How is your heart?
20 November 2017
Today’s Gospel is a beautiful call to action. Let us break it open to see how this vibrant, dramatic story can inspire you to seek Christ to answer the desires of your heart.
Take a moment and imagine yourself helplessly sitting beside the road as the ‘blind beggar.’ You are right there, amidst the activity and the commotion of the crowds moving around you; but just can’t see what is at the centre of this excitement. You suddenly hear the murmurings and whisperings of Jesus’ name. You realise that this is your opportunity; if you could just hear from this radical Rabbi, maybe even feel his touch, you know you will be healed.
So, you shout.
Just like in our own lives, the crowds that we move amongst will never know the needs in the depths of our hearts. They just cannot relate to those parts of our lives that blind us from God’s beautiful reality. But be inspired by the insistence of the blind man that brought Jesus to a standstill and saw his desires being recognised and answered. It was this insistence on encountering Christ, even despite the crowd’s opposition, which allowed his faith to shine.
The scripture allows us to see two fruits of our actions if we step out in faith and seek to hear the call of Christ in our lives. The first is a renewed sense of belonging amidst the Christian faithful. Jesus called those around the blind man to ‘bring him’ to Christ. Before he could meet Christ, the blind man was surrounded and supported by those who were following Him. Just as the blind man was brought to Christ through the community, so too are we to come into the life of the Church just as we are. The Church is a community of the imperfect seeking the perfect. It is through our imperfections that God’s grace is at work; healing, strengthening and moulding us in the image of perfection. Do you accept the imperfect into your community?
The second can be found in the respectful, humble question: “what do you want me to do for you?” God wants to encounter you and answer the desires of your heart each and every day. He wants to foster a personal relationship with you, to love you, to heal you, to show you mercy and compassion.
If Christ asked you right now: “what do you want me to do for you?” what would you answer? It seems those most in need: the ‘blind,’ the starving, the troubled, know precisely what they need. But it seems that there is a growing complacency amidst the Church, that we don’t yearn for the desires in the depths of our hearts. Christ wants to fulfil these desires, but how can He unless you ask?
Today, ask yourself, ‘how is my heart?’ Bring your answer to Christ through prayer with expectant hearts, awaiting Him to take away your blindness and open your eyes to the beautiful life lived with Christ.