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Mark 8:22-26
Some people brought a blind man to [Jesus] and begged him to touch him … When [Jesus] had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Can you see anything?” And the man looked up and said, “I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Then he sent him away to his home, saying, “Do not even go into the village.”

To ponder
Scholars have identified risk-taking spiritual types as “seekers” … individuals on a journey … beyond the faith traditions they inherited into new religious territory … What if the story is not just the journey of a single blind girl? … What if those wanderers in the wilderness joined together? What if the whole village went on a journey to see? - Diana Butler Bass, Christianity for the Rest of Us

Do you see what I see?
Jesus healed this man then told him not to go into the village. Was this to prevent skeptics from undermining the joy the man was surely feeling? We don’t know. Jesus sent the man home instead, where family members and other companions were likely to join him in celebrating the astounding gift of healing.

How wonderful it is to experience the transforming work of God’s grace in our lives, and to share this with people who will welcome, nurture, and support our life in Christ. We all need to find that person, that place that provides this kind of life-giving kinship. Don’t let a village full of doubters and naysayers keep you from finding companions who will walk beside you on the journey to see and know the wonders of the Holy One.

Prayer
Thank you Lord Jesus, for the great mysteries of your amazing grace. In all things, be our vision, our path, and our goal. Amen.

(from: “A Story to Tell: Devotions for Lent” Bekki Lohrmann, Harvard Stephens Jr., Lydia Posselt, David L. Miller; Augsburg Fortress, 2020)