Friday of the First Week of Advent

Friday of the First Week of Advent

Today’s Gospel: Matthew 9:27-31

Optional Memorial of Saint John Damascene, Priest and Doctor of the Church

In the crowd that followed Jesus were two blind men. They couldn’t see Jesus, but somehow they must have heard of His healing power. They were screaming into the dark, in the middle of the crowd of followers, not even sure where Jesus was, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” This title, “Son of David,” is a title of the Messiah. So, by calling Jesus the “Son of David” meant that these blind men knew Jesus was the Son of God. They were begging for mercy and compassion because of this belief.

Jesus asks, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” because He was interested in healing their souls and spirits before He healed their physical blindness. The blind men answer without hesitation, “Yes Lord.” They made their public profession of faith in Jesus as the Son of God. So Jesus reached out His hands and said, “According to your faith it will be to you.” He “touched their eyes.” Instantly, these blind eyes were able to see for the first time.

Now Jesus did something puzzling. He “warned them sternly” that no one was to know of this. “But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.” Most scholars believe that the reason Jesus didn’t want the news of this incident spread was because at this point in His ministry, Jesus didn’t want the fact of His Messiahship to be proclaimed. Yet who can blame these men; they must have been bursting with joy.

Ponder:

Do I truly understand that Jesus is the Lord today, in this present moment, fully capable of healing me emotionally, spiritually, as well as physically?

Pray:

Lord I believe, help my unbelief.

Copyright 2015 Melanie Jean Juneau