4th DECEMBER. FRIDAY, WEEK 1 OF ADVENT

1st Reading: Isaiah 29:17-24

A promise of good times, when deaf shall hear and blind shall see

Shall not Lebanon in a very little while become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be regarded as a forest?

On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a scroll, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the neediest people shall exult in the Holy one of Israel. For the tyrant shall be no more, and the scoffer shall cease to be; all those alert to do evil shall be cut off- those who cause person to lose a lawsuit, who set a trap for the arbiter in the gate, and without grounds deny justice to the one in the right.

Therefore, thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: No longer shall Jacob be ashamed, no longer shall his face grow pale. For when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in his midst, they will sanctify my name; they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. And those who err in spirit will come to understanding, and those who grumble will accept instruction.

Gospel: Matthew 9:27-31

Cure of two blind men saved by their faith in Jesus

As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying loudly, " Have mercy on us, Son of David!" When he entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, " Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to him, "Yes, Lord." Then he touched their eyes and said, " according to your faith let it be done to you." And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly ordered them, " See that no one knows of this." But they went away and spread the news about him throughout that district.

REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS ON THE READINGS

The healing of Two Blind Men

A research in certain hospital revealed that victims of heart attack, heart failure and other cardiac problems who were remembered in prayers fared better than those who were not.

Cardiologist in the hospital assigned 192 patients to the " prayed-for" group and 201 patients to the "not -prayed-for" group. All patients were in the coronary intensive care unit. Patients, doctors and nurses did not know which group patients were in. Prayer group members were scattered  around the nation and given only the first names, diagnoses and prognoses of patients. The researcher said that the results were dramatic. The prayed-for group had significantly fewer complications than the unremembered group. And fewer members of the former died. The latter group was five times more likely to develop infections requiring antibiotics and three times more likely to develop a lung condition, leading to heart failure. These findings were published in the American Heart Association.

Today's gospel scene is unusual, even mysterious and almost funny. Imagine two blind men running after Christ. And Jesus lets them run! Certainly they fell, tripped and bruised themselves along the way. Undoubtedly they must have been a little afraid or nervous but their desire to be healed  and their faith in Christ was greater than any of the physical, emotional or psychological obstacles. It is only when he enters a house that they can finally pin Him down and have their prayer request answered. This is quite strange because usually Jesus is quite eager to cure people and in this gospel scene, He makes hard for these two blind men to grant their request. Why is this?

This may be because God sometimes delays to answer our own prayers. In the sense that too often, our desires are shallow and God allows more time to deepen them. There are times, however, when God would desire to answer our prayers, but is hindered by our own actions and attitudes, since He will only act in consistency with His own holy nature and loving wisdom. Some of those  hindrances listed below:

1.Sin in the heart: " If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me."

2.Unforgiving attitude: " When you stand to pray, forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance......." ( Mark11:25)

3.Carnal motive: "You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions," ( James4:3)

4.Selfish family relations: " Likewise, your husbands should live with your wives in understanding, showing honor to the weaker female sex, since we are joint heirs of the gift of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered," ( 1Peter3:7).

5. Unbelief: " But he should ask in faith, not doubting..... For that person must not suppose  that he will receive anything from the Lord," ( James1:6,7)

And so, let us enlarge our desires and hearts too, it is because St. Paul said: "God is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine," ( Eph3:20)

Persistence pays

This image of the two blind men continually making their prayer of faith as Jesus walks along invites us to keep on praying out of own faith. Like the two blind men, we very often pray when we are aware of our need. Thankfully, most of us have the gift of sight, but we are all needy in other ways. There can be areas of blindness and disability of one kind or another, ways in which we are broken and vulnerable. The example of the two blind men encourages us to keep turning to the Lord in prayer, even when he appears not to be listening  to us. Our prayer of faith will not ultimately go unanswered.