Before moving ahead allow me to comment again on a piece of this quote from yesterday's devotion. The change of perception is precisely the change that was wrought by the resurrection of the crucified Christ. That is to say that what John has done is apply to one of Jesus' no doubt historical healing of a blind man on the Sabbath the revolution in the understanding of sin that came about as a result of the resurrection. The sin of the world is understood quite specifically as being involved in the work of "your father the devil, who " was a murderer from the beginning." Sin is recast entirely in the light of the casting out of Jesus. Jesus is quite specifically shown as having no problem with the sort of "sin" that is taken to exclude the "sinner' from the community: he cures the blind man with no problem at all (just as, in the previous chapter, he held nothing against the woman caught in adultery, but everything against those who would stone her). Sin is revealed as the mechanism of expulsion which is murderous, and those are blind sinners who are involved in that mechanism without being aware of what they are doing. The devil is death. For those of you who don't like that word think the power of evil. Evil cuts people off from life - from others - from the goodness of God's creativity that is always able to make something of what others may want to call nothing. Evil would have us make little or nothing of another person. Maybe it would be simply in order to have what that other person has. If I make you into nothing at all - simply in my own mind - then I can have what is your stuff. I can make use of it. I can benefit from it. Because you are nothing in my eyes and I may be something more than I am if I have what was once yours, I am obligated to take it. That taking can be at any cost to you and others. I am the son of that father the devil. I am a part of the power that pushes others to the edge and then over the edge - and then takes what is theirs. The worst part of being a part of that power is that I never see it as being evil. Evil is done by others - I do what is necessary - I do what is often considered prudent - I do what is good for my kind. Evil works especially hard to keep the world moving along undisturbed - always able to find ways to push down and push out the 'other.' Connection: I just heard a piece on NPR. The authors of "The Real Mitt Romney" were talking about what he said and how he acted when he was trying to be a winner in the midst of a liberal state and what he is saying and how he is actiing as he is trying to be a winner in the midst of a conservative movement. Same man - a winner - trying to win then and now. This may sound harsh, but evil never changes. It will use others to have the world made into what it wants. There is evil in all of us - all of us do this kind of manipulation - it just seemed so bold and visible in the example offered in their book. Are we murderers from the beginning - always looking to win at any cost to other and our selves? O God of life, rescue us - help us to see our d. Amen. |
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