Thursday, December 14, 2000
"and recovery of sight
to the blind" Luke 4:18
Let me pose a three-prong question
for you to ponder. Can blindness ever be a form of healing, coming
to your senses, seeing things with clarity?
Consider the passage in Acts 9:1ff. Saul of Tarsus has been witness
to the stoning of Stephen outside the Lion's Gate. He was committed
to discovering and persecuting Christians. So he gained authorization
to proceed to Damascus, 120 miles north of Jerusalem, just beyond
Mount Hermon, to find and extradite escaped Christians.
At the peak of Mount Hermon, where the hot air of the plain met
the cold air of the mountain range, violent storms were a common
occurrence. In such a storm, "blindness" brought Saul
to his knees. The all-powerful persecutor of Jerusalem in that
moment surrendered to Christ.
Into Damascus, Saul went a changed man. He had traveled to Damascus
with an avenging fury, only to be led by the hand, blind and helpless.
Ananias, through a vision, is sent to Saul, to lay his hands upon
him. With fear and trembling, Ananias goes. He greets this persecutor
of the Christians - now changed - with the words, "Brother
Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on
your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and
be filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts
9:17 b). Such faith in Ananias. Such humility in Saul.
And with the words spoken, sight returned to Saul. At once he
committed himself in faith through baptism, ate food and regained
his strength.
Saul thought he could see clearly, but was blind to God at work
in a small group of Christian women and men. And when the light
of God blinded him, he could see the joy and wonder of God at
work in the lives of simple people throughout the land. --DH
To ponder: Where do you need to be blinded
by the power of joy and mercy to finally "see" God at
work in people who otherwise are not of value? How do you respond
when one with whom you are fighting greets you as "my sister"
or "my brother"?
Prayer: God, use even my blindness to open my
eyes. Help me to be humble and accept mercy in the midst of my
"holy righteousness". This I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
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