Lent is a time for receiving divine gifts. The pruning we do on certain levels (using traditional practices of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving) facilitates fruitful encounters with the Almighty. Thus we open ourselves up to receiving new gifts. Such gifts of God come in various forms--forgiveness and missionary zeal being two of the greatest.
This Sunday, the Lord invites to receive another gift from him--radical trust. The blind man, who represents you and me, experiences healing through the tender touch of Jesus. But this healing happens over time, and requires much trust on the man's part! Jesus in fact seals him in his blindness by making a mud paste of his saliva with the ground (note how the divine--Jesus' saliva--and the earthly come together again...new creation!) And after pasting the nan's eyes completely shut, Jesus sends him on a seeming fool's errand-- down a very steep hill to wash in a spring below. Thankfully the man trusts that God's miracles usually take place over time and require some inexplicable trust.
Miracles of healing for you and me too are most often the fruit of a process of faith. This blind man "sees" the need for faith, and begins meandering down the steep path set before him; and he comes back seeing.
Where am I invited to trust God's healing grace working over time, even though it feels like God might be sealing me up in my darkness? What is the path of faith opening up before me? Ask the Lord to show you, as his gift, this path of trusting obedience he wants you to walk.
-Fr. Anthony Wieck, SJ
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