"What is it You Want?"
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“What is it You Want?”
(Monday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time)
I am always moved by the Gospel passage from today’s Mass. (Luke 18:35-43) We read of the encounter between Jesus and the blind man. “Jesus, son of David,” he cries out, “have pity on me!” He does so, not once but twice. Jesus looks at him and asks, “What is it you want?” The blind man responds, “Lord, I want to see!” Jesus restores his sight and says, “Have sight. Your faith has saved you.” This passage always evokes quite a bit of emotion in me, mainly because of our Mom’s struggle with her eyesight. During the final years of her life, she really struggled with glaucoma. As you probably know, the disease cannot be corrected, only slowed-down. When she passed from us 3 years ago, her primary sense used to identify who was in the room with her was her hearing. The most amazing thing about her in the midst of all this was, even though her physical eyesight was never restored, she learned how to—and taught us how to—see in a new way. She never lost her optimism. Ask any of my siblings. If we could have given our mother anything, it would have been to restore her eyesight.
What strikes me too, though, is not only the blind man’s response to Jesus but the way in which it can challenge us today. He simply said, “I want to see.” Today, unfortunately, we do not always “want to see” as God needs us to see. Can I see the good in a difficult person? Can I see the hope and possibility in a difficult situation? Can I see the presence of God in life’s most painful moments of suffering? Can I see myself as forgivable, no matter the wrong I have done?
These are just a couple of the ways this passage challenges me. As we move into a new week and a week of Thanksgiving, I would invite us all to consider one simple question. It is the same one Jesus asked the blind man. “What is it you want?”
Happy Thanksgiving!