Justin Appel

Dear Friends,

Today’s Gospel lesson from Mark includes a short story, in which Jesus heals a blind man in Bethsaida, a town on the northeast corner of the Sea of Galilee.

This is the only instance in which Jesus performs a ‘progressive’ healing, so we might ask ourselves, What’s going on in this story?

On the other hand, we might be quietly thinking, What does this dusty historical stuff have to do with my life in 2021? How many times have I heard this before?

Thankfully, this story speaks immediately into our situation, because we can read it as an allegory on the nature of faith, which is to say, we can read this story not simply as an historical event, but through the immense, cosmic significance of the cross.

Even as the blind man was healed gradually, while his faith in Jesus increased, so our own healing is related to our faith in the risen Christ.

If the dominant theme of human existence is to becoming ‘united to Christ’, and through this union, to ‘become by grace what God is in nature’, then all of life is characterized by a process of spiritual healing. What role does faith play in this process?

Faith is our trust and belief in God as we engage in a that agreement and relationship that is the ‘new covenant’. So, while God’s grace heals our spiritual wounds, that healing is lavished in the context of a dynamic interaction. We have faith in God’s work of salvation: past, present, and future — and God’s grace yields in us the fruits of good works, virtues, and freedom.

The healing of the blind man thus teaches us to throw ourselves on God’s mercy with full trust, believing that God will heal and transform our sin-sickened souls into beautiful icons. The more we orient ourselves to God’s saving grace, the more God makes us into translucent vessels, through which his glory shines.

Yours in Christ,
Justin