Lord, that our eyes may be opened

Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!" Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!" So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened." So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

- Matthew 20:29-34

In yesterday's reading, Jesus first warned His disciples, for the third time, what will come to Him in Jerusalem. He taught more explicitly than before about what He will go through, His betrayal, His condemnation, suffering and death at the hands of the Gentiles. And He taught that on the third day He will rise again. Then the mother of James and John Zebedee came to Him, and asked that her sons be seated on His right and left hand, in His kingdom. Jesus told them, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" The brothers replied that they were. But Jesus said these places were not His alone to give, but for those for whom it is prepared by His Father. Then He said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many."

Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!" Passing through Jericho, we read different versions of this story in the Gospels. Here, it is two blind men. Jericho, of course, is the city whose walls fell with a great shout of faith. My study bible points out the two titles these blind men give to Jesus, as He is on His way to the triumphal entrance in Jerusalem. They call Him Lord which is "the common name for God," and Son of David, "a title deeply rooted in popular messianic expectation." It notes, "This last miracle before Jesus' triumphal entrance into Jerusalem reveals the arrival of the messianic age." The cry, "have mercy on us" is the prayer we pray when any of us need help, and call upon the Lord. It is the prayer echoed in Christian worship services throughout the centuries. He is the one who helps the blind to see.

Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!" Persistence in prayer, in relationship to Christ, is reflected in the persistence of these two blind men. Often I have remarked on the kind of "doubling" that appears in Matthew's Gospel. (In the story in Mark, it is one blind man.) It seems to me that this doubling indicates for us that He is the Messiah for all, Jews and Gentiles, who will give His life as a ransom for many, for the whole cosmos.

So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened." So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him. My study bible says, "Jesus knows beforehand what they want -- and what we want. But He calls us to ask freely that He might answer us in mercy." I think it's important to understand that once they receive their sight, they follow Him. They did not merely go back to their lives in Jericho. A touch of healing from Christ is a change that affects much more than the physical healing we read about, but every aspect of the inner life, the soul and spirit. Healing works on all of these levels, and, in effect, they become followers. We wish for more. All of the readings from last Thursday until yesterday focus on leadership. Here, we get a taste of the followers that are to come, the Church as it will gather the flock, the "least" of them, who will be touched by Christ -- even the formerly blind who now see.

As my study bible notes, this is Jesus' last healing miracle before His triumphal entrance into Jerusalem. It is quite symbolic of those who are to come, those who will be the followers in the Church: Jews and Gentiles, in effect, the whole world. We should think, then, about those who are to come. To shout out for God's healing mercy is to be persistent in prayer. It doesn't matter what the crowd says or thinks. Decorum, the littlest ones staying silent, this is not the way with Christ. Each is called to call upon Christ, so to speak. And our prayer can knock down walls, barriers. Each of us may shout out to the Lord, and to be persistent, and specific. We may each hear His question to us, individually: "What do you want Me to do for you?" He takes His time for each of us. He is the personal illustration of His teaching in yesterday's reading: "Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for man." As He makes His way into Jerusalem, let us remember how we form relationship with Him. We call upon Him in prayer. We are persistent. And, in following, we in turn desire to serve, to become a part of His ministry. How are your eyes opened? Do we have the desire for that, as well? I think we make a mistake to think of this merely as an astonishing sign of His divinity, that He is the Anointed One, or Messiah. In some ways, we can all reply as they did to His question, "What do you want Me to do for you?" Lord, that our eyes may be opened! That is an ongoing journey, with Him, in His Way. We just don't know where it may lead us, in faith.