Mt 9: 27-31
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying loudly, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When he entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.”
Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you.” And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly ordered them, “See that no one knows of this.” But they went away and spread the news about him throughout that district.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Eyes That See and a Heart That Hopes
The first rule about fight club: don’t talk about fight club. It’s a little weird to me that Jesus would ask the same of these men in the Gospel today. I mean, these guys have been waiting for him, they are calling out to him, they know that he can heal them and then he DOES! How could they NOT talk about it? WHY would they not?!
Maybe because, at least from Jesus’ perspective, this story isn’t mostly about healing. Perhaps it is about what this season of Advent is for: waiting in earnest expectation, in faith and hope, for the Holy One of Israel. Maybe, just maybe, Jesus is calling me to see in a way that these blind men, even prior to their being healed, saw. So let that be my prayer this day: that I might have eyes that see and a heart that hopes.
—Conor LoPiccolo is a theology teacher at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory in Houston, Texas.
Prayer
Eye has not seen,
ear has not heard
what God has ready
for those who love him;
Spirit of love,
come, give us the mind of Jesus,
teach us the wisdom of God.
—Lyrics of “Eye Has Not Seen” by Marty Haugen ©1982 GIA Publications