Word to the Wise
Friday, December 7, 2012 - 1st Week of Advent - Fri
[Isa 29:17-24 and Matt 9:27-31,817]On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book; and out of gloom and darkness the blind shall see....[Isaiah] "Do you believe that I can do this?" "Yes, Lord," they said to him. Then he touched their eyes and said, "Let it be done for you according to your faith."
A popular carol in this season has the line: "Do you see what I see?" The connection between sight and faith is prominent in the Bible. The story from today's gospel seems to be a variation on the story of the blind beggar, Bar Timaeus, except that Matthew seems to have a preference for pairs! To Bar Timaeus, Jesus asks, "What do you want me to do for you?" To the pair of blind men in today's gospel, Jesus asks, "Do you believe that I can do this?" In both cases, Jesus connects their healing with their faith! It is not simply their sense of sight that is restored, they are restored to their community in a new way and they now see Jesus in a way that is beyond what they had before. Truly they can, with joy, ask all around them, "Do you see what I see?"
The physical deprivation of hearing and seeing can be a hard cross to bear, even with the amazing advances in medical treatment. But there are forms of compensation that give the deaf and blind ways of "hearing and seeing" that can put to shame those who have sight and hearing. I am counting on my amazing opthalmologist in Houston to keep my physical sight in good shape, but, because she is a woman of faith, we also ask one another, "Do you see what I see?" Whether it be the celebration of Hannukah, which recalls the restoration of the temple and God's presence in Jerusalem after the Maccabean revolt, or the birth of a Child/Messiah - the restoration of God's kingdom - this is a season of faith. The secular cultural hoopla can blind and deafen us to the message. We must shout all the louder, "Do you see what I see?" AMEN