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TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome back to Jesus and the Outsiders, Outcasts and Outlaws.  We have been a variety of places. Today we come to a very interesting space.

Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. ³² He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; ³³ they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”³⁴ The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about. ³⁴ The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about. Luke 18:31-34, NIV  

Ever been in a place and space that felt confusing, disorienting, foggy?

Disciples are in that space in this story. Things are changing in the mind of their master, and they are not putting two plus two together. It’s an experience familiar to followers of Jesus. 

Luke underscores this type of experience by attaching the story of blind Bartimaeus. In Luke chapter 18, verse 35, Zacchaeus who could not see. In chapter 19, there is the owner of a donkey, who may not understand, why some other master needs his colt. 

So, there is lots of fuzzy foggy thinking here, but still a sense that something is unfolding. Blind Bart is calling out. Zacchaeus is climbing up a tree. The disciples are still following. So, this season is not business as usual, but nobody really understands what the business is.

Two observations about times when we feel foggy. First, sometimes the path forward was hidden from disciples. Some things are simply mysteries in our journey because God alone sees the big picture. 

Other times, the disciples are looking through fuzzy lenses. This is often about our own stuff.   The picture is there but we still see blurry. 

Fuzzy vision could be our lost priorities, our distractions, our resistance, our wounds. The path may be fairly clear. We may not want that direction, so we cannot really see it. 

Friends, if you feel like you are in a foggy place, keep following, keep tracking with Jesus.

We may not understand where he is going or what he is doing but we do have the capacity to keep our eyes on him.