29 Days until Easter

29 Days until Easter

Not too many days ago I looked back at how the light of the star led the path to Jerusalem for the wise men, where they were instructed to go to Bethlehem to find the Messiah. Those feet, once held by Mary, are dusty and worn and now heading out of Jericho.  And the Light of the World leads the way once more to Jerusalem. 

“And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them.  And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.  And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to Him saying, “ See we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him over to the Gentiles.  And they will mock Him and spit on Him and flog Him and kill Him.  And after three days He will rise.” -Mark 10:32-34

Walking ahead.  Leading the way.  With purpose.

And as they journeyed, they came across a couple of blind men.

“And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed Him.  And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”  The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David” -Matthew 20:29-31

Here He was, heading into Jerusalem to complete a mission.  To establish a kingdom.  No one in the crowd wanted these men to ruin the occasion.  Here was the King, marching into Jerusalem and the last thing the people wanted to do was to stop for these blind guys making a spectacle of themselves.  They were taking away from the moment. 

I remember when I was in first grade. I started the year off with Mrs. S.  She wasn’t my favorite teacher.  That’s one of three things that I remember about her.  The second thing that I remember was how she dealt with one of my classmates.  I’ll call him “J”.   J was “that” student.  He smelled of soured clothes.  His hands and face were always dirty.  And he was some kind of mean.  No one wanted to sit by him and everyone made it known.  He was always taking away from the moment.  So, she moved him by himself.  He cried for help by acting out.  I remember one day when we were lined up to leave for the busses, as the line exited the room we passed by Js desk. Student by student, a comment would be made about how badly J’s desk smelt.  It did stink.  But my heart broke for him.  J didn’t finish out the year in my classroom.  He left and I hope he was treated better in his next class.  But even though I only knew him a couple of months in the 6th year of my life, I still remember his full name and what he looked like.  Why?  Because he mattered.  Even though he was obnoxious and dirty and disobedient, he mattered.  The easiest thing to do was to put him away and ignore him, but that wasn’t the right thing to do.  Now, there were times in my teaching career that a student needed to be away from the group for a bit or needed to be moved to sit beside me, but never ignored.  

And here these blind men were on the roadside yelling out for help. They were interfering with the mission. The easiest thing to do would be to shut them up and ignore them, but that wasn’t the right thing to do.  

“And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?”  They said to Him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.”  And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed Him.” - Matthew 20:32-34

Jesus didn’t turn them away.  He didn’t join the crowds and tell them to be quiet.  He stopped.  He noticed.  He felt. He healed.  Why?  Because they mattered.  As I live out this life, I have to be extra careful not to quiet the obnoxious.  Those who act out.  Those who annoy me.  They matter.  Everyone matters.  Keep in mind that the Light of the World led the way to Jerusalem to become a ransom for ALL.