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Gospel: Mark 8:22-26
When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethsaida,
people brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.
Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on the man and asked,
“Do you see anything?”
Looking up the man replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.”
Then he laid hands on the man’s eyes a second time and he saw clearly;
his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.
Then he sent him home and said, “Do not even go into the village.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Part of the tragedy in today’s Gospel is the fact that this poor man’s blindness was preventable.
Many children in first-century Palestine were born blind because people didn’t know how to properly care for their bodies or how to prevent the spread of disease.
As a result, this man was treated as an outcast, a loser, his whole life.
But all of a sudden, Jesus, the divine physician, comes along and heals him.
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This becomes the only miracle in the Gospels where Jesus doesn’t heal someone immediately; it takes two applications of divine spittle before this man can see clearly.
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Can’t we see something of our own stories in that?
Like this man’s blindness, some of the problems we face in life are preventable – whether it’s financial or relational ruin, spiritual stumbling, falling into unhealthy habits, or entertaining unnecessary fears.
We find ourselves in an unfortunate place – and need to be healed. And like that man, the healing we receive from Jesus often comes slowly, in stages.
Rebuilding trust takes time. Breaking bad habits is often a gradual, uphill climb. Finding our way to financial security can take years.
But it’s possible.
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Is there any area of my life where I need that slow, healing touch of Jesus?
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May we be content to receive – not a total resolution – but incremental change where we need it most today.
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Image credits: (1) crosswalk.com (2) Steven M. Miller (3) CatholicTT