Save as PDFIn the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!
Today’s Gospel tells us about Jericho’s blind man and spirit radiance which he hid under wretched sackcloth.
That man was not only deprived of joy to see multicolored beauty of this world but he couldn’t earn his living, he had neither relatives nor benefactors who could take care of him. Being dressed in rags that helpless blind man had to sit at the gates of Jericho and beg money of people who were passing by. Though he had been living in pitch darkness for many years there was light in his soul and this light was flaming up. The unhappiness didn’t embitter Jericho’s blind man but only intensified his spiritual sensitivity. The beauty of God’s creation was inaccessible for him, but he felt the image of God in himself more and more clearly. And the Lord saw his great patience, meekness of his pure heart.
At that time everybody was talking about the miracles of the Master from Nazareth. Idle people at the gates of Jericho were often talking about the works of the Wonder-worker not paying attention to the poor blind man who was listening attentively to such talks. The great mystery was opened to the blind beggar, and idle story-tellers were racking their brains over the solution of this mystery. These people saw the blue sky, green grass, the yellow sun, multi-colored markets but the light of another world was invisible for them. And Jericho’s blind man contemplating the image of God in his soul was sighted spiritually. Having heard about the miracles of the Nazarene he understood at once that such things could have been done only by the One whom people had been waiting for many centuries, the Son of David, the Messiah, the Saviour of the World.
And once hearing a crowd going by, the blind man began to inquire what this might be and he heard long-awaited words: “Jesus Christ is passing by” (Luke 18, 37).
Then he called out: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me” (Luke 18, 39). The people scolded him and told him to keep quiet but before spiritual look of Jericho’s blind man the Divine Light was shining. He was scolded and pushed and he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
And Jesus stopped. The blind man at the town gates was one of those who was chosen by God to reveal His works on him. Jesus Christ didn’t start to try the faith of Jericho’s blind man as he had done with other people praying to Him for their healing. The future healing was in exultant undoubtful supplication of the blind man: “Son of David, have mercy on me”! The soul of this man had already heightened inner sight and for the Savior it was nothing simpler than to make the scales fall from his eyes, “Receive your sight. Your faith has saved you”.
These Lord’s words include not only deliverance from earthly grief but also the greatest gift – the Eternal life. And subsequent deeds of Jericho’s blind man showed that he was worthy of such incomparable grace of God.
Having been healed by God’s Son, the people behaved differently. Somebody even forgot to thank, some people under the attack of envious Pharisees denied their Saviour cowardly, still others having become the center of overall attention began to show their vanity over the miracle revealed on them. However, it was Jericho’s beggar who perceived the Christian message and chose really straight way for himself.
Having received his sight this righteous man wanted only one thing – to see the Savior and to be with Him and “followed Him, glorifying God, and all the people who saw it gave praise to God” (Luke 18,43).
Only a few lines are devoted to Jericho’s blind man in the Holy Scripture but how deep and instructive is this story about enlighted human soul concealed under wretched cover of the blind beggar. Vouchsafe, o Lord, to have a part of spiritual sight which this poor rich man chosen by God had. Amen.