We are told that seeing is believing which is interesting for those of us who are 'believers' living in a 'seeing' culture. We live in one of the most visually-based cultures in human history. Television has become the way that we see the world and filter truth.
So what is this 'television age' telling us about ourselves? Well, it seems to suggest that we live in a Lost world in which people have replaced the dignity and joy of intimacy for meaningless Sex in the City before becoming Desperate Housewives in the suburbs; a world where the closest that we can come to a Family Guy is a cartoon caricature; and where the most functional families are The Sopranos and The Simpsons. Even though all major faiths discourage idol worship, millions of people participate in finding the latest Canadian Idol.
Who wouldn't want to make a Prison Break from such a society? And if this is the best that we can do, is it worth pondering whether we are all being lulled into a state of moral and intellectual Arrested Development before we all find ourselves Six Feet Under?
I am not against television. But I sometimes fear that we are insufficiently aware of the ways that television affects the way that we see the world, and the way we see other people. We need to constantly remind ourselves, in this image-filtered world, that not all Muslims are gun-toting terrorists; not all gay people are promiscuous pride paraders; not all Christians in the U.S. are narrow minded, anti-gay, anti-science, right-wing Republicans; not all liberals are wishy-washy flakes who lack convictions; not all fundamentalists are violent hatemongers; not all politicians are corrupt; and not all Africans are poor and hungry.
Is it any wonder that some people feel that their vision might be a bit confused, perhaps even wrong?
Like blind Bartimaeus, who desperately wanted Jesus to cure his vision, there are many people who long to recover a proper perspective on the world, and who suspect that Jesus might be able to help them to see.
What I fear, however, is that there are times when we in the church, like the crowds who got in Bartimaeus' way, might tend to get in the way. After all, there are many in our culture who have no problem with Jesus, but who have a large — and sometimes legitimate — problem with the church. And they find it hard to see Jesus because the church is blocking the view.
They know Jesus calls for unity, but all they see is a church divided. They know that Jesus calls for forgiveness, but all they see is judgement. They know Jesus calls for peace, but all they see is a church plagued by conflicts. They know Jesus calls for concern for the poor, but all they see is a church which does little to redistribute wealth. They know Jesus calls us to love our enemies, but all they see is a church that has, too often, supported the use of terrible violence. They know Jesus calls for grace, but all they see is a church that is the outspoken defender of exclusive and intolerant ideas. They know Jesus calls people to an abundant life, but all they see is a church that calls people to support the anachronistic expressions of an outdated cultural institution.
Please don't misunderstand me. I desperately love the church. I can honestly confess that I believe in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I believe that the church proclaims a message that is the hope of the world; and that the church is the most compassionate community on the face of the earth.
But we must acknowledge that there are times when the church gets in the way of those seeking Jesus. And we must remember that the church is simply meant to be a movement of people with Jesus 'on the way,' sent out into this world to live and to proclaim the good news of God's love for this world. When we seem more interested in safeguarding our congregational or denominational survival than we do in helping people to catch sight of Christ, we must question whether we are getting in the way of helping people to 'see' the way into the House of many mansions by encouraging them, instead, to keep their eyes on a false vision of some sugary 7th Heaven.
