Numb

Matthew 13:15 - For this people's hearts have grown dull, and their ears hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts, and turn for me to heal them."

He is still quoting Isaiah talking about the people of Israel. Yet, he could just as easily have been describing us! We are so afraid of being vulnerable! How often do we get angry when we see homeless people on the street begging? Have we asked ourselves why we feel angry or uncomfortable? It's because we do not want Jesus to heal us. For Jesus to heal us would mean we would have to be in the world in a different way. It would require work and pain and we do not want that. That is why we dull our hearts, close our ears and deny the witness of our eyes. It is always easier to numb the pain than to deal with the problem.

At least at first. This way can lead to addiction and that involves putting something else in the place of God - whether intentionally or not. When we numb ourselves we lose our center, our sense of being, and we may even lose ourselves. Isaiah's words are quite an indictment of the human condition. We seek pleasure and avoid pain. That is not the key to joy or happiness. Letting the world affect us and change us and make us more loving is the key to change. In other words, we must be vulnerable to it.
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