Prepare to Listen. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened.
Prayerfully Read Isaiah 35:3-7 and Luke 7:18-23 Isaiah 35:3-7 3Strengthen the weak hands, And make firm the feeble knees. 4Say to those who are of a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.’ 5Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; 7the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. Luke 7:18-23 18The disciples of John reported all these things to him. So John summoned two of his disciples 19and sent them to the Lord to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ 20When the men had come to him, they said, ‘John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”’ 21Jesus had just then cured many people of diseases, plagues, and evil spirits, and had given sight to many who were blind. 22And he answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. 23And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.’ Prayerfully Wonder Is Jesus the Messiah? Many of us today don’t hesitate to answer, “Yes.” But what may be obvious to us, isn’t obvious to others. It wasn’t obvious to the imprisoned John the Baptizer. He sent his disciples to ask: “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus didn’t rebuke John for his doubts, nor did he respond with a simple yes or no, nor offer doctrinal propositions to believe. He wasn’t, as one preacher suggested, being coy and reluctant to own up. He chose a more helpful approach, giving his answer in specific and concrete acts that John’s disciples observed him doing. At the end of the day, he sent John’s disciples back with this message, quoting Isaiah: “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them.” By referring to these concrete acts, Jesus conveyed that he was fulfilling the role of the Messiah as foretold by the prophet Isaiah. He made the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame leap, the mute sing. These are the poor, the powerless, the least and most vulnerable in any society. Jesus came to save them and commanded us to welcome them into our homes and churches (see Lk 14:13f). Where that happens, we’ll be able to proclaim, Here is your God! Prayerfully Reflect What caught your attention as you read the poetry of Isaiah and Jesus’ words in Luke? Prayerfully Respond Help me live today in a way that offers hope and compassion to the least, the marginalized, the criticized and judged so that others will know, Here is my God, the Messiah who saves. Amen. Live obediently. Live today to make God’s presence known and felt by others.
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