Saturday 13 August 2016

Psalm: Psalm 134

Background

There are several interpretations of this curious eye metaphor.Some commentators believe that the metaphor refers to a belief thatsomeone with a healthy eye was generous and compassionate, whilstsomeone with an unhealthy eye was mean spirited and lackedcompassion. Other biblical commentators (see Craig Evans, NewCambridge Bible Commentary on Matthew (CUP, 2012)) refer to awidespread belief in antiquity that eyes actually possessed light,and were an actual source of light which illumined the world aroundthem. The eye was literally a 'lamp' for the body. To have a'healthy' eye was to be able to illuminate, and bring into clearfocus the world around you. If "the lamp of the body" fails, youare plunged into a complete inner and outer darkness. The passagehere, many would suggest, is referring to the lack of spiritualinsight rather than the physical blindness.

I can never read this text without reflecting on the manyconversations held with my friend and colleague John Hull and hisperspective as a non-sighted person. Part of John's outstandinglyrich legacy was to challenge the reading of Scripture, written asit was by sighted people who associated the lack of sight with sin,corruption and evil. John would speak of this text beingexperienced very differently by a blind person. The instinctivehorror of being "full of darkness" would not be the experience of ablind person. A blind person would not experience this as full ofdarkness but as normality. John wondered if in fact the wholeSermon on the Mount could be said to be a criticism of the world ofsight, the world where what matters is what things look like. Jesusinvites us to look and see differently, to pay attention to theworld around us and to expose the superficiality of judgementsbased on appearances.

The starkness of the metaphor can reinforce the false and easydualism, of good versus bad, dark versus light, right versus wrong.This is not the reality of our complex human experience; life ismuch more nuanced then these words suggest. Without darkness, lightwould not exist. Darkness was present in the beginning and wassurely created by God, so to be in darkness is not to be absentfrom God but to be present to God in a different way. Part of ourdiscipleship must be to live well, regardless of our being able tosee clearly -  this is called faith. This is a faith whichenables us to journey through life trusting in the one whoaccompanies us on the journey. We face a future which we cannotknow, trusting in the God in whom we are all fully known.

To Ponder

• What does it mean to you to be 'known by God'?

• Are you conscious of the 'image' you present to others?

• Do you recognise your own tendency to make judgements basedpurely on appearances?

• Every day we are bombarded by multiple images, how do youcontrol their impact upon you?

• What image do you believe your community has of the church youbelong to?