Week 33 Monday (Year 2)

Readings: Apocalypse 1:1-4; 2:1-5; Psalm 1; Luke18:35-43

‘What do you want me to do for you?’ can seem like a strange question. Is it not obvious? We can imagine bystanders thinking or even saying, ‘is he also blind, does he not see that the man is blind and so, obviously, healing from his blindness is what the man will want?’

But Jesus does not presume, does not jump to this conclusion. He leaves it to the man to say what he wants. He gives him space, a space of respect and attention, allowing him to speak and say what it is he wants the Lord to do for him. He leaves space for prayer.

The new creation comes about in these conversations between the Incarnate Word and human beings. As in the Annunciation so in many other places in the gospels there are conversations between Jesus and other people about their needs and their wants, about the difficulties and distress of their lives.

The conversation between revelation and faith is the foundation for the new creation, the revelation of the Father in the Son and the response of faith on the part of human beings. As creation it is, of course, the work of God, but by God’s grace it is a work that comes about also through human thinking and deciding. Prayer is our way of remaining part of this conversation.

Today’s readings also invite us to think of the ways in which we remain blind. For example, how clearly do we see the level of meaning contained in the Apocalypse of Saint John which we will read over the next two weeks? There are other ways in which we know ourselves to be blind but this is one to think about: seeing the profound, future meaning of human history revealed to us in this last book of the New Testament.