Daily Seasonal Reflections
Friday of the First Week of Advent
Fr. Trey Nelson
 
“As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out, ‘Son of David, have pity on us!’  When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I can do this?’  ‘Yes, Lord,’ they said to him.”  (From Matthew 9:27-31)
 
 
The above passage is taken from the Gospel for today’s Mass.  I had to read it 3 times to double-check what I noticed in my first reading; namely, that they never ask Jesus to cure their blindness. While it is understood that this is what they wanted, they never actually said it. Take a moment and read it again for yourself.  All they said was, “Have pity on us,” to which he replies, “Do you believe that I can do this?”  And, as Paul Harvey use to say, we know the rest of the story.  Their sight was restored.
 
Whenever we are in a moment of personal suffering or struggle in any form, it is almost as if we are blind to hope, at least for a moment. We need someone to listen to us, connect with us heart- to-heart, and help us to know that all will eventually be well.  How attentive, though, are we to this aspect of other people’s lives as we go about our daily business.  
 
I remember being told something a few years ago that left me feeling sad and somewhat disappointed in myself.   Apparently on one Sunday, as I stood in front of church greeting tons of people, there was one person standing nearby who needed to speak with me. They were in a moment of pain.  I honestly did not see them standing there.  Person after person continued to come up to say hello, shake hands, embrace me, laugh with me about something, and so on. Many of the little children held their hands in the air, wanting me to pick them up.   That’s a typical Sunday morning, and it’s always a moment that reminds me how much of a blessing the people of this community are to each other and to me.  However, as innocent as it was, I missed it. I missed the person in need, and they eventually quietly walked away.  It was until a few weeks later that they made me aware of this. Then we were able to have the good conversation.
 
This may not be the best example, but the reality is, there are people on the roadside of our journey reaching out to us. No, we cannot stop and help everybody, but God does put certain people in our path for a reason.  
 
May our blindness—whether caused by busy-ness, fatigue, or even selfishness—not blind us to the needs of others.