Word to the Wise
Monday, November 18, 2019 - Monday in the 33th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Macc 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-63 and Luke 18:35-43]Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" He replied, "Lord, please let me see." [Luke]
Like so many of the stories in the Gospel According to Luke, the one of the Blind Man at Jericho has much to teach us. First, there is the situation of the blind man. He can only hear the crowd passing, so he asks someone what is going on and learns that "Jesus of Nazareth" is passing by. He calls out immediately, using a term of faith, "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!" Where would he have heard of Jesus before? We can only speculate, but faith is where you find it! Next, we have the crowd who are irritated by the cries of the blind man and try to silence him! Are we in that crowd? The blind man persists in yelling and Jesus hears him. Then comes that wonderful question: "What do you want me to do for you?"
There is a terrible irony in the story. The "crowd," those who are supposedly
"following" Jesus, do not want to "see" the Blind Man. Are they like the Rich Man with Lazarus at his doorstep? It is the blind man who truly "sees" Jesus with the eyes of faith. It is this faith that engages Jesus and restores the sight of the blind man.
"following" Jesus, do not want to "see" the Blind Man. Are they like the Rich Man with Lazarus at his doorstep? It is the blind man who truly "sees" Jesus with the eyes of faith. It is this faith that engages Jesus and restores the sight of the blind man.
The challenge is to ask which role each of us is playing? Are we in that crowd, thinking we are following Jesus when we are trying to keep someone else from him? Are we that blind man, having heard of Jesus and knowing our need for him, we cry out? The words of Pope Francis in his initial encyclical, THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL, challenge the crowd to bring the blind man in, not to silence him. Pope Francis speaks of the church as a "field hospital for the sick and wounded," and not a club for a spiritual elite. Can we ask Jesus to help us to truly hear and see those who are crying out and ask, "What do you want me to do for you?" AMEN
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