9 1-2 Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?”
3-5 Jesus said, “You’re asking the wrong question. You’re looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do. We need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines. When night falls, the workday is over. For as long as I am in the world, there is plenty of light. I am the world’s Light.”
Reflection
I think about this a lot and have done a little bit of research on it in the past. As humans, it’s our instinct to make assumptions. It helps our brains absorb information and organize it quickly. We make assumptions and categorize the information. In an evolutionary sense, it was for survival. Even now, if you step into a busy place, can you look around and categorize who or what is a threat to your safety? In a more modern sense, can you walk into a room and quickly discern who you would engage in an enjoyable conversation? How would you start that conversation? (You are probably starting that conversation based on some kind of assumption.)
Assumptions aren’t all bad, but obviously you make the wrong one and it makes a [fool] out of U and Me. An expression that haunts me after one particularly cruel assumption I once made.
This assumption happened over a decade ago, but it literally rewired my brain and remains a strong lesson in exactly the sentiment the disciples are struggling with in this scenario. Something bad happened, obviously someone sinned and deserved it.
I am ashamed that I made a similar assumption about someone. A girl I knew was in a terrible car accident that left her wheelchair bound for the rest of her life. I assumed she had been out partying and drunk driving, so I wasn’t too broken up about the situation. I was quickly corrected; No, she was on her way to work. It was just a regular day. I am still embarrassed. I had to reconsider a LOT of what I had been taught about SIN, how I justified bad things happening in this world, and I needed to reflect on my own prejudices about this girl.
There is a lot to unpack in a story like Jesus’ healing this blind man. There is a lot to unpack in this cruel assumption and lack of compassion I had in this anecdote.
If you take anything away from this, let it be to think before you speak. Try hard to reflect on are you stating an assumption or a fact? And either way are your words hurtful to someone else?
We can’t always control our assumptions, it’s our brains trying to make sense of a continuously changing world. I hope to continue practicing reflection to learn beyond any initial assumptions. I hope my reflections can continue to open my heart and my mind to the unconditional love that Jesus shared so freely so that I too can share unconditional love, or at very least respect, for every neighbor I encounter.
by Ashley Bowler
For Pondering and Prayer
Are there any assumptions you are harboring that could be hurting your relationships?
Take a moment to reflect on how you relate to others, more specifically, how you justified the treatment of another person. Why did you make that assumption? What’s another possible explanation that would be entirely the opposite of your assumption? How would you treat this person should the complete opposite of your assumption be true?
Prayer: Dear Jesus, We ask Your forgiveness for our sometimes cruel assumptions of each other. In an effort to protect ourselves, we hurt others, but that is not Your way. Let Your unconditional love be our guide in every interaction. Guide us in our daily lives and in our personal reflections that we may see past our own assumptions and prejudices to embrace the miracle that is your unending love and compassion. Amen.
