REFLECTION FOR TODAY
December 3, 2021
By Fr. Andrew Ibegbulem, OSA
“Let it be done for you according to your faith.” And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” But they went out and spread word of him through all that land. Matt. 9:29-31
Our gospel reference forms part of Jesus’ miraculous healing of two blind men who approached him with trusting Faith. These two blind men followed Jesus, loudly expressing their confidence in the “Son of David” and requesting mercy. Jesus found in them what was required for receiving a miracle, namely a strong and expectant Faith, an earnest desire for vision and a sincere prayer for mercy.
The faith of these men in the ability of Jesus to restore their sight was the defining aspect of this healing. Jesus only spoke the word “Let it be done for you according to your faith” and healing and restoration happened. Do we still have the faith of these blind men? One fascinating thing after the healing was that Jesus told them not to speak about their healing to others.
This request of Jesus would have been impossible to follow. Everyone who knew these blind men would have known they were blind. And then, out of the blue, they could see. How could such a thing be contained? Jesus most certainly knew that they could not contain such a miracle but, nonetheless, spoke these words to these men. To understand why Jesus said this we must understand the motive He had for healing them.
Jesus’ healing of these men was done purely out of love for them. They cried out for mercy and Jesus wanted to offer mercy. He did not do it as a way of gaining public praise or notoriety. He did it out of love for these blind men. He also did this miracle to teach that He can heal the blindness of our hearts. He wanted these men to come to faith in Him and “see” Him for who He was. Therefore, this miracle was something deeply personal and was done out of concern for these two men to strengthen their faith.
We may sometimes feel that we don’t have enough faith for Jesus to want to answer us when we cry out to Him. We grow discourage when we try to muster more faith by trying to pray harder. Fortunately, God knows our weakness and struggle better than we do. He is always ready to give us the grace we need to respond to his word with trust and obedience.
These blind men could not contain the joy they had at receiving this gift from our Lord. They had to cry out in gratitude and share their story. We can be certain that Jesus was not offended at this but saw it as a necessary result of their faith.
How about you? Do you see God at work in your life and then seek to spread the joy of His work in your life? Do you regularly witness to His action and healing? Do you seek to allow others to see all that God has done for you?
Reflect, today, on the faith behind the cry of the two blind men, Jesus Son of David have mercy on us. Ponder on our need of light and eyesight because we are often blind to the presence of Jesus living in us and in others. We are sometime blind to the blessings God showers on us and to the protection God gives us every day. We need to also reflect upon the joy in the hearts of these blind men at their healing. Think about your own joy at God’s activity in your life. If your joy is not overflowing, perhaps it’s a good day to ask the Lord, with a deep faith, to help you see!
Lord, You are the restorer of sight, we pray for the spiritual eyesight to realize and experience the presence of Jesus in ourselves and others, and for the good will to do good to and for others. Lord, help me to see and help me to share the joy of seeing You with others. May that joy flow from my life for all to see. Jesus, I trust in You.