Daily Lesson for June 11, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Luke chapter 18 verses 35 through 43:

35 As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37They told him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth* is passing by.’ 38Then he shouted, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ 39Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ 40Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him,41‘What do you want me to do for you?’ He said, ‘Lord, let me see again.’ 42Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.’ 43Immediately he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, praised God.

There is a phrase in today’s Lesson we probably are hardly even aware of but need to pay very close attention to as it says so much about us and our society as a whole. The phrase is: “Those who were in front”.

Those who were in front wanted the blind man to shut up, to stop interrupting, to quiet down, and be happy with his lot. His begging was a nuisance and a perturbing disruption. It could hardly be seen to be anything else to those who were already up front. And that is because those up front enjoyed a privilege that the blind man and others on the side of the road did not. The blind man had to shout to be heard, to simply be seen. Those privileged to be up front called this inappropriate — a disturbance of the peace and an out of order impropriety. 

But Jesus saw it different. Jesus heard the blind man’s shouts. Jesus heard and saw him. He heard his complaint and saw his humanity.

It’s so easy for us who are up front in life to take it all for granted, to trick ourselves into thinking somehow we belong here, and that there must be something morally wrong with those who are not up front and walking tall with us. But Jesus shows us another way. Jesus shows us how to hear and how to see and how to hold the line so others may be included also. 

In other words, Jesus shows us how to simply be human. The world could stand for a lot more of than now — humanity.