What would it be like to be blind?  Have you ever wondered what it is like to not be able to see at all; I mean pitch black blind?  I don’t guess I have ever talked to a blind person about what it is like.  I guess it is one of those things you wonder about but never find out.  What would it be like if you suddenly went blind; you woke up one morning and your eyes simply didn’t work any more?  What do you suppose you would miss the most? 

®Never seeing your wife’s face again?
®Never be able to see Bob or the grandkids grow. 
®Never be able to see your own face again.  That could be good.
®Watching TV would be kind of lame.  Instead of watching TV I could read.  Wait I couldn’t do that either.  Well, until I learned brail.
®Well I would go somewhere.  No more driving.  No more hot rod.
®No more computers, Xbox, or games. I love games. I could not play most games.  All that would be gone.
®No more sunsets, starry nights, river rafting, mountain climbing, No more snow days.
®No more independence; I would need help dressing myself.
®I guess I could do my job of preaching sort of, but that would be hard.
®Think of all the stuff I would miss if I were blind…

If I woke up blind one day, that would be hard.  But wouldn’t it be much worse to have been born blind? 
®Never having a clue what red is…
®Never being able to comprehend the reflection of light off of water…
®Never understanding what people were talking about when they said something was beautiful.  How could you understand beauty at all?
®You could feel the heat of the sun on your face but you could not visualize the brightness of the sun or the darkness of night.
®You would live in a world absent of color and light, not even grasping what it meant to be able to see. 

Which would be worse?  To know what you are missing or to never comprehend what others are talking about most of the time.  Now, close your eyes a moment and think about how blessed you are to be able to see.  Think of how desperate you would want your eyes if you were blind.  Think of all the stuff you would miss if you were blind.  What would be on your list of things you would want to see?  Now let’s read a couple of verses from the Gospel of Luke and be empathetic toward the emotions of a man who is going to be our theme for 2007. 
_____

Luke 18:35-39  As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.  When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening.  They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."  He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Can you feel his desperation?  Like all of Judea, he had heard of this miracle worker from Nazareth.  He had been blind for so long.  He too wanted to see his family again.  He hated this begging.  He wanted to be real again.  He was so tired of being looked down upon by everyone who came along the road.  He hated himself for his own pathetic mooching.  “Alms for the blind.” “Alms for the blind.” “Alms for the blind.” He had said it thousands of times a day for more days than he could count.  He was sick to death of his own disability.  He had to sit where he was put and not move until someone came to get him.  If only he could see that would be enough.  He would never ask again for anything. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 

Can you feel his hope? Wow, it is too good to be true.  This Jesus, the healer, was walking right by him.  He had wanted to go find Jesus but he couldn’t he was blind.  But now the Nazarene was here.  “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  “No, I will not be quiet!”  No, I will not get out of the way.”  “This is my one chance, and I will not be denied!”  "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Luke 18:40-41 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?"

“Was it true? Was Jesus really asking me what I wanted?  This had better not be some kind of prank.  It will break my heart if this is a joke.  How do I know if it is real?  What if he can’t?  No, I know he can.  He has to be able to.  It is my only hope.”  With the amazing faith of complete weakness, the blind beggar raises his sightless, milky-white eyes upwards to Jesus and utters a prayer which is also our prayer…

Luke 18:41  "Lord, I want to see!"

Don’t you think in that moment between these words and Jesus’ reply, there was an eternity of anticipation?  Lord, I want to see… what is going to happen?  Jesus can, but will he?  Is there something wrong with me?  Am I worthy of being healed?  Don’t you know there were 1,000s of thoughts running through the blind man’s head in that moment before Jesus speaks?
_____

Isn’t that where we live? Obviously, my sermon this morning is not talking about being physically blind.  None of us are literally blind.  Some of us have bifocals, or trifocals or have had our eyes lazered, but that is not what this sermon is about.  We have a different sort of blindness. Fascinatingly enough, Luke is using this story of a real blind man who wants to see, also as a metaphor for spiritual blindness.  He is not just telling an emotional story about a desperate blind man, he is telling a story about you! He is telling a story about me.  If you have a Bible handy open it up to Luke 18.  The progression of stories before and after this pericope of the blind beggar is amazing and shows Luke is doing the same thing I want to do this morning. 

Luke 18:
®We have a story about a Pharisee and a Tax collector.  The Pharisee is blind to who he really is.  “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled.”  He does not see who he really is. 
®Then we have a story about children coming to Jesus.  The disciples could not see the importance of children.  That is what the kingdom is all about.  They were blind to what the kingdom was really all about.
®Then there is this rich guy who couldn’t see what was really important. He was following the law but his heart was all tied up in his money.  He was blind to what was really important. 
®And then Jesus tells his disciples about the way of the cross, and what does it say in verse 34? The verse right before the story of the blind beggar, “They did not know what he was talking about.”
®Then at the end of chapter 18 we have our story of the blind man.
®And then back-to-back against it is the story of Zacchaeus.  What was Zacchaeus’  problem?  He couldn’t see Jesus.  But Jesus goes home with him and speaks this wonderful line, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost.” 

It is all about seeing.  It is all about being blind.  It is all about you.
®It is all about Jesus showing us where we blind. We have the arrogance of the Pharisee.  We are acceptable to God because we go to church, but we are blind to our own self-deceptions. 
®We are blind to who we need to become.  We need to receive the kingdom like children.  But, we are blind to the wonder and joy and beauty and the mystery of the kingdom.
®We are blind to what is really important.  We have more possessions than the rich ruler every dreamed of. He never played an xbox 360 on a high definition television.   We are blind to how much the stuff of this world has a death grip on our hearts.  We need Jesus to open our eyes and tell us to sell everything and have some treasures in heaven.
®We are blind about who Jesus is.  We can’t see that the way of the kingdom is the way of the cross.  The way to life is death.  We don’t see Jesus as the model of our own suffering and sacrifice. We are blind to what Christianity is really all about.  Luke would say of us, “They did not know what he was talking about.”
®We are blind to who Jesus came to save.  It is all about saving what was lost. It is all about seeing people as precious to God. It is all about caring for the rejected, reaching out to the disenfranchised, welcoming the lowly, giving attention to the neglected.  The kingdom is all about saving the lost, but we can’t see that.

Luke is writing to us.  We are the ones who need to be on our knees praying the blind man’s prayer, “Lord, I want to see!”  Until you can be the blind man, you will never be able to see. Until you are desperate to want to see, you will just sit along side the road and beg.  You have to want to see?  Do you recognize your blindness?  Are you living in that moment between saying the words and waiting for Jesus to reply?
_____

Well I have good news this morning.  It might not seem like it.  I have been pretty hard. But there is good news this morning. Jesus is walking by.  Jesus is in Los Alamos today.  Jesus is near and he can heal the blind. 

Luke 18:42 - 43   Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you."  Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God. 

That is the message of the Gospel of Luke and that is our only hope.  Jesus has the power to heal.  Jesus not only can heal the blind man, he can make us see. Note the significant words:
®Receive your sight – Wow, it is a gift, freely given.  You simply ask; recognize your blindness and ask to see.
®Your faith has healed you – We must believe Jesus has the power and the desire to give us sight. 
®Immediately he received his sight – We don’t have to wait.  This is significant.  As we take each blind spot to Jesus, he can heal it immediately.  That is our goal for 2007.  Looking for our blindness and asking for healing.
®Followed Jesus – That is where we learn to see in following Jesus, even to the cross.
®Praising God – When we see what has been dark to us before it moves us to worship.  Worship is the natural response to healing. 
®They also praised God - When we are healed it will spill over to others and they to will come to praise the Lord.  Evangelism is a function of our seeing and praising. 
____

Anyway, our study this year in the Gospel of Luke is going to be about learning to see.  It is going to be about blindness and revelation.  It is going to be about who we are; in our blindness and who Jesus is as he heals us.  It is going to be about seeing Jesus clearly and following him faithfully. It is going to be about seeing others as Jesus sees them.

Waking up one morning blind would really be scary.  Being born blind, to me, would be worse. But going through this life spiritually blind…
®Never seeing who you were called to be is the ultimate disaster. 
®Never seeing the opportunities all around you to save others is the ultimate waste.
®Never seeing Jesus is the ultimate tragedy.
Join me in saying a prayer of confession and petition... “Lord, I want to see!”