Why does this generation seek a sign?

 

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."

 

 And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, to you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"  

 

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."

 

- Mark 8:11–26 

 

Yesterday we read that, in those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar."  Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"  He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.  They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.  Now those who had eaten were about four thousand.  And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha. 

 

  Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."  My study Bible explains that a sign from heaven means a spectacular display of power.  The time of the Messiah among the Jews was expected to be accompanied by signs, but these hypocrites have not recognized the signs already being performed because their hearts were hardened, and they ignored the works happening all around them.  In St. Matthew's telling of this episode, Jesus refers to this "adulterous generation," meaning one unfaithful to God.  My study Bible notes that Jesus refuses to prove Himself in a spectacular way, for a sign is never given to people whose motive is to test God.  

 

  And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, to you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"  Leaven is a word meaning a natural yeast, which transforms dough by an internal enzymatic process.  Jesus uses it as a metaphor for the influence of particular behaviors and attitudes.  My study Bible comments that the leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine (Matthew 16:12) and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  In Scripture, my study Bible points out, "leaven" is used both positively (as in Matthew 13:33) and negatively, as it is here.  In either case, it says, leaven symbolizes  force powerful enough -- and often subtle enough -- to permeate and effect everything around it (see 1 Corinthians 5:6-8).

 

 Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."  My study Bible explains that as the people of Bethsaida were unbelieving (Matthew 11:21), Jesus leads the man out of the town to heal him, so that the people would not scoff at this miracle and bring upon themselves greater condemnation.  This is furthermore a story about faith in that the blind man was healed in stages, indicating that he had a small amount of faith to begin with, as healing occurs according to one's faith (Mark 6:5-6).  But this little faith was enough, and it increased with the touch of Christ.  His command not to return to the town, according to my study Bible, symbolizes that we must not return to our sins once we've been forgiven.  This story can also be read another way.  In the case of Jairus and his daughter, Jesus put the unbelievers outside of the home (those who ridiculed Him) and took with Him His disciples strongest in faith, the "inner circle" of Peter, James, and John, in order to shore up the faith of the little girl's parents.  Again, since the working of Christ's power is dependent upon faith, Jesus may also have taken this man out of the town in order to strengthen his faith, and separate him from those who would scoff.

 

Today's entire reading gives us a teaching about spiritual understanding, and its growth -- or lack of it -- within us.  In the first instance, we get a taste of Jesus' seeming exasperation with the slowness even of His own chosen disciples.  For despite two separate feeding miracles (see this reading and yesterday's reading, above), when Jesus speaks to them metaphorically of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod, they believe that somehow He's complaining to them that they forgot to bring adequate bread with them.  Considering the miraculous feeding first of five thousand men (and more women and children) in the wilderness from a few loaves, and then the second miraculous feeding of four thousand -- again from a few loaves -- this is an astounding assumption!  Jesus spells it out for them, going through the details of those miraculous multiplications of pieces of bread, seemingly marveling and wondering, "How is it you do not understand?"  This story appearing in the Gospels does us the great favor of knowing that even Jesus' disciples can be astoundingly slow to grasp faith, the working of Christ's power, and even in understanding His metaphors and parables.  If they are remarkably slow in today's reading (especially considering these recent miracles of the multiplications of loaves of bread by thousands), then it gives everyone hope for our own slowness to grasp the things of faith, the things God may be showing us in our lives, desiring for us to understand the things that can be painfully out of our reach.  There are times in life when God seems to repeat a hard lesson for us to learn, sometimes one can look back and realize that a particular lesson was decades in the making, our own growth remarkably slow in hindsight.  Nevertheless, this is part of what makes us only human.  It's our lot to grow, sometimes through painful understanding and difficult experience.  And, as we are all disciples if we are believers, Christ offers us spiritual understanding we need to learn, for a "learner" is what a disciple is.  Contrary to some assumptions, none of us is born with perfect faith; even for the saints, faith is a growth process, an evolution of an open heart to God, a willingness to accept and understand, and the deep need for humility to come to terms with God and where God leads us contrary to our own expectations and desires.  The story of the blind man living among the town of Bethsaida where people refuse to have faith in Christ despite the "mighty works" done among them is another illustration of the process of growth in faith.  We all might live in environments where faith is difficult, either due to those who scoff at it, or perhaps we're surrounded by nominal believers who honor God with their lips, but whose hearts are far away.  In any case, the Gospels give us many examples where faith, even contrary to Jesus' expectations, doesn't exist, such as in His hometown of Nazareth (in this reading).  There are many varied reasons and explanations for why faith doesn't take hold in someone's heart, from false expectations, prejudices, heretical beliefs, emotional binds and holds on their perception, habits, and just plain inconvenience, to a desire not to face what sacrifice it might take to truly accept God's path for them, even the changing image of themselves among the society.  One thing the Gospels make very clear is the role that hypocrisy plays in keeping people from God, putting on a show of piety while inwardly a hardened heart remains untouched.  All of these things remain with us, and even more influences today.  But the Gospels give us the truth, and don't sugarcoat it, when we read about the struggles for faith, even among Christ's own chosen disciples.  We'll never forget, either, the outright betrayal He will experience from one of the Twelve.  So, in short, there is hope for all of us and no need to be discouraged, for God is patient and God's mercy greater than we could hope.  But on the other hand, there is a price to pay for the refusal of grace; we lose what we could have gained, and our hearts grow further away from understanding, sometimes with difficult consequences.  In fact, in the perspective of the Bible, the difficult consequences are things to be grateful for, for we can learn from them (1 Corinthians 5:3-5).  A too-easy life can result in a failure with a far worse consequence (see the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus).  In the end of today's reading, Jesus tells the healed blind man who has recovered his sight, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."  We recall that He has also warned His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces" (Matthew 7:6).  Sometimes we're not to tempt those who refuse faith with our joy and good news, for our own good. Nonetheless, there always remains God's open gift of mercy for those who will come to receive.  All of these lessons open up to us the mysteries of the heart, the place where we may grasp -- or reject -- God.  Jesus asks, "Why does this generation seek a sign?"  They demand to be convinced first; Jesus has to prove to them -- for their arbitrary standards -- who He is.  But that's not the way that faith works, and that's not His mission.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I see men like trees, walking

 

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But he sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."  

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said Him, "Twelve."  "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"  

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, " Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."

 

- Mark 8:11–26 

 

Yesterday we read that, in those days of Christ's ministry, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar."  Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"  He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.  They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.  Now those who had eaten were about four thousand.  And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

 

Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But he sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."  A sign from heaven, my study Bible explains, means a spectacular display of power.  It says that the time of the Messiah among the Jews was expected to be accompanied by signs, but these hypocrites have not recognized the signs already being performed because their hearts were hardened, and they ignored the works which were happening all around them.

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said Him, "Twelve."  "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"  The leaven of the Pharisees, according to my study Bible, is their doctrine (Matthew 16:12) and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  In Scripture, it explains, "leaven" is used both positively (as in the parable found at Matthew 13:33) and also negatively, as Jesus uses it in this instance.  In either case, what leaven symbolizes is a force powerful enough -- and frequently subtle enough -- to permeate and affect all that is around it (see 1 Corinthians 5:6-8). 

 

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, " Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."  My study Bible comments on this passage that the people of Bethsaida were unbelieving (see Matthew 11:21).  This is why, therefore, Jesus leads this blind man out of the town in order to heal him.  My study Bible comments that this is so that the people would not scoff at the miracle, and thus bring upon themselves greater condemnation.   (Let us note also that Jesus does the same with the people who ridicule Him at the time of the healing of Jairus' daughter; see Mark 5:40.  This is also done to shore up the faith of those who seek the healing.)  My study Bible further asks us to observe that this blind man was healed in stages; it says that this snows that he had only a small amount of faith, for healing occurs according to one's faith (Mark 6:5-6).  However, this little faith was enough, and it increased with the touch of Jesus.  Christ's command not to return to the town symbolizes that we must not return to our sins once we have been forgiven, my study Bible says.  Note also that by doing so, this healed man will not surround himself with scoffers, but hopefully will remain in a place that helps preserve, protect, and grow his faith instead.  Those who seek healing in faith will often find it is necessary to separate oneself from old company or even community in order to retain the life in Christ we gain and the strength that comes through our faith, should such influences be detrimental to it.

 

The first thing we might note about today's reading is that what we might term the slow learning of the disciples parallels the healing in stages of the blind man in the second part of the reading.  This "slow learning" is also a matter of faith; for as the text says, their hearts were hardened.   That they had not understood  is also a matter which goes hand in hand with faith, and the depth of that faith in the heart.  If we go back to an earlier passage in St. Mark's Gospel, we find that the text tells us the disciples did not understand about the loaves, for their heart was hardened.  On that passage, my study Bible commented that to know Christ is a matter of the heart, and not simply the intellect.  It says that when our hearts are illumined by faith in God, they are open to receive God's presence and grace.  In the ascetic writings of the Church, we're told, the heart is known as "the seat of knowledge."  So, we must find this understanding of the heart for ourselves, if we are to understand our faith and how it works in us and for us.  Note how this understanding, in fact, grows.  Nothing is static, else Christ's mission -- and the ongoing mission of the Church -- would be in vain.  At the very beginning of our reading for today, we see for ourselves the "hardness of heart" of the Pharisees; they don't understand at all, and for reasons that conflict with what that understanding and faith would mean for them.  It would result in a loss of authority for their doctrine, and the need to repent and change.  They are blind in a sense that is symbolic, and also reflects a parallel in the healing of the blind man.  In their blindness, a demand for a sign, even if fulfilled, would do not good anyway, and so Christ responds with the truth that He will not provide proofs on demand, signs to convince.  His signs come in response to faith.  So, in this context, we move on to today's somewhat humorous passage in which the disciples cannot understand what Christ is talking about, and misunderstand His comment regarding "the leaven of the Pharisees" for criticism that they have forgotten to bring bread with them -- to Christ's seeming exasperation.  His words, "How is it you do not understand?" would seem to indicate that our Lord even marvels at this possibility.  Yet, they are His chosen disciples, and there is something essential that makes them different from the Pharisees.  They remain capable of growing in their faith, and growing in their understanding of Christ and the gift of His mission into our world, and His ongoing ministry in which they will participate and grow also.  Finally, we come to the healing of the blind man, which is such a significant passage for so many reasons.  There is first the understanding which my study Bible comments upon, the gradual healing of the man.  Note how it comes from Christ's repeated touch with His hands on the man's eyes.  We have already written above the notation in the study Bible regarding separation from those who scoff, and what an important component of our need to strengthen and shore up our faith that is.  One common example we might take from modern life is the struggle against addiction, and the Twelve Step program's advocacy for reliance upon a Higher Power for help.  Very frequently recovering addicts will find they need to separate themselves from old friends or even community in that same struggle, for bad influences are detrimental to sobriety.  It's the same with our need for our faith, and these deep matters of the heart.  We need to do all we can to protect and guard our hearts in the very need to practice and grow our faith as well, regardless of circumstances.  Like the disciples will do in their ongoing journey and learning from Christ, the blind man gradually recovers his sight, even as it is parallel to his faith.  "I see men like trees, walking" is a memorable image of an image coming gradually into focus, something we can't quite see nor understand with a bare grasp only of what it is.  It is Christ who gives sight and heals, Christ who teaches us that He is the light of the world by which we shall truly see.  That He has great patience while we learn and grow, just as with the disciples, is the gift of the love of God for us, and teaches us in turn how to love. 

 

 

I see men like trees, walking

 

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it that you do not understand?"

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."

 

- Mark 8:11-26 

 

 In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar."  Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"  He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.  They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.  Now those who had eaten were about four thousand.  And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.   

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."   Over the course of the past couple of readings, Jesus has been avoiding His ministry's "home" territory in Galilee.  After having disputed with the Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem (see this reading), Jesus withdrew to the Gentile territory of Tyre and Sidon, where He had His encounter with the Syro-Phoenician woman, and then came through the Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee, again avoiding His ministry's home ground.  True to His apparent aim of avoiding the Pharisees for a while (and that they will now be after Him), we see that when He returns to the west side of the Sea of Galilee (as yesterday's reading told us), the Pharisees came out once again and began to dispute with Him.  This time they demand a sign from heaven, testing Him.  This means that what they want to see from Him is some spectacular display of power, in order to prove who He is.  My study bible says that the time of the Messiah among the Jews was expected to be accompanied by signs.  But they fail to recognize the signs that are already being performed by Christ, as their hearts are hardened.  They apparently are ignoring the works which are happening all around them, and of which they no doubt have heard.  When Jesus says that no sign shall be given to this generation, He affirms that His ministry must unfold in a particular way in accordance with God the Father, and not according to the demands of those who seek to test God (see Luke 4:12).

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it that you do not understand?"  Once again, after yet another hostile encounter with the Pharisees, Jesus departs with the disciples for the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  As they travel across the sea (which is really a very large lake), Jesus has time for this dialogue with the disciples, after they fail to understand His meaning regarding the Pharisees and Herod.  My study bible says that the leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine (Matthew 16:12) and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  In Scripture, leaven is used both positively (as in Matthew 13:33) and negatively, as Jesus uses it here.  In either case, my study bible tells us, leaven is a symbol of a force that is powerful enough (and often subtle enough) to permeate and affect everything around it (see 1 Corinthians 5:6-8).

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."  Jesus and the disciples come to Bethsaida, once again on the east side of the Sea of Galilee (north of the Decapolis; see this map).  The precise location of Bethsaida remains disputed (it may have been further south), but nevertheless this location seems likely.  What is probably most significant for our understanding is that it is in a region ruled by Philip as opposed to Herod Antipas.  Philip was the brother of Herod, whom Jesus referenced when He told the disciples to "beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod," in the verses just prior to this.  My study bible comments that the people of Bethsaida were unbelieving (Matthew 11:21), and therefore Jesus leads this blind man out of the town to heal him.  This is so that the people would not scoff at the miracle and bring upon themselves greater condemnation.  It explains that the healing of the blind man in stages shows that he had only a small amount of faith, as healing occurs according to one's faith (Mark 6:5-6).  But this little faith was enough, and it increased with the touch of Christ.  Jesus' command that he not return to the town, my study bible explains, symbolizes that we must not return to our sins once we have been forgiven.  Possibly it also suggests to us that we must do everything we can to shore up our faith, even leaving behind those who might tear it down.

Today's reading is all about faith, giving us various aspects of what it means to be faithful and what it is to be faithless.  In some sense, each story illustrates the question of degrees of faith.  Taken together, they tell us something important about how faith works in us -- or not, as the case might be.  First there are the Pharisees, who, despite the fact that they even know that Jesus is on the map, so to speak, because of the signs that have accompanied His ministry, demand a sign of proof that what He does is of God, and that His identity is somehow linked to the divine.  They have already begun to criticize Him and demand that He answer their queries (in this earlier reading), and Jesus tussled with them, so to speak, quite clearly.  When Jesus is questioned, He doesn't mince words; He tells the truth forcefully, even truths that they don't want to hear.  But then, we must note, Jesus has withdrawn for a time, away from the reach of the Pharisees, carrying His ministry elsewhere.  Their demand, presented to Him once more as He returns to the familiar ground in Galilee, is now that He prove Himself to them, which He will not do.  There is a particular and specific way in which His ministry must unfold.  It is dependent upon God, and not the inquisitive demands of the Pharisees, nor their particular brand of hypocrisy and hard-heartedness.  In their demand is couched the refusal to perceive what is already happening before them.  Then we come to the disciples, who themselves also show evidence of hard-heartedness, or failure to comprehend the things of God, even in which they directly participate!  Rather than understanding Jesus' remark to them about the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod -- which clearly refers to the demands for proofs rather than an acceptance of this ministry as it is, the disciples think He's talking about their lack of bread!  Let us note Jesus' very human reply.  He seems to be both baffled and exasperated when He asks how they can possibly have forgotten that He has produced bread in the wilderness for thousands of people on two occasions.  How can they think that He is now complaining that they have forgotten to bring bread with them?  Their own lack of comprehension is a signal to us that even with the best of intentions, there will be things that are "hard to hear" and which we may very well choose not to.  Perhaps their innate fear of conflict with the authorities is on display here, and we surely know their terror at the Cross to come.  Often, we might find in our life of faith, there are hard truths we have to hear and accept, and hard facts of life that come in response, including a separation from those whom we love or changing our perspective on institutions we cherish or value in high regard.  Our faith does not shy us away from these difficulties, but rather teaches us about them.  Forbearance and courage, with a mind in the present time, and acceptance even of the evil things we might see, are part of that journey.  Finally there is the blind man in Bethsaida.  In some way, Bethsaida was a place that remained a great crossroads of civilization.  Although its roots were very ancient, it also seems to have become an important Roman city during the lifetime of Jesus.  Coming after the feeding of the four thousand, and midst Jesus' repeated crossings of the Sea of Galilee, we can, in some sense see this blind man as one drawn out of the world by faith.  The people of Bethsaida are skeptical of Christ, and in order to heal this man's blindness, He must not simply be drawn out of the town, but also is commanded to remain outside of the town and not to return.  Blindness and the restoration of sight have been used so frequently as symbols regarding faith that we are already quite familiar with this metaphor.  Jesus' illumination of his sight is at the same time an illumination of his soul, an opening up of his eyes to the reality of Christ.  Taking in the whole of today's reading, putting together the problems that the Pharisees now present to Jesus, the difficulties with which the disciples themselves come to grips with the realities their faith is asking them to perceive, and the need for this blind man of Bethsaida to take himself out of the town and away from what he knows and calls home, all conspire in a sense, to tell us of an impending grasp of faith on a new basis.  Faith in Christ is no longer simply a matter of tribe or ethnos, of city or state or institution, but a matter that will draw us out of the world and into a place where we can take up our own cross, and follow Him.  This may happen in a plethora of ways too great to number or even to limit.  But it nevertheless makes it clear that we will be called out of complacency, and called to see and hear where we don't want to see and hear.  The virtues of courage, steadfastness, perseverance, and alacrity, as well as patience and forbearance for whatever our circumstances are and how our faith asks us to respond to them, all come into play -- and this in turn tells us about the elevation of human beings.  We are called to an identity that isn't simply one of a group that commands loyalty, to being one who hears Christ and follows.  It goes to the true state of freedom of the heart, the call of God, and the real power of faith to transform and to heal, even as we're drawn out of what is already familiar.  In the midst of the way to restoration of his sight, the blind man says, "I see men like trees, walking."  We ourselves may be like this image of human beings as stick figures, partially-complete persons.  But Christ brings us into the fullness of who we are, and what we are capable of becoming.