As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out,
“Son of David, have pity on us!”
When he entered the house,
the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them,
“Do you believe that I can do this?”
“Yes, Lord,” they said to him.
Then he touched their eyes and said,
“Let it be done for you according to your faith.”
And their eyes were opened.
Jesus warned them sternly,
“See that no one knows about this.”
But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.
“Son of David, have pity on us!”
When he entered the house,
the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them,
“Do you believe that I can do this?”
“Yes, Lord,” they said to him.
Then he touched their eyes and said,
“Let it be done for you according to your faith.”
And their eyes were opened.
Jesus warned them sternly,
“See that no one knows about this.”
But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.
The part that sticks out to me, and nearly shouted at me during Mass on Friday morning, is the bolded line, "Do you believe that I can do this?"
It just seems so out of place to me. I had never picked up on it before, even though I'm fairly sure I had heard this reading before, or at least read it to myself.
Before Jesus heals the two men, he asks them if they actually believe he could do it. It almost seems unnecessary. Jesus has just healed a woman with a hemorrhage, brought a daughter back from the dead (literally), surely the two men would have heard of these things. Standing in the presence of the Savior, how could you not believe he could heal you? Surely his presence alone would bring with it enough faith to assure you?
It doesn't say if the two men doubted beforehand, or if they did not trust Jesus at the moment. Just the question, "Do you believe that I can do this?"
It's one thing to want Jesus to heal you, and mend your brokenness, it's another to be confident and sure that he will do so. How often do we respond to the Lord's question with, "I'm not sure." We all want healing, and peace, and beauty in our lives (and realistically so much more), but do we believe that Jesus can (and will) give us just that? True prayer needs to be more than just petition, asking God for things. True prayer needs to be an unreserved trust that God will fulfill his promises and that he will not abandon us to despair. When we pray, we need to be sure that God is hearing us, and will answer us. (Easier said than done. Working on that.)
Our Church is so beautiful to give us daily Masses, with daily readings that flow so wonderfully together. Today's first reading from Isaiah says,
He will be gracious to you when you cry out,
as soon as he hears he will answer you.
The Lord will give you the bread you need
and the water for which you thirst.
as soon as he hears he will answer you.
The Lord will give you the bread you need
and the water for which you thirst.
We need to remember this when we're praying. Do we believe that God hears us when we cry out? Do we believe that God will give us the bread we need and the water for which we thirst?
It's so tempting to fall on our own inadequacy, thinking that because we are unworthy, God is incapable. I do not deserve to be so wonderfully provided for. I do not deserve to be healed of my sin. But that does not mean that God is incapable of, or does not want to do so.
And so I'm left with the Savior's question to me, "Do you believe that I can do this?" Do I believe that God can accomplish things in my life that I don't feel worthy of? Do I believe that God can work miracles, move hearts, and sustain me? Do I truly trust and believe that God can do things for me, in my life that seem at moments to be so impossible?
Though at times I am tempted to doubt, my answer is yes. I believe that God can do "this." I will not allow my heart to be abandoned to despair, because I know God will do great things in my life.
You make beautiful things, You make beautiful things out of us ...
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