As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging; and hearing a multitude going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” And he cried, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped, and commanded him to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me receive my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. (Luke 18:35-43)
Origen, writing in the 3rd Century about a Gospel pericope from Matthew’s Gospel concerning Jesus healing the blind, applies the text to each of us. We each are spiritually blind and in need of having Christ restore sight to our spiritual eyes. The ‘road’ we walk along is the Scriptures where we too encounter Christ and invite Him to heal us. As the Prophet Isaiah foretold: “In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see” (Isaiah 29:18).
Would that we too, understanding from this that we are blind and do not see, as we sit by the road of the scriptures and hear that Jesus is passing by, might by our prayers make him stop and tell him we want our eyes to be opened (cf. Matthew 20: 29-34). If we make this request with the desire of seeing what one is given to see when Jesus touches the eyes of the soul, our Savior will be struck with compassion and will touch our eyes which do not see before he came.
For he is power and Word and wisdom and everything like this which has been written of him. And at his touch, darkness and ignorance will immediately flee and we will not only see but will also follow him who gave us our sight back for no other reason than that we might always follow him and be led by him to God and that, with the eyes he has opened and with those blessed because of their clean heart, we might see our God. (SPIRIT AND FIRE, p 238)
That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What is this conversation which you are holding with each other as you walk?” . . . And he said to them, “O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke 24:13-17, 25-27)
Fraternized 