What I’m Thinking: Accepting Blessings

When Jesus healed a man born blind, the wonder (and the gift) swiftly disappeared in a debate over whether, since he’d done it on a Sabbath, he could possibly be working out of God’s righteousness and law. What a talent we human beings have for wresting curses out of blessings!

Here’s a transcript:

The Gospel lesson for this coming Sunday is John’s story about Jesus healing a man born blind. The healing itself is fairly straightforward, but what follows is this extended discussion over what it means to heal on the Sabbath, and whether somebody who heals on the Sabbath can possibly be doing that work on behalf of God.

I mean, after all, this is God’s rule, God’s Law. How can somebody who is breaking that law also be healing on behalf of God?

It just seems to me that we’ve got an amazing way of taking blessings – like a healing, or a gift – and turning them into curses, into problems. I mean, isn’t it easier to let a blessing remain a blessing, than what we seem to strive for nearly every day: which is to take a problem, to take a curse, to take a hardship, and tease out of it something of a blessing?

That’s what I’m thinking. I’d love to know what you’re thinking! Leave me a comment below; I’d love to hear from you.