Friday of 1st week of Advent "When Jesus reached the house the blind men came up to him and Jesus said to them ’Do you believe I can do this?’
These two blind men came up to Jesus filled with faith, their hearts full of hope. They had heard about Him, about the tenderness he had for the sick, and his power of healing.
’They desire illumination from above, they ask for rays of light from the Eternal Word. Christ’s humanity is the way that leads to salvation. It is when Jesus passes by that, by their faith in the Incarnation and in the Passion of the Son of God that they are trying to obtain what they desire. Jesus in fact passes, so to speak, in the mystery of his mortal life ; it is the work he brings about which measures his passage in time.’ said Saint Augustin.
Who better than he could take their unhappiness into consideration? They make in unison a prayer of request to the One Sent from God, to the Messiah, to whom they give title of “Son of David”. They want, by this prayer, to provoke Jesus’ compassion : ’Have pity on us, Son of David!’ (Mt.9, 27).
The Word of God at the beginning of this Advent awakens our heart, we notice that our life is mixed-up and wounded. However the Lord is our Light, he is the rampart of our life, and so we cry towards Him. "Lord, have pity on me! I am blind and I can’t hear!’ and so Jesus’ response echoes forth : ’Do you believe I can do this for you?’ Jesus ’walks’ on our paths, he remains with us, he touches us again.
Stay standing, remain constantly vigilant.
“’Yes, Lord, we do.’ And their sight returned.”
’Do you believe I can do this for you?’ Jesus appeals to their faith : if they are approached by the One Sent from God, it is precisely because they believe in Him. Indeed, to believe is to have an inner way of considering things. May we believe, hope, and aspire truly with all our heart to this inner healing by acts of faith, hope and love. This requires of us a decision to keep on going! Our conversion is when we are found truly living and in a state of supplication! This
is the situation of these two blind men who pursue Jesus : and so when he hears those who, in the ardour of their desire, come up to Him, Jesus stops on the road ; he touches these two blind men who ask for light and he enlightens them. ’Admirable mystery!’ says St Augustin again. There was a beautiful act of faith in this insistent call made to Jesus. This healing must have transformed itself into a marvel, in a cry of the heart, so as to express joy and gratitude to God.
This time of Advent is also for us the right time to seek Jesus with a great desire, like these two blind men, together, building up the Church. With the Church let us proclaim in the Holy Spirit : ’Come, Lord Jesus!’
Jesus comes with his power to open wide the eyes of our heart, so as to allow us to see and to believe.
“Then Jesus sternly warned them ’Take care that no one learns about this”
As these two blind men are expressing their faith, confessing Jesus as their Lord, here they are healed. How can we not evoke here the intimacy of the Virgin Mary in Nazareth, visited by the Angel at the Annunciation? Mary who welcomes in silence God’s plan and who consents in faith : ’Let everything happen to me according to your Word.’ We can follow Jesus and find Him in the intimate parts of our heart ; from this could burst forth a commitment in faith and a confidence in God that has all been renewed. We know how much our lives are dispersed. We are always falling back into our miserable ways. God awaits our requests so as to realise the work of Salvation, and so he touches us and we contemplate Him as a Saviour. It is in giving thanks to God in the secret of our hearts that our passions and compulsions crumble down. Thanks to this secret of love, the dark parts of our being can be extracted. And so the humble ones will rejoice more and more in the Lord, for it is the grace of the little and poor ones to rejoice deeply before God’s Work. Jesus is keen on silence, the intimacy of the house allows hearts to be fathomed out on the deepest level.
Advent is a time where we pray very strongly : it is time of prayer requests and most of all of prayer of professions of faith. A time to see and a time to believe.