If there’s one thing that comes to mind when we think of Donald Trump—

and I don’t mean the ridiculous hairdo and horrible orange makeup…

or the inability to construct a coherent sentence…

or even his none-too-subtle white supremacist and fascist tendencies—

no, if there’s one thing that comes to mind, it’s conspiracy theories.

And haven’t there been a lot of them over, about, the last decade…

from Barack Obama not being a citizen…

through to the twenty-twenty presidential election being stolen…

and, of course, through the current election campaign…

not least in his claim that Haitian immigrants are stealing and eating people’s pets.

And, sadly, the members of the Trump-MAGA-cult just seem to swallow them unquestioningly—

often with real-life consequences.

One of the most recent and damaging of his conspiracy theories…

concerns the US federal government’s response to Hurricane Helene.

In an effort to smear Vice President Harris…

Trump has claimed that she spent billions of dollars allocated to the disaster relief agency, FEMA, on illegal immigrants…

that people who had lost their homes were only eligible for a grant of seven hundred and fifty dollars…

and that the federal government, via FEMA, was using the disaster as an excuse to acquire people’s homes.

Of course, none of that is true.

But so many who live in the affected areas have succumbed to Trump’s lies—

all of which have undermined trust in the government and FEMA…

such that people are not evacuating their homes, which aren’t safe, out of fear…

while armed militias are threatening FEMA officials on the ground… 

hindering their efforts to offer assistance.

And that’s despite the efforts of Republican mayors and governors praising the recovery effort…

and trying to debunk misinformation.

 

It’s a sad fact of human nature, isn’t it?

So often, we cannot, or we will not recognise the truth—

even when we’re confronted by it in a compelling way—

not if that calls into question some fervently held belief…

or contravenes some deeply cherished tradition…

or smacks up against some unquestioned assumption or ideology.

Obviously, it occurs frequently with respect to politics.

But don’t we see it, perhaps even more frequently, when it comes to religion?

 

And, in essence, it’s this phenomenon that this morning’s reading from Mark’s Gospel is addressing.

But wait a minute, I hear you say—

didn’t we just hear the story of the healing of blind Bartimaeus?

Yes, we did.

But, in order to understand what the author was really saying here…

we need to understand it in its literary context.

So, let’s just do a little bit of literary criticism.

And the first thing to notice is that there is, in fact… 

another story of a blind man being healed in Mark’s Gospel…

just two chapters earlier.

These two accounts of blind men being healed from— 

if you like— 

literary bookends around, unquestionably, the most critical section of Mark’s Gospel.

In between these two healing stories… 

are the three accounts of Jesus predicting his impending death.

And each time that Jesus makes such a prediction… 

the disciples are unable to hear—

or to accept—

what he is saying.

After all, they were expecting him to enter Jerusalem triumphantly…

to throw out the Romans…

to purge out all the corrupt politicians…

and to re-establish the Kingdom of Israel—

like it had been under King David.

Everything in their upbringing and tradition said that that was what he was going to do.

That’s what their religious beliefs told them would happen.

So, they couldn’t accept—

or they wouldn’t recognise—

what it was that he was trying to say to them.

That’s where the book-ended stories of the healing of blind men come in.

They’re highly symbolic and, in fact, incredibly ironic.

In effect, by arranging his narrative this way… 

the author is effectively inviting us to consider the disciples—

the twelve insiders…

those who ought to know and those who ought to understand—

as being, metaphorically, blind.

On the other hand, two blind men—

two outsiders…

two men on the fringes and margins of society…

two men, who many good religious people would have regarded as cursed…

or, perhaps, as irredeemable sinners because they were blind—

they symbolically see and are healed.

But the irony is even more delicious because of the question that Jesus puts to blind Bartimaeus here…

is exactly the same as the one that he put to James and John in last week’s reading—

when they came to him, asking him to give them whatever they asked for.

While they sought power and prestige, Bartimaeus simply wanted to see.

Symbolically blind, the disciples stumble.

Physically blind, Bartimaeus symbolically sees.

In crafting his narrative this way…

effectively…

the author is warning us that those who are close to Jesus…

those who ought to know what he is on about…

don’t always get it…

because their conditioning…

their traditions…

their beliefs…

their ideologies…

don’t allow them to.

And, sometimes, those who are outsiders—

those who may not even be considered members of the church—

may, in fact, recognise what is really happening…

and they may discern where and how God could be at work.

 

And that warning is as relevant to us, today—

in twenty-first-century Australia—

as it was to the intended readers of Mark’s Gospel.

How often are we, the church, blind?

How often do our beliefs and practices…

our traditions and upbringings…

our politics and ideologies…

blind us to where God is at work?

Let’s be honest!

There are some Christians—

including members of successive governments—

who are willing to treat asylum seekers as political footballs…

and subject them to any number of indignities…

and, dare I say, atrocities…

based on a shoddy end-justifying-the-means sort of argument…

without recognising the blatant and irreconcilable contradiction with the faith that they profess.

Meanwhile, most of the mainline denominations still regard LGBTQ+ people as somehow abhorrent…

label them as sinners and treat them as deviants…

even though we have strong evidence… 

that non-heterosexual orientation is something people are born with…

that it isn’t an illness… 

and it isn’t something that can be “cured”.

And all of the churches…

while fervently proclaiming that they are welcoming, loving, and compassionate—

in the tradition of Jesus—

deny many who are terminally ill and suffering indescribable pain and humiliation…

the right to a death with dignity…

even though there is nothing in the Bible that directly forbids euthanasia—

and its denial can only be maintained on slightly shonky theological grounds.

How often do we hear Christian leaders confidently declare…

that God disapproves of such things…

or finds such things abhorrent?

Do we, twenty-first-century Christians—

because of our traditions…

beliefs…

and ideologies—

now take the place of the twelve in Mark’s Gospel:

unable to perceive where and how God is at work today;

while those outside the community of faith…

intuitively…

or even inadvertently…

see and understand more clearly?

 

As the old adage goes:

There are none so blind…