Daily Gospel Reflection

Get Face-to-Face with Jesus

Welcome back to Radical & Relevant. Today's reading from the Gospel of Luke 18:35-43. As Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was seated by the roadside begging, and hearing a multitude going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." He cried out, "Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me." And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me." And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, Jesus asked him, "What is it that you want from me?" He said, "Lord, open my eyes that I may see." And Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight. Your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

I love this reading. One of my favorite readings; it's so practical. It's got this blind man, right? He's crying out, "Jesus." And other people are telling him to be quiet: "Don't bother Jesus. Leave him alone." And he cries out just the more, "Jesus, son of David, have pity on me, have mercy on me." And Jesus has them bring the blind man to him, and he says to the blind man, "What is it that you want of me? What do you want?" If Jesus asked you that question today, what would your answer be? You're crying out to Jesus for something; you're crying out. If he came right face-to-face with you and asked you, "What is it that you want from me?" what would you say to him today? What would you say to him? And the blind man said, "Lord, open my eyes that I may see."

And I love this reading. The reason I love this reading is because it's been part of my spirituality for so long now, at least more than 30 years. And just this one line, it's a beautiful prayer: "Lord, open my eyes so that I may see." And we forget, I think, sometimes, that every time someone speaks to Jesus in the gospels, that's a prayer. That's a prayer. And it's a beautiful prayer: "Lord, open my eyes that I may see." And we call this series Radical & Relevant, and here we see it, right? It's a radical request: "Take away my blindness." And it's relevant because we all have blindness. And I had this great spiritual director who taught me like over 30 years ago to use this phrase when you're trying to discern something, to use it throughout the day: "Lord, open my eyes that I may see." Just to pray that prayer over and over, like a hundred times a day, just over and over while you're trying to discern something, while you're trying to work something out: "Lord, open my eyes so that I may see. Lord, open my eyes so that I may see." Because he will. We are blind. We do have blindness. We absolutely have blind spots. But he does want to take our blindness away. Have a great day. Remember, don't just be yourself. Be the very best version of yourself, all that God created you to be.