Blind leaders

Matthew 15:14  - "Let them go; they are blind leaders of the blind, and when a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into a pit."

Let them go - think no more of them or their feelings on this matter. It seems the disciples are still set on making the Pharisees and scribes authorities. Jesus advises them against it. I feel the disciples here. All their lives they have looked up to the Pharisees as authorities. Giving that up isn't easy. It must be somewhat like finding out my parents did not know everything ... It shook my world as this must have shaken the disciples's world. Jesus is telling them that everything they thought they knew must be examined again. Who wants to do that much work? And it is work, necessary work for each of us to separate ourselves from parental authority in order to gain our own. IN the same way, we need to separate from religious authority (and rules) in order to struggle with what we believe. It is work and in the end it is worth it because that is the only way our faith can be authentic and grow.

Jesus says that much more succinctly of course - "they are blind." They have not done their work and are hanging on to the artificial tradition they inherited rather than struggling with God's word. Jesus then tells us the end of that endeavor - falling into a pit or a ditch. If they're lucky it will be a wake up call.

So letting them go, let us look at our own lives and ask, 'Where am I blind?" Now, we cannot answer this question on our own, of course. If we knew where we were blind, we wouldn't be blind. So, how do we find the answer? We could ask our friends and family. However, they may not tell us or they may tell us too much! We could seek therapy but that might get expensive and may not be the answer for everyone. We could also seek spiritual direction. That would be a good start as well. In fact any of these approaches might work as long as we don't forget to ask God. In my experience, asking God about these things gets results. Usually results I don't like. I asked for patience once, thinking I needed peace in my life. What I got was opportunities to practice patience. So be warned! When we ask God where we are blind, the lessons are not automatically pain free. If they were we wouldn't hesitate to do the work. But without lessons, pain-free or not, we cannot grow our faith. Their must be struggle, even a short one as we adjust our eyesight.
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