"That I might see; That I might hear: " --classic Observer

Friday, November 03, 2006


"That I might see"; "That I might hear"
(Ed.note. Whenever the Observer finds an unusual sermon locally, I will try to summarize it for my faithful readers. In case some might have missed it. I have long been a reader of printed sermons, such as Jonathan Edwards, etc. In times gone by, this was an established area of literature, and rhetoric. )

Last Sunday a local pastor in Evansville gave a sermon that was pretty remarkable. It was on the blind man at the side of the road. Yes, there are several of them in the gospels, but in this one story, the blind man is told to shut up and be still. The Lord hears the commotion and says, "Bring him to me." A little teaching lesson for those disciples on their future role.

Anyway. When the disciples approach the blind man and tell him to come forward, the blind man throws off his cloak. The pastor noted the fact that the blind use their cloak to keep the coins that people throw to them in their begging. So---throwing the cloak is pretty remarkable. The blind man had a real focus on what was important. He already "saw" pretty clearly.

The Lord then asks the blind man: "What do you want? And the blind man says, "That I might see."

You all know the rest of the story. But.....

As I traveled about this week, I counted the number of bifocals and extra reading glasses, and the sunglasses etc that those over 40 struggle with as their eyes suffer a variety of conditions......It is pretty rampant. It is very, very common. I invite you to do a little survey. I think you will be amazed by the data.

I liked the sermon and all. From the Observer perspective, I wonder what kind of "blindness" was really being cured here? As my readers know, I have been a big fan of Pinocchio and stories etc, and never have confused the point with the facts. I know some folks think the Lord was a vision specialist and did a little early laser treatment. NO. I think not. He also was NOT an educational specialist who wrote books on braille. NO. I would propose...for friendly debate of course...that it's a different kind of blindness---the kind we all have.

Very early....we begin not seeing. The things that are inconvenient. And the hearing too begins to fade. We just do not want to hear. The lies. The pain. Well, lots of stuff.

And then the final blow. The voice fades. We lose the ability to raise our hand and speak. To ask questions. To disagree. It becomes just too uncomfortable.

What woe! To be blind. And deaf. And dumb. And the progression begins so early in life.

So. It's not too late. To stand. To see. To hear. And to speak. Let's throw off the cloak and begin. Toss the small change on the floor.

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