Wednesday of Week 6 of Ordinary Time – Gospel
22They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. 23He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Can you see anything?” 24And the man looked up and said, “I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again, and he looked intently, and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26Then he sent him away to his home, saying, “Do not even go into the village.”,
Commentary on Mark 8:22-26
We are approaching a high point in Mark’s Gospel. And it is preceded by today’s strategically placed story. At first glance it looks like a simple healing story of a blind man but, as in most of Mark’s miracles, there is a deeply symbolic meaning inside.
People bring a blind man to Jesus so that Jesus could apply his healing touch (how much of our touching is healing—or are we afraid of physical touch?). Jesus takes the man aside away from the crowds. He puts spittle on the man’s eyes and asks:
Can you see anything?
The man, who is beginning now to see, says he can see people:
…but they look like trees, walking.
Jesus lays his hands on the man’s eyes again and now:
…his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
Jesus tells him to go directly home, not through the village. He wants no misplaced sensationalism about who he is. The truth of that is going to be revealed very soon.
The story is clearly linked with other events that have just been taking place. We have seen the blindness of the Pharisees unable to recognise the power of God in the words and works of Jesus. We can see the blindness of his own disciples when he asked them in the boat:
Do you still not perceive or understand? Do you have eyes and fail to see? Do you have ears and fail to hear? (Mark 8:17-18)
This story, coming where it is, is a parable about the gradual opening of the disciples’ eyes as it begins to dawn on them just who Jesus is. We will see in tomorrow’s Gospel a giant step in their seeing and understanding, while at the same time being aware that they still have a long way to go.
Our understanding of Jesus is also a gradual process and it never ends. Many seem to settle into a complacent level of understanding beyond which they never go. As a result, their spiritual growth is blocked, and also their ability to have a growing faith enrich their lives.
