Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he cried out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.” Then Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. St. Luke 18:35-43
1. Jesus did not stay in one place.
Jesus Christ was both God and man, so He could be holy anywhere. It is fitting that He reside in the throne room of God, surrounded by the cherubim and seraphim, with His holiness reflecting off all the angels and archangels around Him. But as the being of perfect love, He had to act on behalf of his beloved children (US!). So He took flesh and became man.
Some would have expected Him to take up residence in the Temple or in the Governor’s House. But instead He lived among common men and women and, for the last three years of His life, went from town to town so that everyone would know the Good News of salvation.
We must do the same. God resides within us. We are called to love others as God loves us. We are more than just disciples, we are Christ to the world– we are members of His body, the Church. Others expect us to keep the reason for our joy and hope here in this building, but that is not how to love! Yes, we invite the world to be transformed by joining us here, but love requires that we share the reason for joy and hope in the world, beyond these walls.
2. Jesus – and his disciples – encountered the messiness of the world.
The world is a messy place. Look what happened in today’s lesson: Christ and His entourage are almost to Jericho when a beggar disrupts their travel. This comes on the heels of other messy encounters: people having the nerve to bring their children up to Him to be blessed … a Rich Young Man questioning Jesus. It was one thing after another. And now there was this annoyingly persistent beggar! I am willing to guess that, in their weaker moments, the disciples would have preferred Jesus stay in a place where they could control Him. In a place that was quiet and predictable where he could teach them – as well as anyone else who knew how to behave and knew what kind of questions were appropriate.
But that would have been a different God, the God of Ivan Karamazov’s “Grand Inquisitor”. Life is messy. People have real problems, questions, and needs that do not fit into neat little categories. And God goes out to meet them in that messiness. As with the Rich Man, He may not always tell them what they want to hear, but there is the real sense that love required meeting people where they are (out in the world)… and then leading them to the cross and, through that, to the Resurrection and life eternal.
Our lives are messy. The things that go on in our community and in the lives of the people around us are messy. The quiet of prayer on the mountain and the order of liturgical worship should be regular parts of our Christian lives, but so should engaging with people whose needs are inconvenient and who problems don’t fit neatly into our plans.
3. Everyone glorified God.
My final point may seem obvious, but it demands attention. How did the people respond to the blind man’s healing? Did they attack Jesus (they did in other places, as when He healed on the Sabbath)? Were they upset that He wasted His time and power on a simple beggar? Were they upset that they did not get their fair share of Jesus’ miracles on their own body (I bet all of them suffered from something!)?
No, the Gospel says; “And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.”
This is the proper response to God’s love and power no matter how it matches our desires or expectations: glorification! When we glorify God, we become more human, more happy, and more resilient. And when others see us glorifying God, not just here in the temple, but everywhere we see Him acting in this beautiful world, they are naturally drawn to worship Him as well.
Yes, let’s continue to praise God here within these walls, but let’s be like Jesus Himself and take the Good News out into the world and let our friends and neighbors – even our enemies – see our love for them; let’s rejoice with them in their victories and attend to them in their losses so that God’s grace transforms us and them together into a single people living in the fullness of God’s redeeming and sanctifying love.
