Scout
Noah has been on the Ark for 40 days. That is a long time to be on a boat, especially since it contains the world’s best zoo, plus some other humans. He must have been getting a little anxious, as all he could see was water for 40 days. A raven was released to scout for dry land. Then a dove was sent, with no results. Not one to give up, he took a second chance with the dove, and this time it returned with an olive leaf, so dry land was within range of a dove. The message to me was that Noah kept trying, and sometimes after the first attempt does not succeed, one needs to try again.
Eyes
The Gospel is also a story about trying again. Jesus partially healed a blind man. The man went from blindness, to being able to see blurry figures, which is a huge miracle indeed. Jesus knew the healing was not complete. The blind man acknowledged that he could see, but he wanted more, so he could see perfectly. He had a second chance to get healed. He took it. Jesus finished the job, and the healing was complete. The formerly blind man wanted full restoration of his sight, and he got it.
Healing Service
At a healing service at a local parish last Friday, healings were happening left and right. The pastor said repeatedly that if a healing was going to happen, go for a full healing. One man in particular had ringing in both ears (tinnitus). The left ear was healed, and the right ear was half way better. Another dose of the Holy Spirt, and Jesus’ love finished the job, just like with the blind man in the Gospel. His injured knee was also healed, and he jogged around the parking lot in disbelief. His family was in tears after the service.
If in doubt, just like Noah, the blind man, or the man with ringing in his ears and bad knee, keep trying for that result. We can certainly offer up our sufferings to the Lord, but can also ask for complete healing. You have a second chance to finish the job.
I really liked this reflection; it was simple yet deep and gave good clearness to the double healing purpose.