"I Want to See!"

Text: Luke 18:35-43

The disciples wanted to keep children away from Jesus. In a parable a judge wanted to keep a needy widow outside the reach of justice. In today's text the crowd wanted to keep a blind man from an audience with Jesus. One way to deal with human need and weakness is to pretend it is not there. But that's not the way of our Lord. "Bring him here."

I doubt many of us can imagine the impact of those words on the spirit of a blind beggar. He was quite accustomed, one would suppose, to the dismissiveness of the crowd. Perhaps their attitude was understandable, even while obviously deficient. It doesn't require total heartlessness to pass him by; it only requires that helpless feeling of having nothing to offer, and then allowing the focus on what one does not have to dominate any thoughts of what could be done. Over time, the calloused soul atrophies.

This time, however, the man would not be dissuaded from seeking one he believed could help him. And when invited into the center of Jesus' attention, he heard even more encouraging words: "What do you want me to do for you?" Men said, "Hush!" The Son of Man asked what he could do. What a contrast! It would not have been realized had he not been desperately persistent about his need. When we come to Jesus, we too must not be easily turned aside.

Today, however, I would like to focus on our call to imitate the Lord's manner. That manner is summarized very simply by two phrases: Bring him to me; What do you want me to do for you? As the body of Christ in this world, these phrases should be expressed wherever the church is found. In a broken world, the church says to the ones on the margins, come; and when they come, what is it that Jesus can do for them? Then, instead of telling them their need, we invite them to express it themselves, that they may own what healing may come. When people are set free, transformed, cured of blindness, and reminded lovingly that they matter to their Creator, they and the watching world will praise God.