I see, said the blind man. This Sunday’s Gospel is about seeing beyond understanding. John’s 9th chapter tells this great story about Jesus making mud with spit and dirt and rubbing it on the eyes of a blind man who after washing it off could see. I’ll share daily this week on this story, but wanted to start with the argument that ensued.
The Pharisees and even Jesus’ homies, the disciples, were stuck on trying to understand, and the story gives Jesus an opportunity to teach them, and us, the limits of understanding. They all referred to rules and traditions to interpret the man’s blindness, and Jesus’ act of healing on the Sabbath. There is a great cast of characters, even including the parents of the man blind from birth. And the long version of the Gospel is rather tedious…just as the argument was.
The Pharisees and even Jesus’ homies, the disciples, were stuck on trying to understand, and the story gives Jesus an opportunity to teach them, and us, the limits of understanding. They all referred to rules and traditions to interpret the man’s blindness, and Jesus’ act of healing on the Sabbath. There is a great cast of characters, even including the parents of the man blind from birth. And the long version of the Gospel is rather tedious…just as the argument was.
Understanding, like ego, can move us forward to our truth, but only to a point. I smiled to consider the word as two: under and standing. The roman architect (literally, builder of the arch) was, it is said, required to stand under his completed arch while the scaffolds that had supported it during construction were removed. If his work was faulty and the arch failed, he’d be crushed under his failure and never be able to build a second faulty arch. It did not take trust for him to stand under his arch. It took only understanding. He considered the math, the measurements, the materials, and the men he supervised, and he could calculate the safety of standing under it.
Understanding allows us to stand under only those things we control. That same architect standing under the arch of a stranger would need trust. Understanding seems reasonable, rational, doesn’t it? But in this story about blindness and sight, perhaps a deeper message is about stepping out of the safety of control, beyond our calculation, and stepping into the unknown in search of our deeper selves, ourselves as loving and beloved.
There's an old joke that goes like this: A bunch of scientists created a huge machine capable of complex calculations and called it UNIVAC. Eager to test their invention, they asked it, "Is there a God?" The vacuum tubes hummed and the tape spools spun for several minutes. Finally, the machine spit out a little card, on which was written, "THERE IS NOW." On this day in 1951, the Remington Rand Corporation signed a contract to deliver the first UNIVAC computer to the U.S. Census Bureau. UNIVAC I (which stands for Universal Automatic Computer) took up 350 square feet of floor space — about the size of a one-car garage — and was the first American commercial computer.
ReplyDeleteJohn, this excerpt from today's "Writer's Almanac" seemed to go well with your reflection on the difference between understanding (calculation?) and faith. Creator Spirit is beyond our understanding and calculation, but not beyond our ability to "see."
Hope you are well. Thanks for unpacking this wonderful Gospel story.
Bill