Trees walking.

Now, this is a passage that would appeal to the preacher of thunder and hate. For there are three incidents, three errors: the seeking of signs and acts of power as if they are validation, the belief that one can find salvation in proper actions, without the working of the spirit, and the flawed state of our perceptions of this world.

But I know, literally, what it is like to see people as trees walking. For me, contacts are not an affection: they are needed to make me see correctly. (They need to bard contacts, and they hurt. Which is why I’m not wearing them now, and why I cannot see spelling mistakes until I have put my contacts in.

Sometimes the blindness is literal. For life is not an allegory, nor a metaphor, and we live in a land where much is evil, and more opposed to the gospel, within the Church and without.

The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.

Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”

(Mark 8:11-26 ESV)

More interesting is the response of Jesus.

• He left those seeking a sign.  He did not see them as able to listen without some demonstration of his power: perhaps they were expecting healing, perhaps a demonstration of the saving of the nation of Israel like Elijah and Elisha.  But Jesus got into a boat and left these people on the shore. It may be that if we seek power overmuch, we will find Jesus has left while we seek power.
• He did not explain his analogy.  Instead he indicated that when he was talking of leaven, it was a metaphor. The implication is that Christ expects us to use our native wit. He will not spoon feed us doctrine, but (like all good teachers) guide us as we work things out.
• He did not order all to change. The blind man was sent home, quietly, with an order to go directly there, and not to the village. Christ chose who would preach, and who would continue living in the world, but of his kingdom. The role of elder, of teacher, of preacher is not ours to give to others, but instead one that Christ calls people to.

So when I have fantasies of preaching — as if it is lecturing, which is, after all my job — I need to correct myself. I’m an OK teacher, a reasonable clinician, and a good researcher. But those talents are not the gift of leadership. I am disqualified, and in the pews I should remain. Christ is sovereign, and there is nothing “equal” about this: to legislate that we must have half female elders, or equal native and settlers, is to create divisions where we should be one.

It is a bit like the task I did yesterday. The son is complaining he can’t play certain videos (mkv,  for those who understand these things) on VLC  under crunchbang , There is a solution to this… But it is his BYOD device, and one keeps those as minimal as possible. You do not use a screwdriver as a chisel, or a whisk to stir paint.

Most of us are where we need to be right now. We need to witness, by word and deed, to the glory of God in our current role and current place. A few are called to move elsewhere, but it may be that one of the tests for this is fidelity to the gospel and fruitfulness in your own culture before moving to another.

But do not switch your brain off. Judge correctly. And do right.