In today’s gospel the chief priest and elders confront Jesus with a question concerning the authority by which Jesus is teaching in the Temple precincts, the content of his teaching, and more. This is a different moment than during the Galilean ministry when people, already amazing and curious, wondered about the source of Jesus’ teaching, miracles, and the authority by which he did all these things. It is different from the moments when Jesus encounters the queries from the scribes and pharisees. Now, in the midst of what we refer to as “Holy Week,” Jesus faces the leaders who already have plans to end Jesus’ life – they are just looking for immediate cause and opportunity. Continue reading
Tag Archives: blindness
Blindness
The “blind leading the blind” is an idiom that can be traced back to the Upanishads (late Vedic Sanskrit texts of Hindu philosophy), which were written around 800 BCE:
“Abiding in the midst of ignorance, thinking themselves wise and learned, fools go aimlessly hither and thither, like blind led by the blind.”
Oh my gosh, did you hear….?
In Sunday’s gospel Jesus encounters the man born blind. Miraculously Jesus gives him the gift of sight and then the poor guy goes through the wringer of one interrogation after another about it all. The Pharisees have a miracle laid right in their laps, and if you are like me, I am wondering, “Wow, how did they miss that one? How could they be so blind!” Which is of course the question we should ask about them. But what about us? Continue reading