Hindrance of Sight
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"So, I was people watching the other day," she says. Her name is Julia. She has graying hair and stubby fingers, which move constantly as she speaks.
Her companion, a former co-worker, and now a retiree asks, "Where?"
"Wally World."
"Wally what?"
"You know," Julia replies with a smile, "Walmart. I was just walking around the store watching people. Sometimes I go to the casino and do the same. I see young people with blue hair, young women wearing inappropriate clothing, people who are too over weight for their own good. I wonder about their lives. One person seems to walk through life unscathed, another has a difficult time finding solid footing."
"You base this on their appearance?"
Without answering the question, Julia says, "Where is it that there is a blind beggar named Bartimaeus in the Bible?"
"The Gospel of Mark," her companion responds.
"There is more to who he is. He is blind, of course. He begs from those passing by. Maybe he asks for nothing more than a small coin or two. This is a possibility. I'm sure he is hungry, thirsty too."
"It is said that he is the son of Timaeus."
"Do you suppose there is significance to that piece of information?" Julia asks, tapping a forefinger on the edge of her seat.
"Possibly."
"So, I'm sitting listening and watching. Sometimes an odor will assault my senses. The blind man didn't have the most important of these senses I possess, sight. He couldn't watch the crowd pass by. He could hear, and I'm sure there were odors to be sensed. But he could not see those passing by just inches from his face. He couldn't judge them by appearance. He couldn't think 'that person is filthy, that person's clothing is full of holes, that person is crippled, or yes... I think it myself, that person's hair is an odd color'. Maybe if he had seen Jesus, he would have made a judgment based on the Lord's appearance. Maybe he wouldn't have asked to be healed."
"He was blind," the other woman says. "If he could see, he wouldn't have needed healing."
"We all need healing," Julia replies. "But if Jesus were to walk through here right now, would we see him? Would we judge his appearance and miss the moment? Would we be better off blind in that situation?"
"And all this comes to you when you people watch?"
"Not always. The only times I think of things like this, is when I look at someone and notice the oddities of their physical appearance. At those moments... it is then that I ponder the possibility that I might have missed Jesus.
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