One of the amazing things I read in Scripture is how Jesus heals people not according to God’s might but according to one’s faith. Isn’t that amazing? We know God can do anything. God has the ability: He made the world out of nothing; holds the world in being, controls the changing of times and seasons; and living creatures owe their breath to His divine providence; life and death come from Him. God is the supreme Love that outweighs evil. Yet sometimes it might seem that when we need God to help us, He places a condition. Why is that?
In St Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we read: “My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:19). Here we see a different order: “according to God’s riches…” not according to my or your faith.
God’s Riches
But wait. It says, “God’s riches.” To describe someone as rich means (in a loose sense) they have the money to gain most (worldly) things they need. How would you describe God’s riches? Here lies the point. You are part of what makes God rich. The role you play in God’s wealth is not because of what you have achieved. No. It is because of God’s generous abundance of His divine Love. God makes you part of His divine plan so you may be an extension of His love to people.
St Augustine writes that God, who made us without our cooperation, will not save us without us (St. Augustine, Sermon 169, 11, 13: PL 38, 923). The Church calls us to active faith life to cooperate with what God is doing in our lives. The Catechism helps us understand that to receive mercy we need to acknowledge that we are sinners in need of mercy.
Do You Believe?
Let us get back to the Gospel of today once again. The Lord asked the blind men, “Do you believe I can do this?” This question reminds me of when Jesus visited His hometown, where many did not believe in Him. The Scripture recorded that “He did not do many miracles because of their lack of faith” (Matt 13:58). Asking the blind men who were already begging for mercy publicly seems like the Lord wants to emphasize a point. “Do you believe I can do this”?
Take a moment and place yourself in the condition of those men. What needs do you have at the moment? Do you believe God can supply what you need? Do you believe He can open your spiritual eyes to see the big picture of what He is doing in your life? Do you believe God still does physical miracles today? Do you believe in the daily miracle of Transubstantiation? Do you believe God can heal your sick daughter, son, wife, or husband? Do you believe God can change an ugly condition in your life for the better? Do you believe God is exchanging your ashes for beauty? Do you believe in the miracle of a sinner made a saint?
The Lord made the blind men (indeed all of us) realize today that with the coming of Christ, we are unconquerable in Jesus Christ. In this advent, let us be bold to expect the coming of Christ and His power into our lives.
Congratulations. May you continue to feel God’s presence daily in your priestly life
Beautiful!