Luke 18:35-43| Timothy Schmaltz | The blind beggar

Luke 18:35-43   The blind beggar

Begging Jesus,  Sculpted by Timothy Schmaltz (born 1969), Cast and patinated bronze, Executed in 2017, © Timothy Schmaltz, all rights reserved As Jesus drew near to Jericho there was a blind man sitting at the side of the road begging. When he heard the crowd going past he asked what it was all about, and they told him that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by. So he called out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.’ The people in front scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he shouted all the louder, ‘Son of David, have pity on me.’ Jesus stopped and ordered them to bring the man to him, and when he came up, asked him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ ‘Sir,’ he replied ‘let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight. Your faith has saved you.’ And instantly his sight returned and he followed him praising God, and all the people who saw it gave praise to God for what had happened.   READ MORE     Reflection on the Bronze Sculpture Timothy Schmalz of Ontario, Canada, made this striking sculpture of Jesus Christ depicted as a homeless beggar. He said of this work: “This sculpture is a visual representation of charity. We should see Christ in the poor and the hungry. We should see our acts of kindness to them as kindness to Him”. Unfortunately in our Western world, there is no escaping from the homeless crisis in all our cities and towns… A man after my own heart, Timothy Schmalz appreciates the power of art and how in his case Christian sculpture can act as an entry point and gateway into the Gospels. He describes his own sculptures as ‘visual prayers’, a beautiful way to describe his own work. The beggar in our Gospel reading of today, is blind. He isn’t just begging for coins in order to survive, no, he is also begging to regain his sight. But Jesus doesn’t just heal him out of the blue. No, He waits to be asked, He wants to be asked. The beggar asks Jesus three times in this passage to be healed, and Jesus responds to his request… the power of asking… the power of prayer… Our own faith, prayer and love for Christ can also help us to regain our sight! In the USA 800,000 people are homeless; in the UK, 320,000; and so many more countries can be added to this list. We pray to Our Good Lord, especially in these dark November Winter days, that He may watch over each of them and protect them from all harm, keep them from despair and open our hearts so we can help them any way we can and help us regain our own sight for these people who need all the support and love we can give them… by Patrick van der Vorst