Every time we hear the promises of God, we are always delighted because they are always in our favor. God says, “Never again will I doom the earth because of man since the desires of man’s heart are evil from the start: nor will I ever again strike down all living beings, as I have done. As long as the earth lasts, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” This promise is the revelation of God’s goodness toward us for which we must offer our praise and thanksgiving.
We heard Noah’s ordeal and had been through so many trials, but he committed patiently to obey His plan. After Noah’s journey on the Ark, and after knowing the earth dried up when the dove went back to him with an olive leaf, Noah built an altar to start the burnt offering to the Lord as a thanksgiving.
Most of us are like Noah, patiently waiting to free us from our troubles. Thus, it is in today’s responsorial psalm 116, that in gratitude, we say, “To you, Lord I will offer a sacrifice of praise.”
The gospel today is a story distinctive to the evangelist Mark. He narrates to us the healing of the blind man of Bethsaida. We know that there are so many miraculous physical and spiritual healings Jesus performed as recorded by the four evangelists. However, this pericope from Mark was told right before Jesus asked His disciples about who people think He is.
I believe that there are important teaching points we need to discover here:
First, this healing of the blind man of Bethsaida tells us that Jesus has not only the power and authority to heal physically, but it conveys a deeper healing of spiritual maladies.
Second, this story correctly identifies Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah, which some of His apostles are spiritually blind to see what had been revealed to them while Jesus was performing several wonders right in front of them.
Third, this physical healing of giving back the sight of the man from Bethsaida is symbolic because we have eyes but fail to see. We remain clueless of Jesus’ teaching that recipients of all forms of healing, we must follow Him, to bear one’s own cross and to serve one another.
Finally, this story reveals that His disciples and us need to undergo healing of our spiritual blindness to accept Jesus being the true Messiah and to understand what it means to follow Him. Let us beg Jesus to touch our hearts and eyes to see afresh the reality of being genuine followers of the gospel.
God bless you.
Fr. Arlon, osa
