I'm beginning to think that Luke suffered from Macular Degeneration or
some other disease that slowly took away his ability to see. I have no
historical evidence to support this except for the importance of seeing
in his gospel.
Jesus asks Simon the Pharisee, "do you see this woman."
The priest and the levite see the man laying broken and battered in the ditch.
The rich man saw Lazarus.
Simeon saw the salvation promised by God.
Jesus saw the Widow at Nain.
The
list goes on and on. In Luke's telling of the healing of the 10 lepers,
twice people "see." Jesus saw the lepers standing off at a distance and
offered them restoration and healing. And then, one of the lepers saw
that he was healed and returned to Jesus to praise God for the miracle.
In
both cases (and seemingly every other instance of seeing in Luke)
seeing provokes action. Jesus saw and healed. The leper saw and praised.
How
much do I not see? How much information hits my cornea and passes by
unnoticed? And how much do I work hard not to see? Really see, that is.
See so that I am moved to action.
If I see a ball coming at my head, I duck. If I see a man panhandling on the corner, I look the other way. What do I see
Originally posted at Draughting Theology, part of the CCblogs network.
