Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

Isaiah 49:3,5-6; Psalms 40:2,4,7-10;
! Corinthians 1:1-3; John 1:29-34
"Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away
the sin of the world"
(John 1:29).

Reflection:

Recently, HBO aired a documentary featuring three
very talented and interesting photographers. The first,
Henry Butler, is also a world renowned pianist.
Butler's unique approach to photography is owed in
part to his theory that "everything gives off vibrations,
" as he says -- and that is what helps him choose
his subject matter.

The second, Bruce Hall, specializes mostly in
underwater photography. He says that his work
provides him with a sort of personal therapy. His
latest project involves taking pictures of his autistic
twin boys.

The third photographer, Pete Eckert, uses a technique
he calls "painting with light." For Eckert, "photography
isn't a hobby, it's an obsession. It's something I have
to do," he says.

Based on that short description, it sounds like an
interesting film about three very interesting artists,
doesn't it? But the clue to what moves this
documentary from the realm of the interesting into the
arena of the incredible is contained in the title: "Dark
Light. The Art of BLIND Photographers."

So with these three amazing talents in mind, let's think
about this: What is blindness, and who is really blind?

We all know the story of Helen Keller who overcame the
formidable obstacle of blindness to become one of
history's most inspiring women. When she once was
asked if anything could possibly be worse than living
without sight, she replied, "There IS something that is
worse than living without sight: it's living without vision."

There is a striking analogy between the vision of the
Helen Keller's of this world and the ongoing vision that
the New Testament writers tell us we need in order to
be spiritually alive and well. In John's Gospel, Jesus
says, "I am the Light of the World; anyone who follows
Me will not be walking in the dark; he will have the light
of life" (Jn. 8:12). And in the Old Testament Book of
Proverbs it is said that “"Where there is no vision, the
people perish" (Pr. 29:18).

(The Staff and editors of Sunday Sermons Online)