GOSPEL POWER - NOVEMBER 16, 2020 - 33rd Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel: Lk 18:35-43 35

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” Then he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, praised God. 

Reflection:

Faith itself is sight. It is seeing with the heart a reality hidden from physical sight. When the blind man of Jericho inquires about the commotion, he is simply told that a man named Jesus from the town of Nazareth is passing by – a common Jewish name and an unknown town. But that information makes the blind man shout excitedly and repeatedly, as if in recognition. “Son of David” is a Messianic title, but no one up to this point has directly addressed Jesus with that title in the Gospel of Luke. By calling Jesus such, the blind man confesses his faith in him as the Messiah. Though his physical eyes are still deprived of sight, his eyes-of-faith can glimpse the essential truth. When Jesus grants his plea for sight, he simply affirms what the blind man’s faith has done for him—“Have sight; your faith has saved you.” 

Prayer: Lord Jesus, sharpen our inner eyes-of-faith, that we may begin to view things from your perspective. Amen