Jesus Is Passing By!

The Encounter of Faith

I've been intrigued with the parable of the blind man found in Luke 18:35-43 during my Advent journey. The blind man, who was minding his own business begging by the roadside in Jericho, meets the crowd following Jesus and asks what the commotion is about. He is told that Jesus is passing by.

Jesus is passing by? Immediately the blind man cries out to Christ, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" The crowd tries to silence and distract him, tries to dismiss his yearning to meet up with Jesus. He cries out a second time a bit more loudly. "Son of David, have mercy on me!!"

As Christ was passing by the blind man, He stops and asks to have the blind man brought to Him. Then Jesus asks the blind man, "what is it that you want Me to do for you?" The blind man said, "I'd like to see." His tenacity and faith opened the doors for his healing and was given His sight by Jesus!

The blind man was persistent in his prayers, and kept focused on Jesus shouting from his heart, "Jesus Son of God have mercy on me!" His vision was on Christ in the midst of the noise and the crowd.

The Noise That Blinds Us

As we anticipate Christ stepping into our world at His Nativity, we too are reminded to keep our eyes, our love, our vision on Christ in the midst of all the noise we face with financial obligations, family struggles, health issues, unhealthy and distracting thoughts, addiction. The political frenzy has been extremely noisy during this election season. People have shouted and talked over each other, many have disrespected each other and overtly or subtly judged each other.

Volumes of texts, tweets, Facebook posts and messages have hijacked our time and infected our heart. Many of us have been consumed by the drama of the crowd, of the noise in the media. Jesus is passing by with us and many don't care or are blinded and can't see His presence in our life.

Christ Stops for Each of Us

Jesus is stopping by today! He steps into our world with the help of the Virgin Mary. Soon it will be Christmas and Jesus is stopping by! The creator of the universe, the one who suspends the heavens, the one who gives order to our world, the one who gives us breath is not just passing by, He is stopping by and I pray we can turn to Him and cry out from our personal blindness asking Christ for His mercy.

This story should inspire us to have courage during our Nativity journey and shout out to Christ, calling for His attention! And if we care enough to ask for His mercy, Jesus in turn will stop and ask you and me, "What do you want me to do for you?" What do you really, deeply want?

Not the stuff that can be packaged with a bow and put under a tree. Not something that is bought with a click on the computer through Amazon. Not something that will be tossed out, broken, become outdated, or forgotten over time!

The Gift of True Sight

Jesus is stopping by and wants to give us sight and heal us from our blindness. He wants to help us see clearly! Jesus is stopping by and wants permission to become a permanent resident in the manger of our heart. He wants to be invited into our life and ignite our soul to see clearly and live from the inside out. From that sacred space of our heart!

Jesus came to transform and transfigure our old nature to a nature that participates in the divine and holy nature of love so we can see with eyes of compassion, peace, love and generosity! Jesus wants us to see that we are created in God's image, that we have been given the gift of Divine power, Divine life, Divine energy and to become a vessel of light, love and peace in the world!

The Promise of Christmas

Beloved, the birth of Christ is a realization of hope. At the time of the nativity so many centuries ago, the people of Israel hoped for a world of justice and freedom from Roman oppression and tyranny. We celebrate this Christmas at a time when we hope for a world of peace and righteousness, made possible through the birth of Christ that dispels fear and anxiety because we know that "God is with us".

This Christmas as we push away the noise of the crowds, may we find the humility to see that God is with us. The One who suspended the earth, the One who created the Universe, the One who created the human person in His image, calling us His beloved and breathing His life into us, humbly and lovingly came to earth to save us and to restore us to our original beauty! He is with us!

When we truly see that God is with us and accept the gift of Christ, we become a different person. Jesus becomes active in our thoughts, in our actions. We become satisfied. We desire nothing else. We find peace and become a fragrance in this world!

+fr. Tom