In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul writes about how “agape,” or mutual love and regard, is to be the foundation, the very goal for the Christian life. It is the foundation that requires ongoing character formation, and a virtue that is both given to us by the Holy Spirit and learned in a community. It is a gift that needs to be both cultivated and received together.        
 
It is why agape requires patience: agape doesn’t come down from the cross and say, “I am out of here,” but endures for the sake of forgiving others. It does not adopt secular tactics to keep score or tally votes, but learns over time the virtue of forbearance and calls forth maturity.
 
In short, agape means that there needs to be a sense of humility: it means that we don’t know all things, and we can’t see the whole picture, for, in truth, we only see in a mirror dimly (1 Cor. 13:12). We cannot see all that is happening, or all that is going to happen. No one can! If we did, we would sound like a noisy gong or a clanging symbol. 
 
No, love as agape means we act with humility: we see with humble eyes through the cross. We see through another angle of vision. Because, truth be told, right now, our vision is blurry, or should I say, due to our own imperfections, we cannot quite make out what we see all the time, especially when we look in the mirror. 
 
In other words, when I look in the mirror, is it someone I know? Is it really me? Or is it someone who thinks he has it all together? Or is it someone Whose own face I am trying to see, but never quite clear as to Who it is? Is it Jesus’ face, or someone else’s?
 
Humble eyes remind us that someday we all will see, but that right now, only dimly, partially. Humble eyes remind us that the things we thought were most important in this life are really like child’s play in comparison to what is to come, and that the things we may have wondered about in terms of faith, hope, and love truly do matter, especially with respect to agape, which is the greatest gift of all, giving us the eyes to see and the vision to be the body of Christ.
 
Pastor Andy Kinsey

How do you know what you know?  How do you know what you see is true?  It takes spiritual vision. Spiritual vision is the ability to see the way Jesus sees - through the lenses of grace, love, mercy, and hope while wearing glasses of justice, compassion, humility, and wisdom. 

If there was a man who did NOT have clear spiritual vision, it was a man by the name of Saul of Tarsus. He thought he knew all things Jewish.  He was a Greek speaking Jewish pharisee. He knew the Hebrew Bible. He did not agree with Jesus’ teachings or that Jesus was the messiah and felt those who followed him should be punished.    He thought he saw things perfectly clear. The rules. The interpretations. The history. Saul built quite a reputation going from synagogue to synagogue arresting believers and either astricizing them or having them flogged. Believers did everything they could to avoid him. 

In Acts 9:1-19 Jesus had Saul’s attention in a dramatic and powerful way.  A blaze of light. Blindness. Yes, Jesus had his attention and told him to go into Damascus and wait for further instruction.  At the same time Jesus also spoke to his servant, Ananias who was not at all thrilled to be the one commanded to go to Saul and welcome him to the family of faith. In fact the text tells us Ananaias protests Jesus’ request to go and help Saul and tries to convince Jesus of the kind of man Saul is.  (As if he didn’t know) Ananias was a respected and honored leader in the Jewish community and among followers of Jesus. He was confident and thought he saw things clearly. He thought he knew what was expected. He thought he could see clearly what Jesus was doing.     

It seems both men were having trouble seeing with the 20/20 vision of Christ.  Both men were dazed and confused upon encountering Jesus and what was happening or being asked of them.  Both needed to adjust, clear or open their eyes in order to focus on what truly mattered. 

It is easy to imagine both Saul and Ananias experienced some  level of fear, anxiety, and utter bewilderment at what was going on.  Saul for obvious reasons. Here was a devout Jew, a religious authority who had significant connections, contacts and power brought to his knees and depending on his official escorts to get him to the place he had intended to flex that authority and power.  Ananias had some of the same. Here was also a devout man, believer in Jesus, also a religious leader with significant connections and authority in his own right and community. He too was brought to his knees and dependent on the very faith he professed. Both had eyes but could not see beyond their own position and circumstance. 

Church, are we not much the same?  Do we not find ourselves in the same position?  So often we as followers of Jesus have eyes to see yet fail to take in the greater vision of Jesus Christ.  So often we have eyes to see yet we let our own agendas, ideas, perceptions, and even beliefs get in the way of seeing what God has in store.  We bulldoze into situations wanting things our way, Or we dig in our heels, refuse to see other viewpoints, or possibilities that Jesus might be presenting to us.  

I am not saying we give up what we believe.  I am not saying we accept everything blindly that comes along.  I am saying, spiritual vision is about seeing that God’s power and presence of love is far bigger than our limited vision.  God does have requirements of us (Micah 6:8 love mercy, do justice and walk humbly with God) and to love and follow Jesus does have expectations, AND both are rooted first and foremost in a love that sees beyond shaming people, marginalizing people, or hurting people.  

We are not the ones with a greater plan, nor are we the ones who can see the grander vision.  God is. Jesus is. This is a lesson both Saul and Ananais had to come to realize and my gosh, look at who they were!  One is considered one of the greatest apostles to live and the other is called the unsung or forgotten hero of the New Testament.  Who are we to think we can travel our journey of faith and not have to let the scales fall from our eyes. 

We must be the ones to be dazed and confused and come out the other side truly transformed.  We must be the ones in prayer and obedience seeking the way of Jesus. We must be the ones to develop and regain 20/20 vision in a world that desperately needs a bigger vision of love, forgiveness, and hope. 

​Pastor Jenothy Irvine

Have you ever looked at someone and thought you saw them clearly? Saw what made them who they are, what they thought, and the things they cared about?  Have you ever looked at something and believed you understood it? What it was made of., how it worked, or who would use it. Have you ever looked at someone or something and thought you saw clearly the truth?

Mark 8:22-26 is a fascinating, little known, easy to miss, only found in the gospel of Mark, yet significant text illustrating the process of seeing clearly.  Seeing things clearly is not always a one and done kind of thing, not really. Today’s text will show that. It is a story of a blind man healed but also a metaphor for the difference in what the followers of Jesus think they see and what really is.

As much as today’s text is about the healing of a blind man, it is about the healing of the disciples spiritual blindness.  It is a commentary on Jesus’ relationship with the disciples and the struggle they have to see clearly who Jesus truly is; his power, authority, teachings, ministry, and the expectations of those who believe in and follow him.  Like the blind man is limited in his physical sight, the disciples are limited in their spiritual sight...limited in seeing clearly the purpose, example, teachings and call of Jesus. It is like a blurry photograph to them.  

They think they know.  They think they see things clearly. 

But what they see is like what the blind man saw when he opened his eyes the first time and things were blurry.  He thought he saw people walking toward him but “they looked like trees.” Maybe that’s why Mark records this story of a two-stage healing.  Jesus lays hands on this man twice. There’s been great debate over why it took Jesus a second laying on of hands. Did he get it wrong the first time?  Did something go wrong? Did he need more dirt and spit? Was it to show Jesus could heal even a person born blind, not just blind from injury or disease?  
Or was it something else?  Was there a lesson that had nothing to do with the blind man but everything to do with spiritual blindness?    Was it more about the disciples and their vision than the blind man?  The disciples thought they saw Jesus, but did they? Do we? 
Maybe seeing clearly isn’t as easy as we think.  Maybe seeing things or people or issues today isn’t any easier for us than it was for those first followers.  Regardless of how advanced, educated or enlightened we think we are. Maybe we don’t always see clearly right away.  Maybe it is a process. Maybe what we see changes. Maybe we have to struggle a bit with what we think we see before what or who we are looking at comes into focus.  

This text challenges readers to reflect on their spiritual vision.  Asking them to consider what it takes to have or to develop 20/20 vision when it comes to understanding God.  The kind of understanding that ultimately informs your faith and behavior. 

For all that we don’t know about this text, we do know that without focusing on Jesus, without trusting Jesus with what we think we know and what we think we see, truth remains blurry.  Without turning our eyes toward Jesus, constantly, we will never see clearly. Amen. 

Pastor Jenothy Irvine

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