A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to what the fairly new movie Ray, staring Jamie Foxx. It is the life story of the soul and jazz musician, Ray Charles. The movie touched on Ray Charles’ life growing up and losing his younger brother in a tragic accident, an event that he blamed himself for during much of his adult life, as well as him losing his eyesight and the struggles that resulted for him as he learned to deal with his handicap.
By far, however, most of the movie dealt with Ray’s professional life, both his achievements and the dark side of his life. As we watch this film, again and again, we see a man who is struggling with the demons inside him, demons that manifest themselves in illicit sex but even more in severe drug abuse. There is a telling scene in the movie where he is involved in a confrontation with his wife. He has just been arrested on federal drug charges and he and his wife argue over his heroin habit. He believes that it affects no one but himself. She argues that it affects everyone around him because the habit has completely consumed him, to the point that his drugs are more important that his mistresses, his employees, his family, and even his music. Following this scene he does admit himself into a drug rehabilitation facility and straightens his life out once again.
As I was watching this movie, the life story of a blind man, the thought occurred to me that one could be blind in more ways than losing the ability to see. Such was the case for Ray Charles. Such is the case for many in the world around us. And, sadly, such is the case for many who are in the Church.
In our lesson this morning we see two kinds of blindness. The first is the obvious one, physical blindness. Jesus and the disciples were traveling, as they often are when they encounter a man who had been blind since birth. The disciples, whom I could make an argument for having a blindness of sorts themselves, see this as an opportunity to ask a theological question. They ask Jesus, whose sin caused this man to be born blind, the man or his parents?
To our more modern sensibilities this would seem like an ignorant question. You see, during the Biblical era, handicaps and illness were believed to be the result of somebody’s sin. We don’t tend to think that way as much any more.
Jesus responded that the man wasn’t blind because of sin, but instead to show the power of God. Then Jesus proceeds to make a mudpack of dust and saliva and spreads it on the man’s eyes and instructs him to go and wash the mud away.
It resulted in a rather shocking situation for the Jews. Many of these folks had known the man since birth. They knew he had always been blind. When they saw him, no longer blind, they questioned if it actually was the blind man. Many refused to believe it was the same man.
As a result the man ended up facing the Pharisees. That brings us to the other blindness in our lesson. It really is the same blindness that the disciples had when their primary interest was in asking a theological question rather than seeing the need in a rag-tag beggar, blind man. The Pharisees were more interested in knowing how the man got healed and that he had been healed on the Sabbath, a violation of Sabbath law, rather than joining the man in celebrating his new found sight.
Whenever the Pharisees were more interested in the law than they were in the effects that the letter of the law had on people they showed their own blindness. They were blinded by the darkness of their own world, by the power and prestige of their position. So are we. Whenever we overlook the needs of people we are blinded by sin, most likely in our day, the sin of apathy. We are blinded by the dark.
There is blindness on our lives. We are often blind to ourselves. In the movie Ray, Ray Charles was really blind to the real Ray Charles. He was so caught up in his drugs that they controlled him and his actions rather than Ray being in control of himself.
Whenever we allow the things of the world and the things around us to gain control over us we become blind to ourselves. It is up to us to get our own lives in order.
We are also often blinded to the needs of others. The Pharisees were blinded to the needs of the man that had been blink since birth. Ray Charles was blind the needs of many around him, most importantly his family. In one scene in the movie Ray comes home from being on the road and is met by an excited Ray Jr. dressed in his baseball uniform talking about how well his baseball team is doing and about a big game they had coming in a few days. It is obvious that he wants his father to come and cheer for him in his game. Ray responded as too many parents do, he didn’t have time, he couldn’t go. But, he would give them some money to buy them new uniforms. His response to the needs of his son was to throw money at a problem that money really couldn’t solve. He was blind to the needs of his son. All too often we too are blind to the needs of others.
We are also blinded to God. In the lesson the now former blind man tells the Pharisees what Jesus had done, what was done to reveal God’s power and God’s work and it is ignored. The same is all too often true for us. We are blind to God when we lack the vision to see the possibilities for the future.
The good news is, just as Jesus opened the eyes of the blind man, God will open our blind eyes too. In our lesson Jesus spreads mud on the blind man’s eyes. In the King James it actually uses the word anointed the man’s eyes. If we were to go the original New Testament language and look at the Greek we would learn that the word used here is the same word used for Christ. In opening the blind man’s eyes Jesus “Christed” his eyes. I have a question for you. Have your eyes been Christed?
In his book Opening Blind Eyes, John Claypool talks about all of us having three kinds of eyes. He says we, except for those who are literally blind, have eyes of the body. They allow us to see shapes and differentiate between things. Then we have the eyes of the mind, which process the things the eyes of the body discover. For example, the eyes of the body see ice or snow. The eyes of the mind let us know it is cold. But, the most important eyes says Claypool, are the eyes of the heart. I think Jesus would agree. The eyes of the heart allow us to see the needs of others around us. The eyes of the heart let us see God at work in the world. The eyes of the heart allow us to be touched by what they see and be about the work that God lays out before us.
A fellow by the name of Tim Bruster tells a powerful story about a mom who took her children to a crowded restaurant one day. Her six-year-old son asked if he could say grace. He prayed, “God is great and God is good, let us thank him for our food, and God I would thank you even more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And liberty and justice for all! Amen!”
Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby, the woman at the very next table growled loudly, “that’s what’s wrong with this country. Kids today don’t even know how to pray. The very idea… asking God for ice cream! Why I never.”
Hearing this, the little boy burst into tears and asked his mother, “Did I do it wrong? I’m sorry. Is God mad at me?” The little boy’s mother pulled him over into her lap. She hugged him and assured him that he had done a terrific job with his prayer and God was certainly not mad at him.
An elderly gentleman walked over to the table. He winked at the little boy and he said, “I know God really well. We visit every day and I happen to know that God loved your prayer. It may have been the best one He has heard all day.”
“Really?” the little boy asked.
“Cross my heart,” said the man. Then he leaned over and whispered into the little boy’s ear, pointing at the woman at the next table who had made the remark that started the whole thing, “Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes.”
Naturally, the mom ordered ice cream for her kids at the end of the meal. The little boy stared at his for a moment and then he did something that no one in the restaurant that day would ever forget. He picked up his sundae and without a word walked over and placed it in front of the woman at the next table. With a big smile he said to her, “Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes and my soul is good already.”
It seems to me that there are several eyes that are open in that story and a couple that were still blind. Perhaps God used a six-year-old little boy and a bowl of ice cream to open some eyes blinded by the dark. God opens blind eyes.
There is one other thing from this lesson that I want to lift up this morning. It is also on that good news front. Jesus comes to us. In the lesson at the end of the man’s confrontation with the Pharisees they kick him out of the temple. When Jesus heard about it, Jesus came to him, and when he found the man gave him the opportunity at an eternal relationship. That says to me that during our times of need, times when it seems that our world is collapsing on us, Jesus will come to us as well, to heal and to give comfort.
In the man doesn’t come to belief in Jesus until after he is healed. When questioned about it, the man first says the man Jesus. Later he identifies Jesus as a prophet. But, when Jesus seeks him out again, the man comes to understand that Jesus is the Messiah. It is then that he believes.
Jesus comes to us. Jesus calls us. Jesus is seeking a relationship with us, just as he did the man born blind, long before we ever know Him for who He is.
The theological term for that is “Prevenient Grace.” Quite simply it means, the grace that comes before. Before we even knew who God was, God was pursuing a relationship with us, trying to open our blind eyes.
In a few minutes we are coming to the Lord’s Table. As we do, we have yet another opportunity to come before the healing touch of the Master. We come to the table perhaps with eyes that are completely closed. Maybe we come to the table with eyes that are open, to a degree, eyes that the world and its pressures are trying to close. Coming to the Table allows us in a time of prayer and renewal, to have Christ touch us once again, to open the eyes of our hearts to all that is around us.
Perhaps our eyes are fully opened. If so, may we use this time first as a time of praise, and second as a time to hear what God might say to us in leading us, to work for Him.
It seems to me, when Jesus comes to us, and anoints us, Christ opens the eyes of our hearts, our eyes are opened. With our eyes opened, we are no longer blinded by the dark.
