Grace, peace and mercy be multiplied to you from God our Father, and the Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen.
This lesson of Jesus healing two blind men is found in the Gospel of Matthew. We began the week in Sunday’s lessons with Jesus healing the blind man as recorded in the Gospel of John.
I came across this following story many years ago - What if two of these men, one from each healing story met each other. What would that conversation have been? Someone wrote how that encounter may have sounded (TONGUE FIRMLY PLACED IN THE CHEEK – a little levity for today. I could not find the name of the original author of this story).
The story is told of two blind men who had been healed by Jesus, who happened to meet one day, and they were so excited to meet someone else who had been healed. They talked about the wonder of sight, the color of flowers, the beauty of butterflies, the glory of sunrises, the faces of children and grandchildren.
They talked about the wonder of having seen the face of Jesus. They were laughing and having a great time together. One of the men asked the other, “Tell me about when Jesus healed you.”
The second man said, “Well, I was just sitting by the side of the road one day, and some people were asking Jesus a question about my blindness, was it my sin or my parents that caused my blindness. Jesus said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on my eyes, and said, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” So I went and washed and came back able to see. It was amazing. And how about with you?”
The first man said, “I was sitting by the side of the road near Jericho, and people told me “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
So I shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped, and ordered his disciples to bring me to him. So they did, and when I came near to Jesus, he asked me,
“What do you want me to do for you?” I said, “Lord, let me see again.” Jesus said, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” Immediately I could see, and I followed him, glorifying God. IT was amazing.”
The second man said, "Wait a minute - now just wait a minute here. You mean he didn't use any mud?"
"No."
"Well, did he at least have you wash in the pool of Siloam?"
"No - of course not - who ever heard of anything so ridiculous as mud in your eye?!"
"Well," said the second man, "if he didn't put mud in your eyes and have you wash in the pool of Siloam, you are still blind! Blind - do you hear me? Because that's the way Jesus healed me; that's the way he does it!"
Then the first man began to get angry. He shouted, "Mud, mud, mud! Who ever heard of using mud?! That's the dumbest thing I have ever heard! You still have mud in your eyes. You're the one who's still blind!"
And so began the first two denominations: the Mudites and the Anti-Mudites! Both believe if you don’t come to see as we came to see, then you are still blind!
Every one of us has a story. A story of our walk with Jesus, and how we have come to see. Because your story is not the same as mine, that does not make it right or wrong. Instead of focusing on our differences, let us rejoice in the things we hold in common. There is a God who loves us, a Savior who died and rose for us, a promised Holy Spirit that calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies us.
A wonder of God is the beautiful tapestry of God’s creation. We are unique. We are individual, not just in appearance, but in the stories of who we are, and how we have come to know
whose
we are. In that beautiful tapestry, God weaves us together as the Body of Christ.
Thank God for the differences that make us who we are.
Let us pray:
O Lord, heal us of the blindness that leads to division. Open our eyes to see in each person one who is made in your beautiful image, worthy of your unconditional love. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, our healer and Lord. Amen.
