the village

THE VILLAGE

Recently, my wife and I viewed M. Night Shyamalan's The Village. It’s a movie about a group of people living in an 18th Century village that is surrounded by a forest. No one ever leaves the village because they fear what is beyond the trees. In the film, Ivy Walker (Bryce Dallas Howard) is a young, blind woman who is an ambitious, fearless individual, full of courage, while most others around her live simple, happy lives, albeit under a shadow of fear. At one point, Ivy is the only one brave enough to venture into the woods to head towards the towns for medicine that will save a man from death.

It would seem that many of us are confined to little villages as fear prevents us from doing or saying certain things. To me, the Village is SAFETY, INNOCENCE, THE WAY THINGS USED TO BE, with HIDDEN SECRETS not forgotten, but ignored. The Village is avoiding reality; avoiding a "sinful world", thus avoiding the chances to be salt & light (Matthew 5:13). The village is taking the easy way out - for the sake of preserving a life of safety - while others die without knowing Jesus. In the village those with eyes cower in fear and those who have not fear not. The blind see and do and dream and colorize that which is gray.

"how the blind risk, how the blind see love,
how they live beyond fear, and reach
out their hands to succumb to trust..."

Those of us with eyes - are we not seeing? do we not trust? We stay confined to our village of safety at what gain? At what cost? We think and feel we are genuinely doing what is right. No harm in that. but are we missing a kaleidoscope of opportunity?

In Mark 8:22-26 Jesus heals a blind man...
“They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?" He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around."
Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, "Don't go into the village"”

Jesus took the man outside of the village - and upon sight restoration, the first thing the blind man sees is people walking around near him.

Then there’s us... the ones with sight.. What do we see? Are our eyes and minds numb to that which is around us? PEOPLE! We walk in shopping malls and on sidewalks and we look away or down at the ground. We do not see anything because seeing makes us uncomfortable.

Jesus took the blind man outside of the sounds and smells of his village... his familiarity... his saftey (even in his blindness). Maybe the heartbeat of God and the love of God can only truly be seen when we are outside of our safety zone... a zone that is all too familiar; all to comfortable... so comfortable that our eyes do not see anything at all. Like Ivy Walker, we must be willing to go into the unfamiliar places with courage and knowledge that God is with us for the sake of bringing life (Jesus) to those who are dead in sin.

The blind take risks because they have nothing to lose... they are already blind... What will we do? The blind have true faith... and know what it means to trust.
God, may there be a lesson in this for us... for me... for everyone. - Tim Beck