looking like trees and walking

It has been on my mind. The fact that Jesus did not heal all. The fact that when Jesus did heal, it was not always immediate. And how many people do you know, right now, who are praying for Jesus to show up and heal?

Today people bring a blind man to Jesus, and they beg Him. They beg Him to touch him.

Not to heal. Not to regain his sight. Simply to touch. For they knew the power in a single touch from Jesus. And I wonder....do we??

And you know, if He wanted, Jesus could have given the man His sight right there on the spot. But He didn't. Instead, He moved him from where he was. He took him by the hand and out for a little walk. And putting spittle on his eyes, then he touched him.

Did you catch that? Because it slapped me in the face. That Jesus, before any healing or saving, took him by the hand, and led him outside of the village. It is hard to heal in our own villages, isn't it? It is hard to see the miracle in what has become so predictable, we have forgotten to give thanks for it. It is nearly impossible to close a wound in the very spot that gouged it open in the first place.

Sometimes, healing requires moving. Always, seeing requires changing what you look at.

"Do you see anything?" He asked.

And looking up, the man replied, "I see people looking like trees and walking."

The Magnificat describes this vision as the blind man's "first glimpse of what we will see on Good Friday: the man Jesus carrying his cross, as if he were a tree walking - the New Life on earth." When I read this, my eyes immediately focused on the painting over my mantel; trees with branches raised high, praising the sun and its rising. And really... are they not one in the same?

We are saved by the rising of the Son.

We raise our hands in praise of the One who heals.

To the One who carries His cross, as if He were a tree walking.

We all have, know, or are, a blind man. Someone who can not see clearly. Someone we are trying to bring to Jesus. We have all done our fair share of begging. I sure have. Only now I see, I am begging for all the wrong things. I am begging for the cure. The restored sight. The healing. When really, I should simply be begging for Jesus to touch him.

There is no need to rattle off wish after wish in the presence of Jesus. For if you are lucky enough to recognize His presence, you will have your hearts desire, with one single touch.

After this first glimpse, Jesus laid hands on his eyes a second time, "and he saw clearly; his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly." And this makes total sense, doesn't it?

This is what healing looks like. Allowing Jesus to take your hand, to lead you, to move you, to touch you. To draw your eyes up to Him. To come to the cross.

We can beg all we want for that healing we so desperately need, but until we get a glimpse of Jesus and recognize the cross He carried- accept the cross He asks us to carry - we will never see clearly. And so it is a good question to ponder.

"Do you see anything?"