Cultivating Eyesight

 

Matthew 11:2-11

 

      One of the things I have noticed while singing in the choir is that when I am looking at the words and the notes on the page, they are not always clear.  When that happens my natural reaction is to pull the anthem closer to me, and the closer it comes, the blurrier it gets.  It is only when I move it as far away as possible that I can see it clearly.  Over the years I have had to change glasses a few times.  The prescription that may have been the right one five years ago is no longer helpful because my eyes have changed and I need a new lens to look through.  And then when I have a new lens, I can't keep it clean.  It keeps getting smudged so that I cannot see through it clearly.  The more smudged it gets, the less clearly I see.

 

       John the Baptist was in prison.  Before he went to prison he believed that Jesus was the Messiah. But as he sat in the prison cell he began to wonder.  If Jesus is the Messiah and I am championing his cause, why am I in prison?  Why are the Romans still in power?  Have I given my life for something that is false?

 

       So he sends one of his disciples to ask Jesus to clarify the situation.  Are you the one we have been expecting, or should we look for another?  Jesus responds by giving John a new lens to look through.  Tell John what is taking place.  The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear.  People are being transformed. 

 

       I think there are at least three important pieces of information in this passage.  First, when we try to do it on our own, our vision is blurry.  We need help.  John thought he knew the truth but he didn't.  Second, when John wanted to know the truth he sought out Jesus.  When we want to know the truth, we need to seek out Jesus.  Third, when we are confronted by the truth, expect to be transformed. 

 

      Not long ago some Presbyterians took out their calculators and made a startling prediction.  At the rate we are losing members, we will become virtually non-existent in the twenty-first century.  If present trends continue Presbyterian will become the Amish of the twenty-first century.  They were saying we would be marginalized and irrelevant like a horse and buggy people.  Personally I found that characterization of the Amish as very offensive. 

 

       In the fall of 2006 a group of Amish in Pennsylvania grieved as they buried their own school children, slaughtered by a rage filled man.  While the grieved they took time to send a delegation to reach out to and financially support the widow and family of the one who had done the shooting.  They could do that because they had cultivated the right kind of eyesight.  They became a light shining in the darkness. 

 

        As long as we share God's grace and love we will never be irrelevant.  As we journey through this Advent season may we seek a clearer vision, one that will enable us to get a glimpse of the Kingdom of God.