In this Gospel story a blind beggar calls twice to Jesus by his prophetic name, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” The onlookers rebuked him to be silent, yet Jesus hears his call amid the noisy crowd. Jesus asks him what he wants, and the beggar responds, “I want to see.” Jesus grants his desire.
Jesus’ stories convey meaning on more than one level of understanding. The Gospel says the man received his sight and followed Jesus on the way. To me, that is an interesting statement. He became a follower of “the way,” meaning he became a disciple of Jesus.
Physical blindness is one limitation, but there are many other forms of blindness. For example, absorption in the outer life can make one blind to the Spirit. All that one says, thinks, or does is based upon outer experiences. So, what are we missing?
Jesus asks us to see through to our inner life, the light of our faith which guides our journey. It’s not always obvious where we are going, but the power gained by using the vision of our inner life can help us see things more clearly.
