Jesus Christ -- Fiction; Religious fiction; United States -- Social life and customs -- 20th century -- Fiction
Mr. Goodman smiled and shrugged his shoulders, but his cheeks grew
a little flushed. The other members of the committee felt very
uncomfortable.
"What do you say of this Man that cured you?" said Bishop Caiaphas.
"I say he's a prophet," said the man.
Dr. Dayton laughed. "I think it's much more likely that you're a rogue,
my friend. The age of miracles is past and done. In this day of light
we do not see miracles, nor does God operate in any other way than
according to His divine law of order and of common-sense. When a man
who is blind receives his sight, he does it through an orderly change
of his body, that is just as perfect and just as slow and according to
divine order as the creation of light itself is according to divine
order. Health and disease must always be according to order, and cannot
be in any other way."
The man looked steadily at Dr. Dayton as he was speaking. "I don't
know just what you mean," he said, "but if you mean that I wasn't
blind before, I only know that I was blind. Here are my father and
mother--you can ask them."
The man and his wife were sitting at the far end of the room, as close
to the wall as possible, and side by side. Seeing the eyes of the
committee fixed upon them, the father slowly arose, holding his cane
somewhat tremulously in his hand. He had a weak face and a retreating
chin and a twitching movement about the jaw.
"Is this man your son?" said Dr. Hopkinson, of St. David's Church.
"Yes, sir, he be," said the man. The woman also had risen and stood
close to her husband, but a little behind him.
"Are you sure he has been blind for all these years?"
"Yes, sir," said the father, "I am sure of that. You see, he couldn't
pretend to be blind all these years and me and his mother not know it."
"Do you know how it is that he is now able to see?"
The man wiped a tremulous hand across his mouth; the fingers were
knotted and twisted with rheumatism. He looked hesitatingly around upon
the circle of eyes fixed upon him. "I don't know, gentlemen," he said,
"about it at all. I know the man's our son, gentlemen, and I know he
was born blind. But how he comes to see now, and who it was that opened
his eyes, I don't know nothing about. He is of age, gentlemen all; ask
him. He will speak for hisself."
It was very plain that the man was afraid of the committee.
Dr. Dayton turned to Tom Kettle. "My friend," he said, "give to God the
glory and the praise for this wonderful thing that has happened to you.
As for this Man--we all know He is a sinner."
Tom Kettle listened sullenly. "I don't know about that," he said,
"whether He is a sinner or not. One thing I do know: I was blind
before, and now I see."
"Come," said another minister--a Mr. Parker--"come, my friend, tell us
truly what the Man did to you."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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