Clearing up the eyes - Anthea McGibbon

“Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back praising God with a loud voice” Luke 17:15.

In cataract surgery the lens inside the eye that has become cloudy is removed and replaced with an artificial lens to restore clear vision. David Lose, a blogger on the Internet, has used this image to describe what happened to one of the lepers in Luke’s Gospel. He says the leper who returned to say thanks to Jesus was not only healed of leprosy but he also had cataract surgery because his vision was cleared up and he was no longer suffering from a blurred and cloudy vision.

Jesus was travelling to Jerusalem along the border between Galilee and Samaria, in “no man’s land”, when he encountered a congregation of ten lepers who cried out to him for mercy. Leprosy was a dreaded skin disease and those afflicted were banished from the community to die a slow and painful death. On hearing their desperate cry and without touching, bathing or instructing them to go and dip in the River Jordan 7 times like Elisha told Naaman (see 2 Kings 5), Jesus told them: “Go show yourselves to the Priests”. The priest was authorized to issue medical certificate of health.
It was while they were on their way that “one of them, saw that he was healed”, and he “turned back praising God with a loud voice.” His eyes were opened. He could “see clearly now” and could relate to the words of a song Jamaican superstar, Jimmy Cliff, penned which says:
I can see clearly now the rain is gone.
I can see all obstacles in my way.
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.
It’s gonna be a bright (bright) bright (bright) sunshiny day.
His ability to see clearly had a dramatic change in him. Notice that he changed direction; he turned around; he returned to Jesus rather than proceeding to the priests; he praised God with a loud voice; he was satisfied with what Jesus had done for him; he received the pronouncement that he was made whole. He was healed of leprosy and given new sight.

Many, even believers, need new sight. Have you experienced the occasional fogginess? One of the results of the passing of Hurricane Matthew was a temporary cloudy vision. Why? Well, Matthew was heading for Jamaica. The world saw it! Many expected the worse. Friends and colleagues called and expressed hope for the best. While Matthew passed Jamaica and there is no significant damage to life or property in Haiti approximately 900 persons died and sections of Haiti, Bahamas, Cuba and USA were destroyed.

Some Christians hold the view that Jamaica was spared because Jamaica is blessed and highly favoured and the “prayer warriors” prayed. My vision was cloudy. I needed a cataract surgery.

My cleared-up vision helped me to recognize that Jamaica and Jamaicans are no better than Haiti and Haitians. God loves the people in Haiti, Bahamas, Florida, Cuba just as much as he loves the people in Jamaica. God disapproves of sin and evil in Jamaica and other countries. Such clear vision makes an incredible difference to how we view our life, neighbours, work, world and worship.

Anyone actively engaged in this world can’t help but have his or her vision made foggy by some of the experiences. There is so much pain, doubt, and hardship that it can be difficult to sustain faith in a loving God. Natural disasters, the senseless murders of men, women and children, the scamming, the refugee crisis, the cruelties of Isis, the atrocities of Boko Haram, the increasing gulf between rich and poor, the endurance of racism, the trafficking of young girls, slavery, challenges our faith in an All-knowing, All-powerful and caring God. We develop cloudy vision.

This incidence shows that faith in Jesus and obedience to his instructions are required if our eyes to be opened so we can see clearly.

Thought: A Cleared –up Vision leads to a new direction in life and new expressions of faith
Prayer Focus: For a clearer vision to function effectively in the world

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