Daily Reflection – 2/19/2020
Sacred Scripture
When they arrived at Bethsaida, they brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on him and asked, “Do you see anything?” Looking up he replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.” Then he laid hands on his eyes a second time and he saw clearly; his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly. Then he sent him home and said, “Do not even go into the village.” (Mark 8:22-26)
Reflection
This is the only Gospel that shows Jesus healing someone in stages. Within that lies a message for each of us.
This week, we have been talking about faith being a process. It isn’t given to us, we don’t get it all in one setting and, in truth, for us to know the full blessings of a faith filled life, we learn to give up our life to him . . . we can’t be number one in our life but rather we must allow him to be the primary driver of our life.
Our spiritual enlightenment is a gradual process of coming to understand what God wants of us, or our mission in life. Many of us start out blind. Our egos rule. Our pride, our vanity get in the way of knowing God to the full. Then, with the help of Providence, we begin to see that His presence in our lives is more important. So, we begin to embrace His love and His presence in our lives.
But, in truth, many stagnate at that point. Like the blind man, we see but not fully. Too many things are blurry. Often though, the Lord rubs spittle in our eyes – sometimes through a miracle, sometimes through a tragedy, sometimes through the actions of a friend. But something happens and we begin to see the Lord more clearly.
As we begin to see Him more clearly, we can not help but be directed outward. His love was for us. Our love for Him is brought to life through others. We are directed to be that friend to another. As the blind man’s friends brought him to Jesus. As Jesus did by taking the blind man’s hand. We are brought to recognize that His love must be shared by us for one another.
The blind man, once he could see a little, clearly began to believe some more. And once his faith grew, Jesus laid hands on him again, bringing his healing to completion The action of healing the man twice in a row tells us that Jesus is patient and merciful and will take the little we have, and the little we offer, and use it the best He can. He will work to transform our little faith so that we can then take another step closer to God and grow in faith.
Prayer of The Day
Lord, take the faith I have and lead me one step closer to You and Your merciful heart. Amen.
Daily Note
Jerome, a third century father of the church, explains the spiritual significance of this healing for us: “Christ laid his hands upon his eyes that he might see all things clearly, so through visible things he might understand things invisible, which the eye has not seen, that after the film of sin is removed, he might clearly behold the state of his soul with the eye of a clean heart.”
