Gospel LK 18:35-43
As Jesus approached Jericho
a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging,
and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening.
They told him,
“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!”
The people walking in front rebuked him,
telling him to be silent,
but he kept calling out all the more,
“Son of David, have pity on me!”
Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him;
and when he came near, Jesus asked him,
“What do you want me to do for you?”
He replied, “Lord, please let me see.”
Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.”
He immediately received his sight
and followed him, giving glory to God.
When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.
Reflection:
As Jesus approached Jericho
a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging,
and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening.
They told him,
“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!”
The people walking in front rebuked him,
telling him to be silent,
but he kept calling out all the more,
“Son of David, have pity on me!”
The people saw the blind beggar as “less than,” an embarrassment to their community; he was someone who should be quieted and kept out of Jesus’ sight.
Limited by our own blindness and prejudices, we too may push the marginalized toward the edge of our communities, and even to the edge of our families.
“Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him…”
Jesus “ordered” that the blind beggar be brought to him.
God’s message is clear: we are to bring all who seek help to the Lord.
“…..and when he came near, Jesus asked him,
“What do you want me to do for you?”
He replied, “Lord, please let me see.”
Jesus also asks each of us, “What do you want me to do for you?”
I answer, “Help me too Lord; to see beyond what my eyes reveal.”
Help me to “feel” the heartache of those who mourn, the isolation of the beggar, the hopelessness of the homeless, the hunger of those without food, the loneliness of the single mother trying to provide for and guide her children.
Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.”
He immediately received his sight
and followed him, giving glory to God.
When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.
Jesus, let my own wounds and suffering give me eyes to see with empathy and compassion those who are raw from the wounds of life.
Move my heart so that I may become a “wounded healer.”
As we bring hope and healing to others, may we be inspired to give praise and glory to you, God.
“The question is not what you look at, but what you see.”
– Thoreau