Luke 18:35-43

As Jesus is approaching Jericho, a blind man is begging by the side of the road when he hears the commotion and asks the crowd what is happening. Learning that it is Jesus, he starts to call out, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.”  People try to hush him up, but he keeps calling out to God. Then Jesus stopped, ordered him brought to him, and asked him what he wanted Jesus to do for him.  The blind man replied, “Lord, please let me see.”  Jesus responded, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.” Right away the blind man could see and followed Jesus, giving glory to God.  The people, seeing this, all gave praise to God.

On a dusty road in an ordinary place, an outcast blind man was simply going about the business of survival by begging for enough to eat.  Yet when he encountered God, he cried out without ceasing, confident that his blindness could be healed.  Even when people around him tried to stop him, he still cried out to Jesus. When his sight was restored, Jesus said, “your faith has saved you.”  How can this be?  Because his heartfelt faith provided an open channel to connect with God and receive God’s mercy.  His heart was open, and he cried out in full confidence that healing was possible.  This allowed healing to occur. 

We can learn from this passage that our heartfelt longing for God and his mercy can open our hearts and allow our healing to occur, and this connection with God is called faith. This is especially so for our psychological healing, personal growth, and spiritual development.  Two days ago we learned about praying without ceasing and the way it can reorder our lives to God. Today we learn about calling out to God in our hearts without ceasing and the healing it can bring. Amen.