The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-03-30
For April is, Jesus Gives Sight to
the Blind. John 9:1-3S.
\ Miracle and a Mystery.

far away from the main currents OF
life, recently met an interesting man.
who first attracted attention because
of his resemblance to the stored PIC
lures of a pirate. UnshaVen, I'M
kempt, looking out on life from pc
meath the lowered brim of an old sou sol
hat, he appeared like the heavy VII
lain of a melodrama. Yet 1t dld not
take long to discover that the real IN
terest of MIR. Blackboard was in the
old, old problem of immortality anu
personal responsibility to an lnflnlte
Being. He quoted for me- VerpatliIi,
and at great length, the newspaper
report of a sermon upon the deafness
hope of humanity. Further, fouho
that he could quote extended passages
from the New Testament, and fugitive
poems concerning the problems OF NE
which have engrossed all the worlo
thinkers, from the beginning ol liiii0
to the present hour.
EVERYWHERE we may find the same
unobstrusive interest in the eterhai
mysteries. Man is man, with ca
pacity for a quest after the spiritual
The commotion created in Jerusalem
bv this miracle of the healing of the
man horn blind is true to life. In it
the people saw not only wonder anu
a sign but also an instance OF the
great riddle of sin. Eagerly they se1z-
ed upon the Wonder-Worker' Ior
possible light upon the mystery OF the
relation between sin and suffering. be
meath the froth and flash of our
nlea sure-seeking life of today there
still revolves this old. old question
The philosopher Who Had Eyes.
We rather expect philosophers TO
dwell amid the clouds, obllvlous 10
the probabilities of me- Jesus On
the contrary, had an eye Tor an the
wayside realities of life; BHslneSs men
OFFICIALS,
pilgrims to the feast, were accustoIh-
ed to pass daily this blind beggar WITH
out really seeing him he was as
much a part of the landscape as the
stones of the street, or the gray olise
trees over on the Hill to the East, out
side the city wall. But Jesus saw
him: that is, took a personal, human,
intelligent interest in him, and was
concerned with his needs.
Over and over again, with tlreless
iteration. let it be said that one of
the first and most obvious lessons
taught by the life of Jesus is that of
being compassionate, of caring tor
folks of doing deeds of helpfulneSs.
Nobody is walking IN the 1ootsteps OF
Jesus. no matter how clear his theol-
ogy, or how eminent his ecclesiastical
position, who is not busy at the art
of being kind. Heartaches are as
common about US as blind beggars IN
old Jerusalem, yet we are not per-
mitted to grow accustomed to them,
or callous in our feelings concerning
them
Without stopping to speculate upon
whether he belonged to the deserving
poor or not, Jesus undertook to meet
the blind mans most evident need. He
made clay of spittle,-for SO by the
use of means did he provide crutch
for feeble falkland sent the man to
battle his eyes in the Pool of Sloan.
Not that the man needed either the
clay amounting or the bath in the pool,
but that he needed to give token of
his belief. The miracle is told in one
short sentence: He went away there
fore, and washed, and came seeing.
The Riddle of Sin and Suffering.
Whereas Jesus saw in the blind
beggar a man needing help, some saw
in him only a theological perpleXity.
Had the man himself sinned, or his
parents? The pettiness of many quib-
blers in the presence of a great ques-
ton remind me of an experience
| had at the seashore last summer.
was fishing in the surf for channe-
bass, when a small boy came along
with the inevitable question, Catch
anything. Mister?" No; not yet. well
l can tell you where you can catch
plenty Right over there by the board
walk there is a little pool, and it's just
| full of minnies." I thanked the LAD
but did not tell him that I was batting
with a fish that could swallow a dozen
of his minnows, and that 1 was after
bass weighing thirty, forty or fifty
boy. some of US talk in terms of min
/ nows, when the real objective is big
i fish-fighting fish.
Like grief-crazed parents who can
not see in the death of a child any
| thing but personal hostility to then
CAL the part of God, so these by.
ISLANDERS, with their concrete thinking
were sure that the somebody's sir
was the immediate cause of this man:
blindness. Indubitably, sin is otter
followed by suffering; any physician
can give particulars upon that point
But there is much suffering that ma;
not be so easily explained. In the
case of the blind man, the Master
made plain that it was for the glory
of God that this visitation had come
upon him. That is to say, the secre
lies behind the veil of the inscrutabI,
purposes of God. HAPPY we know
somewhat more than we know"
God has plans that work out beyond
our ken. All his vast designs neee
two worlds for their fuIfillment. Whel
George Matheson was Tilted by a sci
fish sweetheart because of his blind
ness it seemed a cruel and inexplica
BILE providence. Yet surely the clea
vision that came to him of spiritua
rainbow thru the rain and 1niniste
to the broken hearts of millions. i
justification for his great sorrow. Nov
and then we glimpse these mysterie
as from the heaven-side of the rive
of DEATH" and perceive that if lif
is to be an ordered thing, with Go,
in control. then His will must be su
preme; and that it is also beautiful
and good. He is working out large
designs than now we know; but it i
he who is working them out, and hi
other name is love.
The Urge Within the Great.
80 much to do, So little done,
cried General Armstrong on his death
bed. That plant is one that is hear,
from all great spirits. I'VE must worl
|. the night cometh," declare,
Jesus. Every soul with vision ex
periences this sense of urgency. Il
a world of need, and of flying DAYS
this spur is required to keep us Vi
To la1ral % hac