Reading 1 Jas 1:19-27
Know this, my dear brothers and sisters:
everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger
for anger does not accomplish
the righteousness of God.
Therefore, put away all filth and evil excess
and humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you
and is able to save your souls.
Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer,
he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror.
He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets
what he looked like.
But the one who peers into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres,
and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts;
such a one shall be blessed in what he does.
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue
but deceives his heart, his religion is vain.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this:
to care for orphans and widows in their affliction
and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 15:2-3a, 3bc-4ab, 5
R. (1b) Who shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord?
He who walks blamelessly and does justice;
who thinks the truth in his heart
and slanders not with his tongue.
R. Who shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord?
Who harms not his fellow man,
nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
By whom the reprobate is despised,
while he honors those who fear the LORD.
R. Who shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord?
Who lends not his money at usury
and accepts no bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
shall never be disturbed.
R. Who shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord?
Gospel Mk 8:22-26
When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethsaida,
people brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.
Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on the man and asked,
"Do you see anything?"
Looking up the man replied, "I see people looking like trees and walking."
Then he laid hands on the man's eyes a second time and he saw clearly;
his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.
Then he sent him home and said, "Do not even go into the village."
Meditation: Mark 8:22-26
I see people looking like trees and walking.” (Mark 8:24)
The Gospels record many instantaneous miracles, but the healing recounted here occurs in stages. Friends bring a blind man to Jesus, who takes him by the hand and leads him away from the crowd. He puts saliva on the man’s eyes and asks what is happening to him. “Can you see anything?” According to one translation, this man “was beginning to see,” but the people he saw were shadowy forms moving about. Jesus touched his eyes again, and then he could see clearly.
This is a wonderful model for spiritual growth! We have encountered the living God, and we are beginning to see things in a new way. Still, so much remains indistinct and fuzzy. Only through continued dialogue with Jesus and his repeated touch can we grow in our ability to see the world in the light of God’s love.
But there is another way to apply this story of gradual sight. For most of us, our life’s work comes into focus gradually rather than being revealed early on. For instance, three of us may like numbers, but that aptitude may lead one person to become a teacher and another to program computers and a third to compose music. It’s only as we grow and experiment, and as we listen to the Lord and the mentors he has given us, that we discern what our true calling is.
Similarly, our vocation may be outlined in a moment of decision to become a priest or to seek a spouse, but it takes a lifetime to enflesh that vocation. Being a parish priest or the mother of small children dictates much of what will fill our days. But only in cooperation with the Holy Spirit can our daily routine become a vocation of love, a way of bringing God’s kingdom into a specific time and place.
In your prayer today, tell Jesus what you can see, and admit what still seems confusing. Take a look at the way your vocation is unfolding. How is God inviting you to love him more? Ask him to sharpen your spiritual vision so that you can see your life and your calling more clearly.
“Jesus, I long to see myself and others as you see us. Open my eyes wider to the reality and power of your love.”
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