December 4: Sight and Insight

So much of Advent is about seeing. In Matthew 9,27-31 we hear of two blind men who are given sight by Jesus. We should not read this as just another miracle, another proof of Jesus’ divine power. It begins with two blind men going after Jesus, calling after Him in desperation: “Have compassion on us, Son of David!” There is already an element of faith in calling Jesus by this messianic title. St. Matthew is saying, in part, Jesus is more than an ordinary rabbi.
When the two men catch up to Jesus, He asks them “Do you believe that I can do this?” Without their trust in Him, Jesus cannot do anything for them. Do you remember what was said about the unbelieving people of Nazareth? The two men say they do believe. His response is, “Your faith deserves it, so let it be done for you.” They do, indeed, have their sight restored and they can now see (in terms of physical sight). Jesus tells them not to say anything about it because He is not interested in being a sensation; He does not want people to have a wrong idea of His real mission.
Forgive the pun, but there is more here than meets the eye! What we have in Matthew 9 is not just the restoration of their physical sight – they have gained insight. They can really see, they can see who Jesus really is, the Word of God, the Action of God, and they conclude that they simply have to share that experience with everyone else. It is not something that they can keep to themselves. As disciples of Christ, we too need to be able to see and understand the message of Jesus and then we need the conviction it takes to proclaim it everywhere.
Advent is a time for us to ask: how well do we see and listen? Isn’t it true that we often have difficulty really hearing and accepting the Word of God? And how many us can claim that we can see Jesus – as He really is? If we are to celebrate Christmas properly, we must learn how to listen to God’s Word, with understanding and acceptance, and learn how to see deeply into the meaning of His life as it is presented to us. Let us pray for insight so that we can see the Savior coming, hear His call to faithfulness, and respond with joy as we share His Good News.
“Come, Lord Jesus!”