Posted by The WORD in Other Words by Fr Ernesto Lagura SVD (Philippines)
In his healing ministry, Jesus cured many sick persons in several villages. When His grace is at work and a person is cured, we notice two things: (a) the person to be cured is asked to do something, (he participates in the healing), (b) something is visible and observable to the crowd.
These two elements inform us that the spirit and power of Jesus is at work and that the person has an encounter with God. This is sacrament — when one encounters Jesus and His saving power perceivable to the SENSES.
Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. The blind man had faith in Jesus that he followed Him to wherever He was leading him. How about us? When Jesus invites us to follow Him, do we have that strong faith in Him, like that of the blind man, that we decide to follow Him in spite of the many unknowns and uncertainties?
When asked by the Lord, if he saw anything, the blind man replied that he saw people looking like trees. There was no instant and complete cure — he was still partially blind. We too are partially blind and fail to see the whole truth nor grasp the total situation.
Our own blindness keeps us from encountering Jesus and seeing others as our brothers and sisters. Our blindness may be due to our hang-ups, cop-outs, discriminatory attitude, biases, suppressed or unhealed emotional wounds, unreconciled conflicting feelings, and many other possible causes.
Let us pray to Jesus to heal us of our blindness so that we can see, relate to, and love Him and our neighbors as He commanded.
Source – The WORD in Other Words 2019
