"We know he is our son," the parents answered, "and we know he was born blind. But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don't know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself." – John 9:20-21

 Today's Scripture Reading (November 30, 2020): John 9

"Truth is hard, propaganda is cheap." The words belong to sociologist and political observer DaShanne Stokes. But it is our politicians that need to hear his message. Propaganda is cheap, and for some reason, we accept it so quickly. And even when we hear truth, somehow, we willfully ignore it. Amid a pandemic that can be significantly eased by wearing a mask, we cling to the propaganda that says that wearing a mask violates my God-given rights and freedoms. And because no one that we know has gotten seriously ill, we downgrade the pain of the millions of people who have last someone important in their lives due to COVID-19. Sometimes, our politicians give us propaganda more often than they reveal to us the truth. As a result, it appears that we no longer recognize the truth or have come to believe that it is too hard and ultimately unnecessary.   

Telling the truth is often challenging. Take, for instance, masks.  When it comes to face coverings, I admit that I hate wearing the things. They are restricting. I am hot all of the time anyway, so wearing a cover over my face only worsens the situation. When I am trying to walk any distance, even just when I am in a grocery store, I find myself struggling to get a breath. I miss seeing the smiles of my friends and those that I meet on the street. Some old acquaintances have not recognized me. So how can something that is that uncomfortable be necessary? I don't want to wear a mask. The propaganda, particularly when offered from the seat of power, is easier to accept than the uncomfortable truth.

Jesus heals a blind man. It seems like it should be an act that would be celebrated except that some did not want to accept the uncomfortable truth that Jesus was a messenger sent by God. The formerly blind man is delighted. His parents want to be, but the power scares them. And so they respond by sidestepping the truth of their son's situation. "We know that he was blind, and now he is not. What happened is unknown, and so we have no opinion. So why don't you ask him."

A good friend of mine was the recipient of a similar kind of healing. His back, broken decades earlier, caused him to walk with the help of crutches and a determination to fight through the pain. One night, kneeling beside his chair, he was miraculously healed. His mother, not a believer in any kind of a god, echoed the response of the parents of the blind man. "I know that your back was broken, and you weren't faking, but I don't understand what has happened to you or why you can walk now." And hidden in the response was, "I just know that it has nothing to do with God. That is just too hard a truth to honestly believe."

When God moves, sometimes understanding the truth lags behind the reality of the truth. But that is okay, as long as we are willing to live within the truth, regardless of how uncomfortable or hard that might be.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: John 10