Readings: Isaiah 42:14-17, and Mark 8:22-26
The readings today are deeply rooted in narratives across the Hebrew scriptures from the books of Genesis to Judges, and the Psalms to the Prophets. A patchwork of human voices stitched together with the golden thread of God, weaved in a multiplicity of vertical and horizontal lines. A complex weave of human seeing and divine essence, complicated by the human limits of language and perception. Yet from beginning to end, He tells us enough, enough to know that regardless of all scholarly theories or priestly movements, the one thing we are always to do is love. Whatever happens, whatever people say, it remains as simple and as complicated as love. And O Lord, how often we have failed to love You and our neighbour.
The Gospel of Mark focuses on the identity of Jesus as Messiah, the King who overcomes the world, through works that are a fulfilment of prophecy; having a command that is supernatural yet visible – a tangible reality witnessed directly by human eyes and ears.
In the year of the Lord’s favour, God became man and dwelt among us. He entered fully man fully God, into a restless world, wholly plunged into our world of suffering. The stillness of heaven knit into an earthly movement, so that through Him, the works of darkness would be defeated, and in Him we would enter His Sabbath Day – the day of rest. ‘Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, for my yoke is easy and my burden light.’
He came ‘to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness the prisoners’ He came to restore sight to the blind.
(Isaiah 61:1)
The mission of Jesus to make known His justice through reconciliation. God created light in His image, so metaphorically speaking the blind are separated from Him who ‘appeared’ to Moses as a purifying fire in the burning bush. The blind are dependent on support within families and communities, so again metaphorically speaking there is a separation, a necessary human intermediary between the blind man who depends upon a human guide. Jesus takes the man by the hand to ‘lead the blind in a way he does not know’, to the place of meeting outside the village, like Moses and the tent of meeting outside the camp.
The healing removes the intermediary so that he may depend on God, the light from heaven. The gap is bridged, the living water of heaven, God’s spit, like a glue binding two worlds.
But there are two stages of his healing, which can teach us many things about our relationship with God, ourselves and others. It can teach us about our ways of seeing and being in the world. A vertical transcendence speaking of God’s way that is like a plumb-line or the straight path between earth and heaven, the ladder by which Jacob sees angels ascend and descend. A metaphorical seeing; imaginative and dream-like, along with the way of holiness, moving us metaphorically up towards the heavens, bringing us together in the clouds.
A horizontal transcendence like a measuring line between us, that movement we make out of ourselves towards the people around us. A line that represents our time and our space, for we are creatures bound to the time that is now and to the place where we are. The measuring rods when they appear in scripture are therefore the set periods of time in space that are known only by the Father. Any prediction that sets a time for happenings are from unholy sources, divination that passes lies before us to obscure the true light and our dependence upon God. For it is God who establishes our steps, and God who gives us the strength to pass through the waters of uncertainty.
And Jesus is the cornerstone holding these two paths up to God and across otherness together. If God had not entered the world fully human, fully divine, the scriptures would be nothing but myth – a host of voices and visions of God merely man-made, no thread tying any meaning to His divine essence of love, pure and simple.
The waters of heaven touch the man, his eyes unpolluted by the distractions of the world, the first time this man sees, he sees like an angel the ‘essence’ of things. ‘I see people; they look like trees walking around.’ Trees, vital to the proper functioning of our planet, rooted and fruitful. To have stability, to bring life to others, and provide shelter. This is the mission of family. And God said, ‘be fruitful and multiply’ (Genesis 1:28). Then the hands of our Lord are laid upon him again – and he saw ‘everything clearly’. Perfect human vision, fully awake and ready to witness the goodness of God, and free from common cognitive distortions and prejudice.
This healed man, his mission is to witness God’s love at home, in humble service and joy for his blessing. The distance between God and man is narrowed – Jesus has grasped our hands, so that we may too walk along the Kings ‘high’ way, pondering these things in our hearts. For the journey begins within and spreads outward, like the branches of a tree.
The transcendent healing comes from heaven to earth, which when viewed alongside the witness of the disciples in Luke’s transfiguration narrative – we notice their worldly vision begins in the sleepiness of humanity and is lifted up to wakefulness by the brilliance of the divine glory.
Yet Jesus, as so often in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus tells him not to go back to the village nor tell it to anyone in the village. Having fulfilled His mission purpose, Jesus is now giving the healed man a new way and a new mission or purpose. Firstly, it is about not returning along the road of darkness, the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17). Secondly, he presents a vocation for him and us, to go home, to share the gift of this healing with his family, to be a tree of life, to yield fruit by passing on the blessing to others in love.
To announce officially or publicly the healing, for now that mission belongs to Jesus and when His work is finished, when, after the resurrection He gives all the authority of heaven to the twelve apostles, they will take up the mission as baptisers, healers and preachers of the good news of the Kingdom come.
Thirdly, overarching these themes we have to return again to the purpose of Mark’s Gospel, which is the revelation of Jesus as the Messiah. So, we cannot avoid this idea of a ‘secret’ when Jesus asks the healed man not to tell the village. In looking back to scripture, in Moses foretelling of a ‘prophet like me’ (Deuteronomy 18:15-19) he tells them ‘You must listen to him.’ So for example Jesus’ command ‘don’t tell this to anyone’ to the man healed from leprosy was for obedience, the skin disease a metaphor for the state of the soul, and in not remaining quiet he has broken the covenant between God and himself, a proof to demonstrate Elijah’s grievance on Mount Horeb, that we so often as one humanity – as Leviticus says, “if you will not listen”, “and fail to carry out all my commands” this violates “my covenant.” And we are given a covenant to love.
Everything relates to another, so our reading today also ties the transfiguration narrative into the Messianic identity of Christ. The two stages of healing, rather like the two stages of the victory of Barak, a military commander, and Jael over the enemy in the book of Judges. Barak, which means ‘lightning’ in Hebrew was instructed by God to ascend Mount Tabor, and as he comes down the mountain God has turned the river into an island, that is He has cut off the chariots of iron so there is no escape. Man-made obstacles are laid waste, ‘take heart!’ Jesus tells us, ‘I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33). As Jesus comes down Mount Tabor He defeats the forces of evil, that hide in the unseen places when He drives out a demon – stage one. Then stage two, visible and seen clearly, He covers us with His love on the cross, and death is defeated. His work is done.
“You do not realise now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” (John 13:7)
Let us finish this reflection with the words of His mother Mary at the wedding feast of Cana, “do whatever He tells you.” Therefore, may we love the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind, and love our neighbour as ourselves.
As simple and as complicated as love.
Amen.