Daily Reflection Wednesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

 Amid all the violence that is taking place in our world today, it is so refreshing to read about the love and gentleness of God in both our readings today. Meticulously choosing only the best animals for sacrifice, Noah offers these in his prayer to the Creator. God responds to this offering by promising never to destroy the entire earth again. The writer of Genesis describes God’s relationship with creation, “…nor will I ever again strike down living beings….” Whenever we offer even a morsel of our time, our food, our money to someone in need, we are sharing it with God’s people. Experiencing the Divine in another human being is a form of prayer.

   Mark tells us that people in the crowd brought a blind man to Jesus for a cure. We see the good manners of Jesus in this instance. He knows that this man has been blind for a time. So as not to be startled by the crowd, Jesus takes him apart from the crowd to work his healing. After putting spittle on the man’s eyes a second time, the one who was blind now sees. Because he is sensitive to this man’s reaction to a crowd he has never seen before, Jesus sends him home. What manners and delicacy Jesus shows to this person who has been cured! Having regained his sight through Jesus’ hands, the man can adjust to society in the privacy of his home.

   Let us notice another aspect of Jesus’ action. He is no shaman. Jesus is not a sophisticated healer. No, he uses the ordinary dirt mixed with his own spit to make a healing cake for the man’s face. The Jewish people were accustomed to healing with spittle: another characteristic of Jesus that put the blind man at ease.  

   In today’s liturgy we pray Psalm 116. We thank God for all the good that has been done to us. Whatever good our God has given us, we then give to others. There are lessons to be learned from today’s Scripture readings. The writer of Genesis shows us how to respond to God’s care for us and for the earth. Mark accentuates the delicacy of Jesus’ manners in trying not to embarrass or shock the blind man. There is ample fodder in these readings to direct us in prayer.

Do we take delight in embarrassing people?
Do we offer what little we have to those with less?
Do we immerse ourselves in God who loves us unconditionally?