From the responsorial psalm: “I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD. The Lord is my light and my salvation.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 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.
After Jesus gives sight to the blind men, he sternly warns them not to tell anyone about the miracle. But they tell their story anyway, and word of Jesus spreads throughout the region. By asking the blind men if they believe he can heal them, Jesus invites them into a relationship with him just as the angel Gabriel invited Mary into a relationship with God. She said, “May it be done to me according to your word.” As Jesus touches the eyes of the blind men, he says, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” God, the giver of all good gifts, invites us to receive his mercy; in turn, we give him our trust and faith in him and are made whole.
God, it is difficult for me to say “Let it be done.” I would rather go by my own vision diminished by life experience and by sin than to have complete faith and trust in you. Yet, in complete trust, the blind men said yes to you and were given sight to see but greater still the supernatural vision of your love and mercy for them. I wonder if I have to be a bit reckless in the way a child might be reckless—unaware of self-preservation and not taking myself so seriously. Is it like this: within reason, one way is as good as another as long as I don’t turn away from you? Or “Love God and do what you will,” as Saint Augustine said. Open my eyes, Lord, my light and my salvation. Saint Nicholas, pray for us!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.