Today’s healing of the blind man is unique. For it is the only one in the Gospels that takes place as a two-stage process. Which made me wonder, why? Jesus could have restored the man’s sight in one shot, so there had to be a reason; maybe it is to help us understand how God works in our lives, step-by-step, day by day, and not all at once.
There is a parallel between this healing and the healing of the blind-mute man. Both occur outside of Galilee and have others intervene for the needy men. Both also have Jesus leading a disabled man away from town, using spittle, laying on hands, and employing silence.
These two healings have a symbolic meaning as well. They relate to the process of the disciples coming to believe in Jesus. And as we know, it did not happen all at once. In fact, Jesus called them out, as we heard yesterday, when He said, “Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?” (Mk 8:18)
My brothers and sisters, these healings help underscore that only the Lord can heal our spiritual blindness and deafness.
This healing also involves Jesus’ physical contact with the man, putting spittle in his eyes and laying hands on him. This reminds us that Jesus uses His body as an instrument of healing, just as He does on the Cross.
Lastly, I love the exchange between Jesus and the blind man when after the first step, Jesus asks: “Do you see anything?” The man replies that he sees people that look like trees who are walking.
If you have ever had your eyes dilated or misplaced your glasses, you have probably had a similar experience. You can see, but not clearly. And you are uncertain about what you are seeing. The partial recovery of the man’s sight can symbolize the slow and, at times, difficult process of the disciples and our coming to see and believe in Jesus and His mission. But the good news is that Jesus won’t leave that man or any of us without what we need to follow Him.
In the gospel, He lays His hands upon the man, and then the healing is complete.
As I thought about this two-step healing process, it dawned on me that at every Mass, we do step one in publicly acknowledging our sins, and step two is when we go to Confession and receive the healing absolution and strength to amend our lives through the grace of God.
May we pray not only for ourselves to see Jesus more clearly, but also to be like those who led Jesus to the blind man, beginning with our families and our friends, asking Jesus and His priests to help our loved ones see Jesus and His Way more clearly.
