The "Saba" Who Used To Be Blind

​This summer and fall, I began a little writing experiment where I'd look at moments from the Gospels and then, from an oblique angle, try to give a different "glimpse" of it -- even, sometimes, beforehand or far after. What a joy it's been to imagine Jesus, and His work, that way!

Without telling too much, I wanted to share one of those with you this week. This is the "blind man from Bethsaida" in his later years, reflecting back. Hope you enjoy!

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79. Jesus heals a blind man in Bethsaida
Mark 8:22-26

The children gather round him in a crescent shape. His youngest granddaughter is asleep in his lap. His wife has walked down to the stream to wash the dishes from supper. The twilight is rapidly descending, outside. The little girl on his lap makes a quarter-turn; nestles her head against his beard. The others are quieting now. One says:
 
“Tell us how it happened, saba.”
 
“Oh, you children—you never tire of the same old story, do you?”
 
“Tell it again.”
 
“From where?”
 
“From the funny part.”
 
“From what I said—or what he did?”
 
“Start from the beginning.”
 
“Well,” the old man says, “I used to be blind, as you’ve all heard. Had never seen a single sight. Nothing. My whole world was darkness, like we’ll see in an hour or so. Then he came unto our village. Someone must’ve told him about me. So they came and took me—”
 
“Saba!” one of the older boys interrupts. “You’re not telling us any of the particulars.”
 
“Such as?”
 
“How he came; what the day was like; what he looked like—those sorts of things!”
 
The old man smiles. “But I think you’ve forgotten something, Amos…”
 
“What?”
 
“Before him, I couldn’t yet see anything at all.” He chuckles and says, “Now will you let me tell the story in order?”
 
The children all nod their heads. Their grandfather begins again.