Today
Jesus asks the two blind men, “Do you believe I can do this?” (Matt 9:28)
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| Christ healing the two blind men Mosaic in Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy, 6th century |
They do
believe and, according to their faith, Jesus opens their eyes. This is
marvelous and extraordinary just on the face of it, but the more we meditate on
this exchange and this miracle, the more profound we realize it is. Scripture
is like this – with layers upon layers of revelation from the Holy Spirit to
us, his Church.
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| Maximus the Confessor mosaic in Nea Moni, 11th century |
I ask
you, who is it that can open the eyes of the blind and give voice to the dumb?
It is the Messiah and the Lord. Because the blind men had faith in this Son of
David, as they professed, I believe that they know this too. Though they call
him son of David, for that is who he is, they know that they ask for mercy from
the Son of God – for that is who he is.
What
drove Jesus to ask the two blind men about their faith? Well, first they
followed him, crying aloud for mercy. They followed him for quite some time, it
would seem, as he walked from the house of a ruler to his own house. This in
and of itself is a marvel: though they were blind, they were able to follow
Jesus to his house. They could not see him, but yet they went wherever he went.
Now, maybe they had help, or maybe they were following him by sound, or maybe
they simply knew the way to his house – the Gospel doesn’t say – but
regardless, I think it is a good image of faith that, though blind, they could
still follow Christ. They could see him, not with the eyes of the body, but
with the eyes of faith. According to their faith, they could see already.
And all
the while as they were following him, they were crying out, “Have mercy on us,
son of David!” This kind of prayerful petition ought to seem familiar to us in
the Byzantine Church – for here is one of the roots of the Jesus Prayer. I hope
you all know the Jesus Prayer and pray it daily:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,
have mercy on me, the sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,
have mercy on me, the sinner.
Lord
Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.
We can
hear in this, I think, an echo of the blind men’s prayer: “Son of David, have
mercy on us.” But it is also similar in the way
that they prayed it – crying and saying their prayer while following after
Jesus. The words here – κράζοντες
καὶ λέγοντες – are present participles which describe continuous, ongoing
action. In other words, they did not cry out their prayer only once, but continuously
and repeatedly as they followed Jesus. In our hesychast tradition, under the
guidance of our spiritual fathers and mothers, we pray the Jesus prayer so
frequently that the prayer becomes a part of our very breathing – and of the
beating of our hearts – so that we can aspire to pray unceasingly, as Paul teaches
us (1 Thess 5:17). Again and again in peace we pray to the Lord for mercy – as did these two blind
men before us.
Their
way of prayer also evokes to me the uncomfortable parable of the widow and the unjust
judge in Luke (18:1-8). Not once does the widow plead for justice, but
repeatedly. Not once do the blind men cry out for mercy but they cry aloud continuously.
It seems
sometimes like we have to nag the Lord, that we have to bend his ear, or that we have to
keep after him. Of course, this is only how it seems to us from our limited human
perspective. Repetition, I think, helps to simulate the eternal for us temporal
creatures. And it helps us forgetful creatures to remember – in this case – our
creator. Anyone memorizing lines for a play or multiplication tables for a math
test knows the necessity of repetition for a human mind. If we humans are to
remember God, we must often repeat our prayer to him and our calling upon his
holy name. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.
It is
only after the widow has often plead for justice that the judge gives her what
is good and right and it is only after the blind men have followed Jesus quite
a way calling out for mercy and followed him even into his house
that he asks them if they have faith. Only after they have demonstrated
faithfulness to some extent are they asked if they have faith. We must be
persistent. We must persevere in the faith even when we get no answer to our
prayer the first time or the second time or the seventh time we pray. Pray
again! Do not lose heart. Keep following after Jesus with a pure heart – not
just in the hope of some material reward, mind you, but in the hope of mercy –
of healing, eternal life, and union with God.
The physical blindness of these two men has also for us, I believe, a spiritual meaning. We are the blind men – until we through faith receive the grace and mercy of the Lord, for which we must continually cry out. Our vision of all things is darkened until we see them in the light of Christ.
Only in
the light of Christ is it possible to see things as they really are.
Only in
the light of Christ can we understand the true meaning of the Torah and the
prophets.
Only in
the light of Christ can we see and love our enemies as images of God.
Only in
the light of Christ can we find any meaning in our suffering
because without Christ and his cross, all suffering is meaningless. Only in
Christ and in his cross can suffering become a means of union with God –
because only in Christ and in his cross does the impassible God suffer.
Only in
the light of Christ can we see that for us death is but falling asleep in the
Lord and that the great dawn of resurrection is coming.
And so,
without the light of Christ, we are blind. And, according to our faith, Christ
will open our eyes.
[i] Maximus the Confessor. “Chapters on Knowledge.” Maximus Confessor: Selected
Writings. New York: Paulist Press, 1985. 1:9; 130.
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