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Article: Panhandling.(MARCH 2)(Brief article)
- Article from:
- Sojourners Magazine
- Article date:
- March 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Sojourners. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41
"Any spare change? Can you spare any change?" When we hear the words do we look or turn away?
The blind beggar is dependent on charity for economic survival; he lives in poverty. He is spoken about and not to. His disability is considered to be the result of sin. People feel free to use him and his body as an object lesson and his physical condition as a metaphor for ignorance. His word is not believed; when people want to know about him they ask his parents. His family only acknowledges his status as an adult out of fear.
This week we meet the third character in John whose encounter with ...