "I see people, they look like trees walking around." Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. The his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
I find it interesting that the people who brought the blind man to Jesus had a request. That request was for Jesus to touch the blind man. No other passage of scripture where there is a healing was there a request to be touched. Often times this passage of scripture is referred to as the double healing. Back in the day people who were blind were stigmatized and marginalized from regular society and often times reduced to becoming beggars on the street at the mercy of anyone who might spare some change.
When I look back and read about the encounters Jesus had when he healed somebody there was always something very significant with what he would do. On one occasion he asked this paralytic man if he wanted to be well. To many of us this seems like a no-brainer.. of course the man wanted to be well, or at least if that were me that were unable to walk, of course I'd want to walk. However, the question do you want to be well had also implied something. To the paralytic man Jesus said, "pick up your matt and walk." Responsibility often follows healing and when you're so used to a life of having no responsibility to all of a sudden have responsibility there is a price to pay. If you are healed that means instead of asking for change it would be time to start inquiring about a job. A Pastor of mine once said, "you know the bible says if you don't work you don't eat" so if you're an able bodied person you should simply, get a job!
So here's the blind man with a group of people asking Jesus to touch. Jesus takes him by the hand and leads him outside the village.
I never quite saw this before until somebody pointed this out. I mentioned above. The request wasn't that Jesus heal the blind man of his blindness but rather to touch the man. There was something deeper and more profound going on then just simply the restoration of the man's sight. Could you imagine being isolated from community, being marginalized, and literally untouchable? Could you imagine on a daily basis degrading yourself to asking people on the street for spare change? Could you imagine perhaps all the rude encounters that you'd have with people who just condemn you saying you've sinned and your father sinned and so therefore your blindness and neediness is God's wrath and judgement upon you? And then look at you with disdain? Could you imagine if you've gone through your entire life untouched? I'm not just talking about physical touch but something far deeper then that. Could you imagine then what the blind man would be thinking as Jesus takes him by the hand and leads him across the village.
That day the blind man and Jesus shared an intimate moment. The blind man was fully known in all his shame and in all his weakness and everything that brought shame upon him and his family. Perhaps the blind man experienced something a little more that day then just simply the restoration of his sight.
For many of us, leaving the gay life is leaving the familiar and moving towards and embracing what is unfamiliar. It is going on a journey in uncharted waters not knowing what to expect. All kinds of emotions are stirred up when we leave the familiar places which even though sinful has brought a level of comfort to us. We are comfortable with what we know and afraid of what we don't know and so many of us like to even define what the journey ought to look like. We are so used to the familiar that we, at the very least consciously or unconsciously seek to control the parameters on the how we're healed and where we're healed.
Some of us are needing to take Jesus by the hand in our spiritual blindness and be led by Jesus without defining what happens from there.
Some of us are on the edge are in the place of partial healing and simply need to trust Jesus in the place of still being healed.
If we're all honest none of us are completely healed. We're all still on a journey of being healed or, of being transformed into the likeness of Jesus. I would argue that our full sight isn't completely restored on this side of heaven and so we're in the place of still being healed and trusting in the complete work of Christ. It is possible that Jesus wants to touch us in places that are less obvious. Some of us we're so consumed by our struggle with same sex attraction that our focus becomes so narrow and so focused that we lose sight in the bigger picture.
Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. ~ Philipians 1:6
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