"And they came to Beth-sa’ida.  And some people brought to him [Jesus] a blind man, and begged him to touch him.  And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the village; and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands upon him, he asked him, ‘Do you see anything?’  And he looked up and said, ‘I see men; but they look like trees, walking.’  Then again he laid his hands upon his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and saw everything clearly.  And he sent him away to his home, saying, ‘Do not even enter the village.’”  --Mark 8:22-26, RSV

            This is an unusual report of Jesus healing a blind man.  It is unusual because Jesus heals the man gradually.  Jesus’ first healing of the man restores partial sight to the one who was totally blind.  Jesus then lays hands upon the man a second time, and only then is the man’s sight fully restored.

            Why did this particular healing require two stages of healing?  Perhaps the blind man had only partial faith in the first attempt.  That is speculation, for St. Mark does not write about the man’s faith.  What is made clear is that Jesus heals after two attempts, no matter what the reason(s).

            This lines up with the everyday experience of many Christians.  Often we are healed, not in one grand experience, but bit by bit.  Often we are given the ability to see the Christ, the Kingdom, the Church, the world, as they really and truly are, only bit by bit.  When this is the case, thanks to God should be given for the sight that is given, even if it is partial.  Impatience because of the lack of full healing, expressed to God and neighbor, should be resisted.

            During Lent, we can and should thank God for the healing, spiritual and physical, he has given us to date.  While praying and seeking Christ’s more complete work in our lives, using the healing he has already given, we can and should joyfully serve God and neighbor.

--Paul T. Stallsworth