“WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO FOR YOU?”
That
was quite an unusual question which Jesus asked of the blind man in
today’s Gospel episode. Surely, our Lord must have already known about
the blind man’s obvious incapacity to see, and yet He still asked of
him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
And we know the blind man’s reply, of course. “Lord, please let me see.”
Medical doctors testify that when a patient has a strong will to
overcome his sickness and continue living, it is as if he is already
half-cured. If, on top of that, he has faith in his doctor’s competence
and is ready to obey him in everything, then his chances of cure and
recovery are very much increased. Our blind man in the Gospel had an
overwhelming desire to be healed. Furthermore, his faith in Jesus was
complete. These are certainly more than enough to guarantee his healing.
It is likewise for us in our spiritual life. A strong desire to be
cured and to follow Jesus, plus a great faith in Him, will cure us of
the blindness of our
arrogance, self-centeredness, sensuality, laziness and mediocrity. Such a
desire and faith are obtained and nourished in prayer.
This, by the way, doesn’t mean that we do all the talking in our
prayer. That would be monopolizing the conversation! We need also (and
more so) to listen to God to what He says to us in our prayer. And
indeed, He might ask us a question or two: “What do you want Me to do
for you?” God just wants to be sure of our desire and our faith.
Hopefully, we will know what to answer Him. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB
REFLECTION QUESTION: What do you want Jesus to do for you?
Lord, grant me the same firm faith that the blind man had in today’s Gospel.
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