Friday – First Week of Advent

In today’s Gospel reading, Matthew 9:27-31, two blind men come to Jesus and, in faith and desperation, cry aloud to Him; “Son of David, have pity on us!” Their use of this Messianic title is an indicator of the faith they have in Him, and as they throw themselves upon His mercy, all that He asks of them is that they believe. Thus it is faith that opens their eyes and it can open ours too. Blindness is, therefore, not simply a physical affliction, it can also be a spiritual one. Our faithlessness, such as we see Isaiah rebuke Israel for (29:17-24), can lead to a complete spiritual blindness and with it an inability to see our way and help others to do the same.

There are not many among us who could claim never to suffer from a certain sightlessness or a lack of vision for whatever reason. For instance, how often do we reproach ourselves for our inability to see someone with the eyes of charity? How often can our viewpoint or aims be deemed ‘short sighted’ or are we accused of being ‘blinded to reality’? Being blind to who people really are and the situations we find ourselves in is nothing new, but that should not prevent our striving to overcome such sightlessness. Indeed, we can, through God’s abundant grace, come to see with absolute clarity. We may, for example, begin in charity to see a person for who they really are, a son or daughter of Christ, and love them for this as God loves them: unconditionally. Such were the men in today’s Gospel; through faith their eyes were opened. These men came to love Christ because, even before they could see him physically, they were not blinded to the reality of his divine goodness.

Advent, as a time of preparation and penance, is about allowing our eyes to be opened. How can we prepare as we should for the coming of Our Saviour if we insist on stumbling by ourselves in the dark? If we are in such a position then let us have the courage to put out our hands to Christ and cry: “Son of David, have pity on us!” Let us walk in the light of faith this Advent, eyes wide open, and see Christ for who he truly is: Our Lord, Our Saviour, Our Hope and Our Redemption.