And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."  Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two  sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "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?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with, but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and 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!"  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.   My study Bible points out that these two blind men greet Jesus as Lord, the common title for God, and Son of David, which is a title deeply associated with the Messiah.   It comments that although Jesus knows what we want before we ask, He calls us to ask freely so that we might learn of His mercy.  Church Fathers also give a spiritual interpretation to this miracle, in which the blind men symbolize future generations who would come to faith only by hearing, without the benefit of seeing Christ in person (see John 20:29).  Those who tried to silence the blind men are persecutors and tyrants who, in each generation, try to silence the Church.  Under persecution, nonetheless, the Church all the more confesses Jesus Christ. 

 

If we were to look at the story of this blind man symbolically in another sense, we can think in terms of the darkness and light that their limited sight allows them.  To have their eyes "opened" per their request, in this sense, is to open their eyes to light, to more light.  Analogous to this is spiritual sight, and the light of Christ.  And in this parallel analogy, we all need the sight that these blind men clamor for, because all of us are blind in some way or another.  There are all kinds of ways, perhaps, in which we might see, and we don't see.  When we pray, we are so often looking for guidance, or for help, or for mercy.  Speaking for myself, the problems that present themselves in my life are always such that I need help to see my way through them, guidance for the ways that God would like me to proceed through them.  So, as Jesus passes by on His way toward Jerusalem and to the Cross, the two blind men sitting on the road just outside of Jericho cry out to Him.  There is a way to read this story in which we understand another kind of symbolism about the place, and that is that Jericho was associated with sin.  This particular road was a very dangerous one, in which there were frequent attacks by robbers.  It's the setting for the attack by robbers in the story of the Good Samaritan (found in St. Luke's Gospel).  In this understanding, we can ask ourselves who are the truly blind people in this story?  That is, who are the spiritually blind?  These two blind men know Christ, they know His mercy, they know and have faith that He can "open their eyes."  In this place associated with sin, life and its values are upside down, in which the blind see, and those who see do not.  It is those who "see" who tell the blind men to be silent, and it is Christ, our beacon of light (and therefore  the Giver of sight) who stands still and hears their cry.  They even call Him Son of David, indicating they understand He is the Messiah.  This is sight indeed, in these blind men who know upon whom they call and from whom they cry for help, for mercy.  In this context of a seeming "upside down" reality, we recall Christ's words to the Pharisees who questioned His healing of another man, who had been blind from birth, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind" (John 9:39).  The truth is that Christ's light is always something we need so that we may truly see our way through this world and through our lives.  It's as important to think about the place Christ would ask us to go, as it is about where we have been, and for this we need His light.  There is no way that is "perfect" in the sense that we are finished with our journey of life as long as we live in this world, for we are those who also must seek in discipleship to follow Christ on the road to the Cross.  In my experience, the times my life seemed "perfect" were the times when my own cross appeared to set me in a different place, with Christ's light to seek to find my way.  Jesus tells us, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life" (John 8:12).  Let us recall that it is Christ who came into the world to dispel the darkness, to destroy the forces of death through the Cross, and His Resurrection.  We follow Him, and know that we need His light to illumine the darkness we find in the world, joining Him in His mission by bearing whatever cross we're given in our lives.  St. John's Gospel tells us, "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it" (John 1:4-5).  Let us find and follow His light, so that we also may see our way ahead.   Let us pay attention to these blind men and what they do immediately when they received their sight:  they follow Him on the road to Jerusalem.  So, if we see, we will do likewise.

 

 

 

 

 

Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."  (This was the second prophesy of His Passion that Jesus has given to the disciples.)  Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one of Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I am about the drink, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and 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!"  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.  My study Bible comments that these two blind men greet Jesus as Lord, the common title for God, and Son of David, which is a title which was deeply associated with the Messiah.  Although Christ knows what we want before we ask, it notes, He calls us to ask freely so that we might learn of His mercy.  There is also a spiritual interpretation of this miracle in patristic commentary, in which the two blind men symbolize future generations who would come to faith only through hearing, without the benefit of seeing Christ in person (see John 20:29).  In this interpretation, my study Bible notes, those who tried to silence the blind men are persecutors and tyrants who, in each generation, try to silence the Church.  But nonetheless, under persecution, the Church all the more confesses Jesus Christ.

 

 Today's reading asks us to consider for ourselves where our own blindness may be, and how it might be remedied and healed.  These two men understand their circumstances, and they pray to Christ -- as Messiah and Lord -- for their healing, which is His mercy.   They are asked by Christ, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  This invites us to consider not just what we want or would like God to do for us, but whether or not we understand our own blindness, and therefore what help we need to see.  The people who call for them to be quiet can be compared to our own voices, or to the voices of those around us, who don't want us to recognize our blindness nor what we need.  The blindness in today's reading can be compared to the blindness of denial to the truths that are around us and even within us, and especially denial of our need for Christ and the ways in which He can heal us.  In the Bible, Jericho is often considered a city symbolic of sin; in the parable of the Good Samaritan, the attack on the man needing help occurred on this road between Jerusalem and Jericho which Jesus now travels.  If we take today's reading symbolically, we might get great insight by considering how often circumstances would ask us to remain blind when we seek to be healed of the falsehoods we tell ourselves in order to "keep the peace," when in fact we need to face the reality of our circumstances.  Christ, as the way, the truth, and the life, is the One who brings the healing light to us that exposes the falsehoods we tell ourselves, or the lies that keep a bad circumstance from being opened up and cleansed for the good of all parties involved.  In this allegorical sense, it is these two blind men on the side of the road who are the ones who truly see, while the rest demand silence.  It is these two blind men who, in fact, recognize their Healer and Savior, and call to Him, who are the ones doing as He would desire.  And it is these two with whom Jesus will engage with a heart-to-heart question, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  As an allegorical story, we might ask ourselves why they are the only ones who seem to honestly want what Christ has to offer -- and in His truth and insight into the heart of human beings, He engages with them.  We human beings have a remarkable capacity for denial, for keeping ourselves blind so that we don't "rock the boat," as the expression goes, so that we can live with things we really should be doing something about to heal rather than leaving them as they are in neglect.  We might turn a blind eye to unpleasant facts we'd rather not face, or to problems -- for whatever reason -- we don't really want to solve.  But let us note:  this is not to suggest that radical solutions are necessary for everybody, or that we need to tear our world down in order to heal it.  Such theoretical abstractions are misguided.  What we need to do is what these two blind men do:  we need to appeal to Christ the true light for our healing, to help to show us what's in our hearts, and what is the truth we need to embrace and accept.  For this is the way of mercy and true justice, not destruction or hate, but love.  Let us remember that when we seek Christ's mercy, we seek His light and compassion, and we should be prepared to follow Him out of our own Jerichos, as these blind men do -- not heeding the voices that tell us to keep quiet or stop seeking our Lord.  Let us always remember that when we pray, "Lord have mercy," we ask for healing and light, the truth that saves.

 

 

Son of David, have mercy on us!

 

 When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!"  And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."  Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you."  And their eyes were opened.  And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See that no one knows it."  But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.  As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed.  And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke.  And the multitudes marveled, saying, "It was never seen like this in Israel!"  But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the ruler of demons."

 

- Matthew 9:27–34 

 

Yesterday we read that, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Jesus, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live."  So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.  And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment.  For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well."  But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well."  And the woman was made well from that hour.  When Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, He said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.  And the report of this went out into all that land.   

 

 When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!"  And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."  Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you."  And their eyes were opened.  And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See that no one knows it."  But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.  As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed.  And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke.   My study Bible comments on these events of today's reading that, according to Isaiah, the messianic age is signified when "the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear" (Isaiah 35:5).  These healings are a sign that Jesus is the awaited Messiah, as is the use of the title Son of David by the blind men, which expresses their faith indeed He is.

 

But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the ruler of demons."  My study Bible says that to cast out demons by the ruler of demons is impossible, for the aim of the devil is to consolidate power, not destroy it.  Further, Jesus cleansed lepers, raised the dead, and remitted sins -- works demons could not perform.

 

Today's reading teaches us about the fulfillment of the prophesied signs of the Messiah, a clear indication that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the One who was awaited in Israel.  He heals the blind, and makes the mute speak, signs of the time of the Messiah.  One may begin to wonder why Christ was not more widely accepted as the Messiah, but then again we don't really know how many of His contemporaries were believers and how many were not.  We can think back to the time of Christ and ponder the different political tides of the time, the dangerous and violent times of warfare and conflicts between big powers, as well as the various forces within Israel trying to retain their power.  That would include the leadership in the temple, the Council, the Pharisees and Sadducees, the Romans and their various "kings" who ruled for them.  All of these factions exist still yet in new forms, including those of the type who would seek to make their own revolution to throw off the Roman rule, like Barabbas.   All of these struggles with expectations and hopes and demands still clash, and yet how many could have understood or prophesied the effects of history to come?  We can look now at the same region and think about the conflicting struggles and powers and hopes, all magnified through new technologies, vast wealth, and great power of the type of this century, and think to ourselves, where we can find Christ in the story today?  Who awaits the Christ?  Who seeks His way?  Is there a place for Him in the hearts of people?  Can we see Him playing a role in the midst of the turmoil of our time?  If nothing less, let us ask ourselves where He is in today's picture, or if amidst so many demands, desires, conflicts, mercenary fights and retaliations, does anyone seek Him?  Perhaps we should say that He is the one thing that is truly needed, the one place to find our peace, the only way to find and an answer to the growing problems that plague us.  He is, after all, the way.  Let us, who suffer from so much blindness, say with the blind men, "Son of David, have mercy on us!"

 

What do you want Me to do for you?

 

 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 

 

 Yesterday we read that as Jesus now began going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."  Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "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?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with, but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and 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!"  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.  My study Bible comments that these two blind men greet Jesus as Lord, which is the common title for God, and also Son of David, a title which is deeply associated with the Messiah.  Although Jesus already knows what we want before we ask, He calls us to ask freely so that we might learn of His mercy.  There is also a spiritual interpretation to this miracle in patristic literature, in which the blind men symbolize future generations who would come to faith only by hearing, without the benefit of seeing Christ in person (see John 20:29).  Those who tried to silence the blind men are persecutors and tyrants who, in every generation, try to silence the Church.  Nonetheless, under persecution, the Church all the more confesses Jesus Christ.

 

The blind men ask Jesus for one thing:   "Lord, that our eyes may be opened."  This is in some sense a strange phrasing of their desire.  Jesus has asked what they want Him to do for them.  They don't say, "We want you to open our eyes."  What they say is the final result they want, the reality they seek for themselves -- to have eyes that have been "opened."  In the Greek, when Jesus asks, "What do you want Me to do for you?" that word for "do" is a specific word that actually means to create, to form, to make something.  It is ποιέω/poieo in the Greek, the root from which is derived "poem" and "poetry."  In Genesis 1:1, when the text tells us, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth," the Septuagint text uses this word translated as "created."  John the Baptist uses this same word in Matthew 3:8, when he demands that the religious leaders "bear fruits worthy of repentance" (in this case we understand it as akin to the command to "produce" something).  So, taking this word with its associated meanings, we see that Jesus is essentially asking the men what they want Him to create for them; or rather, what they want Him to produce using His powers as Creator.   Their response makes sense of this:  they want an outcome in which their eyes have been opened.  In a sense, in order to make this response to Him in reply to His gracious offer, they have had to envision what they would truly desire as an outcome, what thing they really want in life, and this is truly what Jesus is asking them.  Perhaps we should think this way, in terms of creation, and outcome, when we stop to think what our deepest and dearest desires are.  What would we want God to create or make for us?  Do we desire our relationships to be better?  Would our dearest wish be to have talents that we don't have?  Or how about simply that our eyes also be opened?  That is, to have the ability to see what we don't see, to detect what we don't detect, to perceive what we don't perceive.   Thinking about it in these terms, this is more than a request just to see as everyone else sees.  It is a request to truly see, that one's eyes may be opened to what Christ might give us the capacity to see, what the Creator may make us capable of seeing if God should be the One who opens our eyes.  Think then, what that kind of creative power might enable us to see!  The fullness of this request, then, becomes a request for all of us.  For there are so many things that we don't really see, that we can't commonly perceive.  But there are ways in which the God can open our eyes to perceptions that aren't part of everyone's every day experience.  Think of the ways in which the Holy Spirit makes possible for the apostles to see what they didn't see even when Christ was still with them.  Think what it might mean to have our perceptive faculties made open by God, by Christ.  Then how far might we possibly see?  How deep might our perceptions become?  What things could we see that we are blind to right now?  This is, in fact, a way to think about the creative power of God, that gracious call extended to these men by the One who asks, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  Let us consider all the ways we might answer that question, and how the question itself opens up so much more than we ever might have considered.  Elsewhere, Jesus teaches, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind" (John 9:39).  Let us be the ones who seek what He wants us to see, which might be so much more than we know.

 

 

 

 

 

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 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."    Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "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?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and 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!"  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.  My study Bible remarks that the two blind men greet Jesus as Lord, which is the common title for God, and Son of David, which is a title deeply associated with the Messiah.  It notes that even though Jesus knows what we want before we ask, He calls us to ask freely so that we might learn of His mercy.  Additionally, there is a spiritual interpretation to this miracle in the patristic literature of the Church.  In that perspective, the blind men symbolize future generations who would come to faith only by hearing, without the benefit of seeing Christ in person (see John 20:29).  Those who tried to silence the blind men represent oppressive persecutors and tyrants who, in every generation, try to silence the Church.  Nonetheless, under persecution, the Church all the more confesses Jesus Christ.

Traditionally, blindness in Scripture often represents sin in a certain perspective.  That is, sin as ignorance of the things of God, as blindness to understanding or receiving the things of God in the heart.  It symbolizes a lack of insight, an inability to perceive.  In chapter 13 of Matthew's Gospel, Jesus begun preaching in parables.  Quoting from Isaiah, He explained His use of parables to His disciples, using metaphors of seeing and  hearing:  "Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:  'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull.  Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.'  But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it" (Matthew 13:13-17, Isaiah 6:9-10).  St. Paul uses the same quotation in Acts 28:23-29.  We also note that Jesus is passing out of Jericho in today's reading.  In Scripture, Jericho was also a town symbolic of sin; in the parable of the Good Samaritan, the man who is later helped by the Samaritan is attacked by robbers and left for dead in this same road between Jerusalem and Jericho (see Luke 10:25-37).  So, we can read this story also as a parable, and understand that the gift of Christ -- and especially through the Holy Spirit which will be given to the world -- is a gift of sight to those who truly desire it.  Let us note how these blind men pray, with humility and faith.  They ask for mercy; they understand that they ask for a gift, not an entitlement.  They understand that Christ's mercy is a gift of compassion; they recognize the Giver in their prayer, and the immense goodness of God who gives life and meaning to the world.  As my study Bible has pointed out, they call Him Lord, a title for God, in recognition of the real majesty of the Person standing in front of them.  And they call Him Son of David, a title for the Messiah.  Their prayer for mercy is the prayer of a heart which has come to recognize the true weight and value of God in one's life, to understand and depend upon God's love and how precious that is to life.  And the gift of their sight opens them up to a life in front of them, to that road leading to Jerusalem on which Jesus travels, and they can now travel with Him.  The gift of sight, then, is the gift of life, and this is how we should understand the precious gift of spiritual sight, which gives meaning to the rest of our lives and guides us in what we will do.  The psalmist declares, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105).  Christ the Word is the lamp to our feet and the light to our path, and the gift of sight enables these men to follow that lamp and that light on the path to Jerusalem with Him.  Let us pray for our eyes to be opened, as they did, for Christ illumines our whole world, and makes our path straight so we can see our best way forward.

 

 

Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!

 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

Yesterday we read that Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."  Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "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?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and 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!"  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.  The title Son of David is a title for the Messiah, and Lord is the common title for God.  These two blind men greet Jesus with both titles.  My study bible comments that although Jesus already knows whatever it is we want before we ask, we are called to ask freely so that we might learn of His mercy.  In stories in the bible, Jericho was a city synonymous with sin (see the parable of the Good Samaritan).  Blindness as a metaphor for those who live in the ignorance of sin, without the light of God.   So there is one metaphorical understanding here of the two blind men symbolizing a fallen world, one which needs Christ's light for healing.  My study bible gives another spiritual interpretation of this miracle, with the blind men symbolizing future generations who would come to faith only through hearing, without having the benefit of seeing Christ in person (see John 20:29).  Those who try to silence these blind men, in this interpretation, are persecutors and tyrants who, in each generation, try to silence the Church.  Nonetheless, under persecution, the Church all the more confesses Jesus Christ.

What is blindness?  In some sense, these two blind men represent the world which struggles in a place of darkness; that is, of spiritual darkness.  It needs the light to be whole, to be healed.  We need the light to know where we are going.  They call out to Christ because He is the true hope for blindness.  The people tell them to be quiet, and in a sense we could say that this is the world that won't really respond or listen to our true needs.  It is Christ who responds.  And in their darkness and their own need, they are capable of recognizing the one person who can help.  They are capable of recognizing Christ as both Lord and Son of David, in His true identity.  Perhaps we can infer from this aspect of the story that it is in our deepest need, and true recognition of our brokenness or flaws that we come to terms with our own reality.  If blindness is a metaphor for our collective inability to see spiritually, then these two men who recognize their real problem give us a sense in which it is in fully coming to terms with our condition and need that we are capable of both knowing Christ and also turning to Him as the place where we get help.  In a sense, they also illustrate that He is the last and best hope, the place where we turn when we know that the world and all it offers cannot and has not really helped us.  Their voice is the voice of prayer, the way in which we communicate our real needs.  All around us, the world grasps for solutions to its problems.  There are a myriad of political solutions offered.  There is the solution of thinking that if only we had more wealth we'd fix ourselves.  Better healthcare is certainly an advantage over what is lacking.  But wisdom -- a true spiritual wisdom -- is always necessary no matter what we have and no matter our position in life.  Wealth and all the things that go with it don't keep us from problems like loneliness or despair.   They can't provide us with the wisdom of Christ's guidance in life.  They can't take us to the places where Christ gives us both solitude and companionship as necessary.  They cannot feed us with the love of God, and the meaning and beauty of God's life for us.  They can't give us a sense of ourselves in a true way:  wealth won't give us the true look at ourselves to know our blindness, and neither will it give us the choice to understand our spiritual potentials in Christ.  In some sense, this story reveals that the blind men are truly better off than the rest of the crowds.  They know what their ailment is.  They know what they need.  They know where they need to turn for help.   It is the crowd that is possibly more blind than they are, because it is these healed men who will follow Jesus on the road knowing that they have been healed by Him.  The multitudes are those who follow Jesus today, and yet at the end of Passion week in Jerusalem, they will be among those who are manipulated by the leaders to call for His crucifixion.   It is one thing to be blind and know that one is blind and needs help; it is quite another to be blind and unaware of that fact.  In some sense, we all live in Jericho, a place with a lot of problems, and brokenness.  It has failures, it has those who merely join a parade of life without crying out to the One who is the author of life, the bringer of our salvation, and without following Him on the road out of Jericho with the knowledge that whatever they've received is just the beginning of the journey.   If we were not also victims of spiritual blindness, perhaps we all would know of Christ's compassion and love for us, that whatever it is we have in life -- the good things we are capable of understanding -- it is down to the Lord and God's love for us.  Perhaps we, also, would start that journey with Him, and follow, knowing that our need for Him is always present, and that His guidance is the universal truth that is always drawing us to deeper union.  In the Church, our refrain in worship is always "Have mercy on us, O Lord!" 

Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!

Christ healing the two blind men.  Mosaic, completed 1315-1321.  Chora Church (Church of the Holy Savior in Chora), Constantinople

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

Yesterday we read that Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."  Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "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?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and 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!"  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.  My study bible points out to us that these two blind men greet Jesus as Lord, which is the common title for God, and also as Son of David, a title which is deeply associated with the Messiah.  Although Jesus knows what all of us want before we ask, He calls us to ask freely, my study bible says, so that we might learn of His mercy.  There is also by patristic tradition a spiritual interpretation of this miracle, with the blind men symbolizing the future generations such as ours, who will come to the faith only by hearing, without benefit of having seen Christ in person (see John 20:29).  The ones who try to silence the blind men are persecutors and tyrants who, in each generation, try to silence the Church and those who cling to their faith.  Nonetheless, even under persecution, the Church all the ore persists in confessing Christ.

The Evangelist John writes twice, "No one has seen God at any time."   In the Prologue to His Gospel, John writes, "No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him" (John 1:18); and in his first Epistle, he says, "No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us" (1 John 4:12).  Let us look carefully at these statements, and in relation to the commentary in which my study bible cites John's reporting of Jesus' words to Thomas after the Resurrection:  "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29).  There are all kinds of ways of perceiving, in accordance with the spiritual interpretation of today's passage.  To see physically with one's own eyesight is perhaps the least of the ways in which we can perceive God, and the things of God.  It takes more than that to perceive the things of God.  It takes a kind of capacity for faith that requires of us a different type of sensibility, a different sense and energy of perception, a different kind of "sight."  Let us note that for the Evangelist, there are two methods of perception noted in the passages quoted above.  One is hearing, as the Son (who spoke the world into existence in Genesis), declares God.  And the other method of perceiving is through love:  If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.  When Jesus speaks to Thomas in His appearance after the Resurrection, He doesn't say what method of perception others will use to come to faith, only that there are those who have not seen and yet have believed, and that they are blessed.  In today's story, the two blind men by the road display a faith that declares both that Jesus is Lord and that He is the Son of David, the Messiah -- He is both divine and human, the Anointed One.  He is not merely a glorified human being, or Good Teacher, but they really know who He is, He is the Messiah, both divine and human.  They understand innately, it seems, the Incarnation.  They grasp something about Him that others don't.  They also know He is merciful, and they reach out and grasp for that mercy.  The more they are told to be quiet, the more they persist in crying out for Christ's mercy.  Jesus' response is, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  This story tells us something about our own faith.  Perhaps it is those in need who perceive God the most.  Perhaps our senses which are not filled in the conventional ways, as through sight, are honed and sharpened to perceive and to find what we need all the more through a state of being in which we find ourselves in a "broken" and imperfect world, one beset with sin, in which it is hard to find and to see God.  Jericho was a place notorious for sin, and so this story appears in this particular place for a reason.  Sin is a way of blinding our sight spiritually.  Without a perception of God, we don't get a full picture of the world and its truth, its real created reality.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave us a picture of the world as the vineyard, and God as the vineyard owner.  We might go through life thinking that we see, and yet blind as to who the vineyard owner really is, or even that there is an owner.  We might go through life thinking that the ownership of our world is simply up for grabs, to whomever is the highest bidder, or the most ruthless or cunning, or simply the loudest.  We might go all through our lives blind to the fact of God's love and God's mercy and Christ's compassion, as displayed in this story.  We might, in fact, find that we are blind to our own capacity for shared love, and thus to God's presence as stated in the Epistle of John.  There are all kinds of ways in which we might be blind, but there is one thing for certain about real perception:  it changes the game.  Real seeing gives us a hook, an angle.  It behooves us to pray to God, to ask from Jesus for what we want.  There is a reason to suppose that the vineyard owner is really the One in charge, and there is a reason why it is love, in fact, that drives real life.  Without God in the picture, and without the declaration of the Son, we don't have any of that and we are blind to that strength which lies hidden within even an imperfect and a fallen world beset with what ails us.  We don't have God without real sight, and that is a pitiful thing indeed.  Let us pray for His light, so that we may truly see.

And the multitudes marveled, saying, "It was never seen like this in Israel!"

Christ healing the two blind men, mosaic, Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy, 6th century

 When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!"  And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."  Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you."  And their eyes were opened.  And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See that no one knows it."  But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.  As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed.  And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke.  And the multitudes marveled, saying, "It was never seen like this in Israel!"  But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons."

- Matthew 9:27-34

Yesterday we read that, while Jesus was speaking to the disciples of John the Baptist,  a ruler of the local synagogue at Capernaum came and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live."  So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.  And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment.  For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well."  But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well."  And the woman was made well from that hour.  When Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, He said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.  And the report of this went out into all that land.

 When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!"  And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."  Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you."  And their eyes were opened.  And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See that no one knows it."  But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.  As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed.  And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke.  My study bible cites the prophesy of Isaiah here.  According to Isaiah, the messianic age is signified when "the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear" (Isaiah 35:5).  In that light, these particular healings are another sign that Jesus is the Messiah that Israel has looked toward.  This is also signaled in the title by which the blind men address Jesus, Son of David.  My study bible notes that they are expressing their faith that this is so. 

  And the multitudes marveled, saying, "It was never seen like this in Israel!"  But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons."  The crowds marveled that something new and distinctive has come to Israel in Christ's ministry.  As on other occasions, the Pharisees respond when the crowds take notice (see, for example, Mark 11:18).  They respond that Christ uses demonic power to carry out His exorcisms.  My study bible says that to cast out demons by the ruler of demons is impossible.  The devil's aim is to consolidate power, not to destroy it.  Moreover, Jesus cleansed lepers, raised the dead, and remitted sins.  None of these works would be possible for demons.

Today's reading, as occurs elsewhere in the Gospels, displays a typical human response to something new and distinctively good.  Let us note first that Christ does things which are stupendous, even defined in the prophesy of Isaiah as the work of the Messiah.  The people of Israel have awaited such a time and such a ministry, in which "the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear."  But with the notice of the people, who marvel at what is being seen for the first time, the authorities react.  There is a threat to their hierarchy, their power.  What is uppermost, then, becomes not these stupendous healings, not these marvel-inducing things of good news and great importance.  What becomes more important is who owns this ministry of Jesus.   That is, under whose authority are these things being done?  If Christ were one of them, we might presume, then that could be all to the good, as far as the Pharisees are concerned.  But Christ is critical of the leadership, and entirely independent of them.  He is not a product of a rabbinical school or a faction of the ruling Council.  He has come up from a rather unnoticeable town in Galilee, His followers are mostly uneducated "people of the land," even tax collectors like the author of this Gospel.  Jesus' ministry is, by the standards of the Pharisees, scandalous.  (Nevertheless, there are those among them who will come to faith in Christ, such as Nicodemus.)  But for the majority of the Pharisees, to marvel as do the people at Jesus' healings, to consider them good news, is simply unthinkable.  And so, a different explanation is necessary for so marvelous tidings of momentous healings:  Jesus must be working with demonic power.  An absurd accusation becomes a way to resort to criticism when marvelous things happen.  In fact, what we would say about this is that something so stupendous, so longed for and awaited by the people throughout their history is being swept under the rug by the very people whose work it is to know it, to proclaim it, to see it.  It's as if the Pharisees are telling the people that there is really nothing to see here -- and that in fact what Jesus is doing is actually bad, or evil.  It is a pattern that happens in which the blessings of the divine, which are purely grace and love, become commodities over which human beings will battle for control.  Is the love of God something we monetize?  Is the grace of God a commodity that belongs to one person or another?  By whose authority, indeed, does Jesus do what He does?  There seems, in fact, to be only one "price" (if you will) by which the marvelous things Jesus produces happen, and He names it over and over again.  He called it in yesterday's reading, openly before the people, when He declared to the woman with the blood flow, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well."  He declares it in today's reading when He tells the blind men, "According to your faith let it be to you."  The one thing necessary, at least on the part of human beings, is simply faith.  It is faith that makes the connection with the divine, that enables Christ to do the great works He does among the people (see 13:58, Mark 6:5-6).  In a sense, then, we could say that the declaration of the Pharisees that Christ works through demonic power is designed to attack faith -- the very thing that enables His grace to work among the people for their benefit.  It is this kind of human struggle that results from choosing mammon first over God:  instead of being glad for the marvelous things that are happening, all that results is a fight over who controls what, whose power and authority is involved.  This is the result of seeing these marvelous works as commodities, products that belong to one side or another, one person or another.  It is to fail to understand grace and to fail to understand faith and holiness.  God works by God's rules, not human authority and hierarchy.  If God chooses to work through the weak and the small, as so often is the case in Scripture, then that teaches us something.  It is the opposite of material-mindedness, the ideas of "mammon."   When we fail to understand this, then we fail to understand faith -- and we are not ever going to be able to find the understanding of what Jesus' ministry is all about, and where He is coming from.  The material mindset keeps the Pharisees from rejoicing at what is happening among the people, and sharing in God's glory with Christ, the same way it kept those who lost their swine from rejoicing at the healing of the demoniacs.  When our faith brings us joy in the midst of sorrow, or delight even when circumstances may seem less than perfect, this is a puzzle to those who are incapable of grasping the nature of faith and its working by grace, the intangibles that are at work within us and among us in Christ.  Let us consider joy today.  For what are we grateful?  Where does our delight come from?  How are we capable of joy even when we mourn?  Of love when so much seems lost?  Of kindness even in the face of hostility?  We are to dwell in the Kingdom, which lives through faith, for which Christ will go to the Cross to show us His way.  Let us pray that He keeps us in His joy at all times.

Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!

 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

 Yesterday we read that Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day he will rise again."  Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "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?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and 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!"  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.   Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem.  Jericho was known as a place of danger and also associated with sin (see the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke).  My study bible points out the the two blind men greet Jesus as Lord, the common title for God, and also as Son of David, a title that was deeply associated with the Messiah.  It adds that although Jesus knows what we want before we ask, He calls us to ask freely so that we might learn of His mercy.  There is also a patristic spiritual interpretation of this miracle.  In this view, the blind men symbolize future generations who would come to faith only by hearing, without the benefit of seeing Christ in person (see John 20:29).  Those who try to silence the blind men are persecutors and tyrants, who, in every generation, try to silence the faithful.  But nevertheless under persecution the Church all the more confesses Jesus Christ.

There are many ways we could view today's reading.  Often it is made note of that Matthew's text seems to include a type of doubling:  there are two blind men in this story, just as, for instance, there are two demoniacs in Matthew's story of Jesus casting the many demons into swine (Matthew 8:28-34).   Some suggest that this is possibly Matthew's fuller reporting of details involved, whereas other Evangelists report the significant testimony of one.  It's possible to have a spiritual interpretation in that the two reported can be understood as signifying that Christ is Lord and Messiah for both Jew and Gentile.  We note the reputation of Jericho as a place of sin.  Sin is often associated with blindness, a kind of handicap in which we can't see clearly what is what.  The blind men seek their sight, and their hope is that Christ can give it to them.  It is Jesus' compassion that "enlightens" us, giving light and thereby sight to their eyes.  The text tells us that these men requested that their eyes be opened.  In a "fallen" world, one in which sin is normal, our values become skewed.  We can't necessarily see clearly.  We don't know what is best for us.  Our appetites and desires become fixed by relating to the world as we "see" it.  We're bombarded with impulses, images, desires for all kinds of things, whether we need them or not, whether or not they are good for us, and even despite whether or not we truly want them.  Advertising certainly helps this along, and quite deliberately so.  In our age of social media, we are even more inundated by images to try to live up to.  "Keeping up with the Joneses" for some people can mean impossible images of acquisition and the appearance that goes along with this, giving us all kinds of goals that aren't necessarily rewarding nor truly good for us (leaving aside the question of whether or not they are actually achievable).  This syndrome, most recently, has been frequently associated with depression and even suicide, particularly in young people.  We're born into a world where we have all kinds of natural appetites and needs:  for food, clothing, shelter, and the security of belonging.  But these legitimate needs become skewed and exploited, with all kinds of demands apart from the love and care of God.  It is there we turn, in our own blindness and our inability to truly see what's good for us -- even the image to which we truly need to spire -- to Christ who is here to help out of love and compassion for us.  This is what it means to be truly "saved" -- to see what is what, to focus on our true need, and to share His light with the world and within ourselves.  To be saved is to be liberated from slavery to false ideas, ideals, and images.  Like the passengers on an airplane who are encouraged in an emergency to first of all find their own oxygen mask so they may better help others, Christ's light works that way in us.  To be healed of false needs is a way to cast off desires and demands that are hurtful, so that we might share with others the relief from such burdens, and help one another with those burdens.  The burden of sin itself is one that Christ helps us to remove, for in contrast to that type of slavery to false goals or hopes, His "burden is easy" and His "yoke is light"  (Matthew 11:30).  Our faith in Him is true to us and not misleading.  The blind men know their hope in Christ, but so often our lack of sight (or even insight) prevents us from even that understanding, as we grope to find some sort of goodness and hope in life.  We seek all kinds of substitutes.  False prophets abound and come in many forms.  Let us go to the One who loves us and has compassion for us.  It is for this He was born into the world and remains with us as Jesus Christ.  Let us share in His light in whatever way we can be healed, and help to heal others!

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

Yesterday, we read that Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."  Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "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?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  so He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and 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!"    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.  Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem, and to the Passion, which He has now predicted three times to the disciples.   The two blind men here greet Jesus as Lord, which is the common title for God, and Son of David, a title which was associated with the Messiah.  Just as in yesterday's reading, Jesus asked the mother of Zebedee's sons, "What do you wish?" here He asks them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  My study bible says He knows what we want before we ask, but calls us to ask freely so that we might learn of His mercy.  This story has also been traditionally interpreted spiritually, saying that the blind men symbolize future generations who would come to faith only by hearing, without the benefit of seeing Christ in person (see John 20:29).  The ones who tried to silence the blind men are persecutors and tyrants in every generation who try to silence the Church and the faithful.  Nevertheless, under persecution, the Church all the more professes Jesus Christ.  Jericho was notorious as a place of sin.  The blind men may symbolize our blindness in sin, and those universally who cry for the healing compassion of Christ -- on His way to the sacrifice for the life of the world, so that we may all have our eyes opened.

In yet another sense of interpretation of today's reading, we can think of the two blind men being told to be quiet as if they are viewed as unruly children.  In a recent reading, mothers brought children to Christ for a blessing, and the disciples tried to discourage them as the children were considered too 'unruly' for the dignity of Christ.  Jesus said, "Suffer the little children to come unto Me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."  As a sign of His compassion, Jesus turns to the cries of the blind men, despite the crowd, and asks what they want Him to do for them.   This is also another occasion where Matthew's Gospel tells us the healing involved two people, where in Luke and Mark the story involves one.  (It is possible that Luke and Mark mention only one, when there were more together.)  But this too can be interpreted spiritually as a teaching that Jesus as Messiah is also Lord of the Gentiles, and that His mission and compassion are for all:  for the life of the world.  It is for the life of a world that lives in darkness that He is going to Jerusalem, to the Passion, and His sacrifice, death, and Resurrection.  He is the one who transfigures everything with His light.  In the light of His mission into the world, everything will change.  Our whole picture of salvation changes, and our understanding of life in the world changes.  Jews and Gentiles both undergo a transfiguration of their spiritual history; it is a mission for the whole world and all of our blindness.  As we mentioned above, Jericho in its time was notorious for sin and corruption, even a place frightening for its crime and violence.  Jesus sets the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-35) on this road going the opposite way -- from Jerusalem to Jericho.  It's through that world He is passing, the one where humanity lives with such darkness, and it's this world He has come to illuminate, into which His light shines in the darkness.  These blind men symbolize all those who recognize their blindness and want His light.  I think it's important that we consider what life we wish for when we are complacent with blindness and darkness, or when we choose to embrace it.  It's difficult work to embrace Christ's light.  It casts light on all the things we can so easily forget, or live in denial about.  It asks us for change, for transfiguration, and reaches deep down into who we are, for surprising results.  People may find us to be different from the person they are used to.  All of this involves the strength of faith, the courage to cry to Him, to be "unruly" for some, perhaps to be called out, and no longer to fit in with the crowd we know.  But wisdom is justified by her children, and His light is still the light of the world in which we see light.  For the early Christians, the allegorical road from Jerusalem to Jericho was the way of death, and His road out of Jericho to Jerusalem the way of life.    It's our choice.

Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!

 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

Yesterday, we read that as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."  Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "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?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and 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!"  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.  Of today's reading, my study bible explains that the two blind men greet Jesus as Lord, which is the common title for God -- and also as Son of David, which is a title deeply associated with the Messiah.  We remember that Jesus is on His way up to Jerusalem, the place where the Messiah should declare Himself in the temple, so the significance and anticipation here is great.  My study bible notes that "even though Jesus knows what we want before we ask, He calls us to ask freely so that we might learn of His mercy."    It also notes a traditional spiritual interpretation to this miracle, in which the blind men symbolize the future generations who would come to faith only by hearing, without the benefit of seeing Christ in person (see John 20:29).  In this interpretation, those who tried to silence the blind men represent persecutors and tyrants who, in every generation, try to silence the Church.  But nevertheless, says my study bible, "under persecution, the Church all the more confesses Jesus Christ."

Opening one's eyes and receiving sight is akin to "seeing the light" of Christ, to become aware of His presence, His gift, His Person.  Therefore in the analogy of these two men, there's also expressed the zeal with which we must go after our own "enlightenment."  Nothing should stop us:  not social custom, not the rest of the crowd, nor our own limitations and handicaps.  To get to Christ is worth every other sort of difficulty, or social awkwardness and disapproval.  I agree with my study bible's assessment that these things become true for us in every generation, and also in every time and place.  I feel that Christ will always call us out of our surroundings and into a different "place" that is not so much conforming in all ways to a "worldly" way of thinking and being in the world.  Instead we are called to become a part of that Kingdom here on earth, which these blind men do by "following Him."  In this sense, they are drawn out of their "little world," the place and people they know, and are drawn instead into a journey somewhere, on the road with Jesus.  Despite our own blindness, we can be enlightened.  The very fact that they call Jesus both "Lord" and "Son of David" tells us about their faith in Him.  It tells us that there is a trust and commitment there already in their hearts; He offers them healing for their blindness.  But the journey doesn't stop there; in fact, it is just the beginning.  We can wonder what will happen to them as they experience this journey, at least what we know is at the "end of the road" in Jerusalem -- their possible experience of the events of Holy Week, His conviction and scourging and crucifixion, the company of the other disciples and their followers, the great news of Resurrection that awaits, and the coming of the Holy Spirit, the appearances to the disciples.  All these things we can foresee as events to come in the lives of these "new" followers.  But one thing we can imagine clearly:  they will experience these events knowing that it was Christ who healed them and gave them their sight.  When we go through difficulties, let us remember the gifts that we have received from our faith, from Him.  The so-called "end of the road" may truly be just the beginning, after all.

Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!

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, we first read that Jesus is making His way toward Jerusalem. He taught the Twelve once again what is to come, that He will be betrayed to the chief priests and scribes, condemned to death, delivered to the Gentiles, mocked and scourged and crucified, and on the third day He will rise again. Then the mother of John and James Zebedee came to Him with a request. She wanted Jesus to grant that her two sons may sit on His left and right hand in His kingdom. He said to her (and to the brothers): "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?" They said to Him, "We are able." So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father." The other disciples were angry when they heard this report. Jesus 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!" "Son of David" is a title deeply rooted in the Messianic expectation of the time, one for a ruler in the kingly line of David. "Lord" would be the common name for God. Again we note the doubling that happens in Matthew's gospel: here there are two blind men; elsewhere (in Mark) there is only one. it suggests to me, again, that both Jew and Gentile await this arrival. We are in Jericho, the first city that fell to the Israelites returning from slavery in Egypt, after the great shout. Here the new age is inaugurated: the shout here is for the mercy of the Lord, the Son of David. According to Wikipedia, Jericho is also one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, making it even more deeply symbolic in the sense of transition from one age to another.

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!" That the multitude shushes these blind men reminds me of the disciples rebuking those who put the little children before Christ for a blessing, in a recent reading. At that time, Jesus told the disciples, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Here in this reading, an event which occurs just before Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the blind men who sit by the side of the road crying for mercy are like a shadow of all the children of the world; that is, all of us, on the cusp of this age of the kingdom coming into the world. Indeed, their cry is the cry of the Church and all the faithful, "Have mercy on us, O Lord." In effect, they are the whole world crying out for what Christ has to offer.

So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" Here is the question that Jesus asks so often. 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." We note also that the question asks us to focus in on what we truly want; it also gives us a sense of what God wants for us in the response to prayer.

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 that this last miracle before Jesus' triumphal entrance into Jerusalem reveals the arrival of the messianic age. It is, of course, one that is part of popular expectation through the prophet Isaiah: “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house" (42:6-7).

As the new age is inaugurated, we understand several things from this passage. First of all is the mercy of Christ: this is what He is here for. He listens to our words, our prayers, and He responds. He wants us to speak for ourselves, to engage with Him. In dialogue, we engage: indeed, the word for meditation (as in Christian contemplative prayer) in the Greek is dialogismos. Here, He opens the eyes of the blind men on the road through Jericho. What does liberation really mean? What is it to be delivered into a Kingdom, and to become a part of His followers, as these blind men do? We recall the deliverance of the Israelites into the promised land, and we have to ask ourselves again, "What is the promised land?" and what does that mean for us? Here, it is answered in this promise of a new age opening up, the age in which we currently live -- in which we make choices to engage (in dialogue and prayer) with Him, or not. We call upon His mercy, and we, too, quite obviously ask for our eyes to be opened. This isn't just a story about two blind men sitting on the side of the road, ignored and pushed aside and hushed by the crowd, but it's really the story of all of us who live in this world and who need our sight, true vision. What does Christ give you if you ask for your eyes to be opened? He is here that we may see, and be truly liberated, to enter into His Kingdom. Where does that journey of liberation start for you? What do you want Him to do for you? Whatever way a prayer is answered, it is always with the purpose to open our eyes to what is before us, and to what we can have in our lives, with what grace God wants us to be filled. This is His covenant with us, His light that shines in the darkness, for the prisoners each in our own prison, even to the Gentiles, so that we may truly see and be liberated from our blindness.