the church of the
ascension
in the city of
new york
Monday, March 30, 2009
Monday, March 30
Psalm 35 / Romans 9:19-33 / John 9:1-17
At the end of today's Gospel reading the Pharisees disagree with each other about the nature of Jesus' power after he gave a blind man sight. To resolve the disagreement they ask the blind man, "What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?" The blind man replies, "He is a prophet."
It seems to me the Pharisees want to ground prophecy in experience. They assume that the beggar will know whether Jesus is righteous because he has personally experienced Jesus' miraculous power. However, as we read on, we learn that the Pharisees are not persuaded by the blind man's testimony about Jesus. They refuse to accept what he can teach them.
Like the Pharisees, we are confronted with the choice between the evidence of faith and the evidence of the world; and like the Pharisees, we must choose which we believe.
For me, this reading brings to mind the words of "Amazing Grace": "I was lost and now I am found, was blind and now I see." The price for true sight — grace — is high: you may be cast out. But the reward is greater: the gift of revelatory, redemptive vision.
— Martha Mitchell
At the end of today's Gospel reading the Pharisees disagree with each other about the nature of Jesus' power after he gave a blind man sight. To resolve the disagreement they ask the blind man, "What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?" The blind man replies, "He is a prophet."
It seems to me the Pharisees want to ground prophecy in experience. They assume that the beggar will know whether Jesus is righteous because he has personally experienced Jesus' miraculous power. However, as we read on, we learn that the Pharisees are not persuaded by the blind man's testimony about Jesus. They refuse to accept what he can teach them.
Like the Pharisees, we are confronted with the choice between the evidence of faith and the evidence of the world; and like the Pharisees, we must choose which we believe.
For me, this reading brings to mind the words of "Amazing Grace": "I was lost and now I am found, was blind and now I see." The price for true sight — grace — is high: you may be cast out. But the reward is greater: the gift of revelatory, redemptive vision.
— Martha Mitchell
