WHEN Jesus and his disĀciples arrived at Bethsaida, people brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Putting spitĀtle on his eyes he laid his hands on the man and asked, āDo you see anything?ā Looking up the man replied, āI see people looking like trees and walking.ā Then he laid hands on the manās eyes a second time and he saw clearly; his sight was restored and he could see evĀerything distinctly. Then he sent him home and said, āDo not even go into the village.ā
Gospel ā¢ Mk 8:22-26
The way Jesus cures the blind man from Bethsaida seems crude or quack. We prefer a more āhygienicā portrayal, one that is quick or instantaneous. The healing, however, makes us see a different angle to Jesusā power. What is central here is Jesusā compassion and concern for the blind man, and Jesus āworks hardā to restore the manās sight. At the same time, one can also feel the blind manās patience, docility, and faith.
God can work in various ways, achieving the divine purpose using straight or crooked lines. As John says of the Spirit, it blows where it wills (cf Jn 3:8). We wonder why God has chosen the āhard wayā of saving us by coming down and becoming human, having to suffer and die. God could have simply willed to save us, and Godās almighty power would have made it happen. Indeed, Godās ways are not our ways. SOURCE: ā365 Days with the Lord 2019,ā ST. PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; Fax 632-895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.