“And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David.’” (Matthew 9:27)
An Advent Reflection on the Scripture Readings at Mass…
Sin and separation from God is a terrible thing. It is the tragedy when a person experiences such separation. The more we sin, the more difficult it becomes to stop sinning. The further from God we travel, the more difficult it is to arise and return to Him. But, God is always waiting for you to turn back to him in this life, before your separation becomes permanent in the next life.
When God entered into His creation at that the Annunciation, followed by that first Christmas, the world was living in a deep spiritual darkness. Both God’s Chosen People and the Gentiles were blind, living in the shadow of an oppressive separation from their Divine Maker, the Father of all.
The Father sends the Son whose Light pushes back the darkness. And the darkness cannot overcome that Light. In the prologue of his gospel, St. John describes this Light as the “true light that enlightens every man.” So in Matthew’s Gospel for today, two blind men follow the Christ and cry out to him. They recognized both their own darkness and the goodness of Christ whose life is “the light of men.”
Each of us is still afflicted to some degree by a blindness. We might be unaware of who people see when they look at us. We may be mistaken about how God sees us. This Advent, leave the darkness behind fully. Strive toward the Light. Call out to the Lord, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” Show us our souls as they really are, and lead us to holiness and perfection.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Image credit: “Christ Heals the Blind Man” (detail) | Eustache Le Sueur, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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