Advent Calendar - December 7, 2012

Isaiah 29: 17-24; Matthew 9: 27-31

Reflection by Sister Anita Louise Lowe
Liturgist for the Sisters of St. Benedict

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In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus gives sight to two men who are blind. He then warns them sternly, "See that no one knows about this." This command has always puzzled me. Did Jesus really expect that these two, for whom he had just performed a miracle, could keep knowledge of their healing and their healer?

I tend to believe that Jesus’ reason for telling the two men to tell no one was two-fold:

1. to prevent an onslaught of miracle seekers, and
2. to place healing in its relationship with faith.

We know from other Gospel passages that word of Jesus as a miracle worker spread rapidly. Those who sought him did not always have the requisite faith. Remember Jesus’ trip to Nazareth when he could not perform many healings there because of the lack of faith?

In today’s passage, when Jesus cures the two by touching their eyes, he says, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” The level of the cure equals the level of their faith. The two men regain their sight because they had faith; they believed that Jesus could bring healing to them.

What is my level of faith? When I pray do I really expect God to answer? During this season of Advent, may we pray to increase our faith so that we may be ready to accept the healing Christ offers us and so that we may be ready to see anew that Christ is truly present among us—within us and within each person we meet.