By Maria Morera Johnson

 

 

“Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again;
and he looked intently and his sight was restored,
and he saw everything clearly.” ~ Mark 8:25

Today’s Gospel is brief and leaves me wanting to know the rest of the story. Jesus has a blind man brought to him, restores the blind man’s sight, and sends the man straight home. That’s the whole account. In this brief encounter and unusual miracle, we have Jesus healing a blind man; we also have a metaphor for our faith.

Patience is a Virtue

In the first reading, we note that Noah must repeatedly wait for the flood waters to recede. The rain has stopped, but Noah must wait for a safe landfall and must trust the birds to give him a sign that land is near.

Like Noah, who must wait for the second part of his miracle, the dry land after the flood, the blind man is not healed immediately. He must wait and trust Jesus to continue with the miracle. Certainly, Jesus could have healed the blind man at once, so why execute the miracle in two parts? It is important to Jesus to let the man see partially and then clearly.

Faith is a Progression

The blind man was healed, but in two parts. He must have been born with sight because he could identify people and knew the look of trees. Perhaps he lost his vision over time in much the same way one can lose faith in small increments until, like the blind man, we can no longer see the truth.

If we equate vision with seeing clearly (truth) and the dimming of vision with straying away from the truth, then we have in today’s Gospel a beautiful two-part healing. Not only of the Blind Man’s vision but perhaps more importantly, the restoration of faith, that he can now see clearly the Truth standing before him. We see, in this miracle, that sometimes the truth is revealed slowly.

 

Prayer

Good and merciful Lord, we come to you in faith to have our partial blindness healed and our faith restored to fullness. Amen

Call to Action

Pay close attention to your day, look for opportunities to look beyond the physical world, and respond with your eyes of faith. Where can you find Jesus today?

 

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