Sunday 16 December 2007
- Bible Book:
- Matthew
"Jesus answered them, 'Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them'". (v.4-5)
Background
Today's reading reflects a huge curiosity about who Jesus - thisnew prophet, teacher, healer - really was. What was he up to? Couldhe really be the long-expected Messiah? Or, more likely, justanother in the long line of holy people who'd been interesting, butnever quite come up to expectations?
John the Baptist, in prison by this stage, sent some of hisdisciples to find out more. Jesus didn't attempt to explain orjustify his position in personal terms. He pointed the questionerstowards what they could "hear and see" for themselves -life-changing experiences for the blind, the lame, the lepers andthe deaf.
In Jesus' time, impairments such as blindness, lameness anddeafness, as well as what we now understand to be specificinfections like leprosy, were all mysterious, incurableproblems.
In the Old Testament miraculous healings were a sign of thepresence and activity of God. (For example, Jesus uses Isaiah'sprophecy about 'recovery of sight to the blind' (
It was not surprising, then, that witnessing lives beingtransformed be Jesus' miracles made a huge impression on peoplearound him.
To Ponder
Miracles can be viewed literally as healing ofspecific medical conditions. But they can also have a symbolicdimension such as opening the eyes of those blind to God's presenceor the ears of those deaf to God's word. In both senses, who arethe blind, the lame, the lepers or the deaf around us today?
Following on, in what ways might we need to behealed?
In what ways do our modern scientificunderstandings of health, disease and medicine sometimes dilute ourperceptions of Jesus healing people today?