Blind and Deaf, but Hopeful
Baptism of our Lord, January 10, 2010
(Isaiah 42:18-43:7 with Luke 3:17-22 in b.g.
Have you ever been blind?
I don't mean – have you ever been unable to see anything with your eyes? But, have you ever missed seeing that which is really important to see? … At different times we are blind to that which is important. We can miss "seeing" because we may be focusing too much of our attention on that which is of secondary importance.
A popular folk singer, Harry Chapin, penned his experience of such blindness in a song titled, "Cat's in the Cradle". Chapin writes about a young father bent on providing a "living" for his family. As this father's son grows in age, the boy at various times begs his father for time together. When you comin' home dad? But the father, climbing the ladder of "success" replies, "I don't know when, but we'll get together then son, you know we'll have a good time then". The years fly by. The son has become a father with children of his own. Now the much older father asks his grown up son to spend some time with him. However, now the son is busy with a job of his own and says, "Not now, dad. Later." And the older father laments that his son has turned out, just like him. His boy's a lot like him…."
It's a sad song. Opportunities for relationship, relationships that are glimpses of who we are to be – people who love to play, to cry to laugh, to love, are missed, because of our blindness to priorities.
There are times when in focusing on things that have some importance we miss seeing what is more important, even most important. Such blindness can occur when we are going through difficult times. Such difficulties may take on various forms. We may not have what we consider to be "enough" time, things or money. We may even be suffering through tremendous losses. Such losses can take on various forms: the loss of employment, the death of a loved one, the termination of an important relationship, the onset of a serious illness.
From the depths of our pain we may be blind to much of anything else. Yet, even then, especially then, while we are consumed by loneliness, worry, anger or despair, God comes to us.
God's presence may not manifest itself via blinding light or in an audible bass voice. I mean it could happen that way. God can do anything. But God may also draw near to us in the voices, the concern, the assistance of others – others whom we may or may not have expected to help us.
Will we see the help they bring us? Will we be open to their assistance? In the midst of our pain, our lack, our worry, will we see the new doors that are opening towards us? Will we see that God is at work now? Or will we continually choose to grovel in our pain, our loss, our busyness and lament, "poor, poor me: Why does this happen, why is this happening to me?"
Isaiah in those few verses close to the end of chapter 42 speaks of Israel as being blind… That's right, blind! Those people whom God had specifically chosen to work through, to bless the world, were then "blind"!
Have you ever been deaf? Some of us live with the experience of being literally deaf – unable to hear much or perhaps anything of that which is going on around us. But all of us are deaf to some things! Aren't there times when some wives complain that their husbands have selective hearing – that they only hear that which they want to hear, which may be very little of what their wives are actually communicating? Isn't there profound truth in that assertion? Don't we all have a degree of selective hearing? Aren't we all, at times deaf to that which goes on around us?
When our children were quite young I didn't always hear them crying in the middle of the night. At times my choice was unconscious. I was sound asleep and did not hear them. But at other times, my choice was quite conscious. I would hear one of our tiny ones begin to stir – and would remain still myself hoping that my wife would hear them and get up.
Similarly now, I wonder if we hear what others are communicating to us? Beware – we communicate on many different levels. We communicate verbally with words. Yet it's not only the words that we use or don't use, it's also the tone of our voice that carries the words. We also communicate through our bodies. Our eyes, our posture, the tilt of our head, all speak definitive messages to those we love. After that, they will or will not pick up our message. If they don't pick up our message, if the communication from the one we love, who loves us, is not responded to, what will eventually happen to our relationship?… If you or I move again and again to hug one whom we care for and they continually turn away or ignore us, how long will we, how long can we keep trying to hug them?
It is very important to assess how we are hearing others? Are we listening? Are we actually hearing those we love, those who love us, God?
Interestingly enough, the prophet Isaiah, near the end of chapter 42 calls the people of Israel DEAF – deaf to God! But even then, God keeps trying to speak, to use people who were so often towards him. God's persistent action with them is hopeful for us!
We need to realize that there were consequences for the people of Israel being blind and deaf towards God. They suffered significant losses as a result of their blindness and deafness, their refusal to respond to God's directives. They lost their temple, their city, even their land.
There are consequences for us when we refuse to hear or see others whom we love, others who we are called to love including God. WE cannot live or love or even grieve all by ourselves!!
But also hear this. Alongside the consequences there is also hope. God did not give up on Israel. God does not give up on us. See the action of God's Son, Jesus the Christ. Hear God speak to Christ, "You are my Son, my beloved, with you I am well pleased." Be aware of Christ's activity on behalf of all people including us in His life, death and resurrection. He wills to overcome the gap of sight and hearing between us and God.
So, listen to God speaking through "Isaiah" in chapter 43. "But now, thus says the Lord … Do not fear, for I have redeemed (delivered) you. I have called you by name. You are mine!"
God knows our name. We are God's own children. This is God's good and gracious choice. We do well to both see and hear this decision. We are richly blessed to live with this decision, to receive God's love and direction each day of our lives. We too are precious, not because we hear well or see well – so often we don't, but because God chooses us.
By God's grace may we be able to see and hear, God and others. WE and they are God's children by God's grace whether we or they realize it. We all are in need of God's love, God's deliverance from apathy, fear, the power of greed, hatred and violence. And that is exactly what God seeks to do for us, for all others, for this world.
This is the most wonderful news. You and I, blind and deaf though we so often are, continue to be named, loved, honored and commissioned by God to hear, see and love others and creation. May we so live by God's grace, for the sake of the world. Amen.