BACK BLIND3 6'1m*f RT: Jesus heals the blind beggar on the sabbath (RT == Readers' Theater: requires little or no memorization, little or no rehearsal. An indefinite number of reporters are salted throughout the audience.) BEGGAR -- (enters wearing tunic and sandals, crosses) REPORTER -- Excuse me, sir. BEGGAR -- (stops, turns) Yes? REPORTER -- We were hoping to interview Jesus of Nazareth... BEGGAR -- Who are you people? What are you doing here? REPORTER -- We're from the press corps. We were hoping to have a press conference with Jesus of Nazareth. Do you know where we can find him? BEGGAR -- It depends. What do you want him for? REPORTER -- We heard he performed a miracle. Is he available to answer questions about it? BEGGAR -- Which miracle were you referring to? REPORTER -- He apparently restored the sight of a blind beggar. Can you confirm that? BEGGAR -- Yes. I can confirm that. But Jesus isn't here. He left the city. REPORTER -- Well, then, can YOU answer some questions about the miracle? BEGGAR -- Okay. (crosses to podium) REPORTER -- Do you know this beggar whose sight was restored? BEGGAR -- Yes. I know him intimately. REPORTER -- So, you can confirm that he was blind before but he has normal vision now? BEGGAR -- Yes. He was blind as a bat before Jesus healed him and he can now see everything you see. REPORTER -- Can you tell us if Jesus used an incantation for the healing? BEGGAR -- Yes, I can. And no he didn't. REPORTER -- Are you saying that Jesus didn't say ANYTHING when he restored the man's sight? BEGGAR -- You asked if Jesus used an incantation. And he didn't. But he did say something. REPORTER -- What did he say? BEGGAR -- He said, "Go and wash in the pool of Siloam". REPORTER -- Why would he say that? Does the pool of Siloam have magical healing properties? BEGGAR -- Some people think it does. But I am convinced that Jesus chose the pool of Siloam because it was merely the closest source of water. REPORTER -- That's odd! Jesus restored sight to other people but he never needed water to do it. Do you have any idea why Jesus used water this time? BEGGAR -- Yes. He used the water to remove the mud. REPORTER -- Mud?! What mud? BEGGAR -- Jesus picked up a handful of dirt and spit into it and made mud with it. Then he applied the mud to the beggar's eyes. REPORTER -- So, it was the mud that restored the beggar's sight! BEGGAR -- (laughs) Not at all! REPORTER -- Well, then, what was the mud for? BEGGAR -- Jesus is the messiah, the creator of the universe. He doesn't need mud or anything else for healing. The mud merely made it easier for the beggar to believe in the healing. REPORTER -- Do you have any idea why Jesus would use mud in one healing and no mud for another healing? BEGGAR -- Yes. I can. The other healings WITHOUT mud were requested by the blind people. They believed in Jesus BEFORE he healed them. The beggar didn't ask for the healing. He didn't even know who Jesus was before the healing. The mud made it easier to believe in Jesus. REPORTER -- How do you know so much about the state of mind of this blind beggar? BEGGAR -- I AM the blind beggar. REPORTER -- You are?! BEGGAR -- Yes. Well, I was. Now that I can see, I can do productive work. I no longer have to beg for a living. REPORTER -- Why do you think Jesus chose you to heal? BEGGAR -- Actually, it was his disciples who chose me. REPORTER -- What do you mean? BEGGAR -- I was begging at the gate when Jesus and his disciples passed by. His disciples asked Jesus whose sin cause me to be blind, my own sins or the sins of my parents. REPORTER -- My money is on the parents. REPORTER -- On the other hand, people usually get sick or injured as punishment for their own sins. REPORTER -- Which was it for you? REPORTER -- Were you born blind? BEGGAR -- Yes. I was. REPORTER -- You see?! I was right. It was the sins of the parents! BEGGAR -- Actually, Jesus said that it was not sin at all that caused my blindness. REPORTER -- Of course it was sin! What else could it be?! BEGGAR -- Jesus said that I was born blind so that God's power might be displayed in me. REPORTER -- Wait a minute! You make it sound like you were born blind so that after twenty or thirty years of blindness, Jesus could come along and heal you? BEGGAR -- That's the way I see it. REPORTER -- That doesn't sound fair! BEGGAR -- What sounds fair to you is not necessarily fair for the creator of the universe. As far as I'm concerned, twenty-three years of blindness is a small price to pay for my eternal salvation. REPORTER -- So, you are now a disciple of Jesus. BEGGAR -- That's right. REPORTER -- What do the Jewish leaders say about that? BEGGAR -- They kicked me out of the synagogue. REPORTER -- That's an odd reaction! BEGGAR -- Half of them claim that the miracle was a fake, that I'm not the beggar who was healed. The other half claim that any miracles done by Jesus are done by the power of the devil. REPORTER -- Why would the Jewish leaders blame the devil? BEGGAR -- They said that if Jesus was REALLY the messiah, he wouldn't have healed me on the sabbath. REPORTER -- So, they deny that Jesus is the messiah? BEGGAR -- That's right. REPORTER -- This is not the first time Jesus has healed people on the sabbath. It appears that Jesus is going out of his way to heal people on the sabbath. How do YOU explain that? BEGGAR -- Well, it appears to me that the Jewish leaders no longer worship the Lord. They seem to worship the sabbath. But it was the creator himself who set aside the sabbath as a rest period for man as a symbol of our rest in the creator. And, since Jesus is the creator, HE is our rest. The sabbath is no longer a day of the week. It's a person. And the person is Jesus. �2013 Bob Snook. 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