In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God, Amen.
One detail, which is not said explicitly in today’s Gospel, is that the Lord led the two blind men from the road to the house. An encounter with the Lord, in this case, was not enough to be healed, the men had to follow along. How they did this we do not know, perhaps they took a hand of someone in the crowd around Christ? Or had to follow the noise as they stumbled along the dusty, rocky road?
And we stumble along too. We have met, dear brothers and sisters, the Lord and encountered him but we too must follow without knowing all the facts, without an understanding of what he wants from us, rather we are in darkness across a rocky path. But these blind men were able to see what the experts in religion could not: that Jesus is the Christ. We have this knowledge, this certainty, that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life. We too know that we can be united to him through the waters of baptism, through the Mysteries of the Church, and come to knowledge of the Father through him in the Holy Spirit.
And we stumble along in the darkness of this world. We hit rocks in our path but we hear the voice of the Lord over the crowd and we follow: because, dear brothers and sisters, what is the alternative? That we sit, complain about our condition and wait for the inevitable? The words of the Lord are full of life, abundant life, a life which not even death can touch: what is the alternative except that we follow?
The Lord, the saints, the Church herself are here to help us, to guide us, to take our hand as we follow this path. All are here to encourage us in this journey to the House of the Lord. And when we arrive, when we enter the House, the Lord will turn to you and he will turn to me and say, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” His actions in today’s Gospel, opening the eyes of the blind, serve as a foretaste of what will be offered to us—not only sight but life, the fullness of life, authentic life, life without end.
My dear brothers and sisters, we cannot always see the route the Lord is taking us—and we may be scared and struggle along the way—but take the hand of the Church to guide and comfort you because the destination is the House of the Lord, the Kingdom of Heaven.
That we too may come to the House of the Father and come to deeper knowledge of him by his Only-begotten Son in the power and operation of the Holy Spirit, Amen.