A Glop of Mud to the Face: Thanks, Jesus
In the story of the man born blind in our gospel today, I have always pondered 1) what was the blind man’s reaction when some random person spouting religious jargon comes up and starts spreading mud all over his face, and 2) how awesome is it that Jesus actually went to look for this man when he heard that he had been cast out?
But first we begin with another question: what are the Pharisees and townspeople really asking with all these angry questions?
What do they really want?
They want the same thing that all of us want: certainty.
If there is one thing the human mind cannot bear, it is having our well-thought out categories challenged.
The only way we are able to walk around every day without flying off the edge of this chaotic world is because we have constructed an elaborate system of How Things Work and How Things Ought To Be Done.
Unfortunately, Jesus does not really care about the categories we have constructed.
He breaks every box we’ve ever built for others and for ourselves to live in, and he’s not very polite about doing it. Continue reading