April 9, 2025 Midweek News
Last Sunday we reflected on the “two stage miracle” of Jesus as he healed a blind man. It seems like it took Jesus two tries. With his own saliva on his hands, Jesus needed two attempts to help the blind man see clearly.
Lots of theological “fuss” has been made about why Jesus needed two attempts. Everyone wants to keep Jesus perfect, supernatural, and high up on the divine pedestal, but we forget that he was equally human, and maybe prone to a little doubt or anxiety about his own abilities.
By studying this miracle together, we discerned that maybe the miracle isn’t so much about Jesus needing two attempts. The miracle is much more about the disciple’s ability to see clearly – or not so clearly – who Jesus is. They come to understand that Jesus is the Messiah, but they don’t want to accept what that means – that he will suffer, be arrested, be tortured, and killed before he is raised. To be the messiah means that his path of great love includes great suffering. As the Gospel of Mark continues, Jesus speaks more and more about the suffering that will come. He wants to prepare and warn his disciples, but they don’t see clearly until he is resurrected.
As we enter the final days of Lent, and prepare for Palm Sunday, the words from our finally hymn last Sunday echo in my mind. I can imagine Jesus speaking these words to his disciples, and do us, as we live and breathe as his church. Pray and meditate on these words with me today. They are in the graphic above.
Lenten blessings,
Pastor Jared