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Gospel: Matthew 9:27-31
As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out,
“Son of David, have pity on us!”
When he entered the house,
the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them,
“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.”
And their eyes were opened.
Jesus warned them sternly,
“See that no one knows about this.”
But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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John Newton’s hymn, Amazing Grace, may be the most sung and recorded hymn in Christian history. Believers sing from their heart with faith, gratitude, and introspection, as they connect the lyrics to their own lived experience.
“Amazing grace,” we sing, “how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found. Was blind but now I see.”
Some may be surprised to learn that Newton was a former slave trader, who found his faith in a near-death experience at sea. A particularly strong storm was threatening to swallow Newton’s ship, sending chills down his spine, causing him to cry out to God.
“If you save me,” he said in so many words, “then I will believe.”
Once the storm passed and Newton landed on solid ground, he sang of amazing grace.
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Later, Newton admitted that this “conversion moment” didn’t shake entirely shake the blindness from his eyes or the prejudice from his heart.
It would take several more years before he left the slave trade entirely and worked to end it.
For Newton, as for us all, coming to faith – and basing life-decisions upon it – was a gradual process.
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In today’s Gospel, two blind men are healed by Jesus.
While they receive their physical sight that day, only God knows how long it took for them to see clearly spiritually. While they had enough faith to call Jesus Lord, faith is often lived minute by minute.
It’s easy to believe and to praise God on “solid ground,” when all in life is in order. But it’s much harder to praise him in the middle of a storm.
Where am I on my own faith journey? How clearly do I see?
Do I see Christ present in my neighbor, in the Eucharist, even within myself?
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“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like. I once was lost but now am found. Was blind but now I see.”
May the Lord grant us all eyes of faith, and strengthen us to live accordingly.
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Image credits: (1) Adobe Stock (2) Amazon.com (3) Blind Bartimaeus