Owen goes to the post office to buy stamps for Christmas cards. She said, “I’d like 100 stamps.” 

“What denomination?” Asked the clerk. 

“Oh for Pete’s sake, has it come to that?” complains the woman, “I’ll take 50 Catholics, 10 Baptists, 20 Lutherans and 20 Presbyterians.” 

This woman missed the point of the question. She did not see the point. 

Jesus asked the blind man in today’s gospel, what do you want me to do for you? The blind man says, I want to see. The blind man did not miss the point. 

Jesus asks all of us today, what do you want me to do for you? What would our response be? 

On one level, Jesus cures the blind man physically. But beyond restoring physical sight. ‘I want to see’ really means with eyes of faith. 

For example, if someone were to say to you, “Can I talk with you?” what they’re really saying is, will you listen to me? So whenever we say, “do you have a moment, can I talk with you?” I’m really saying is, will you listen to me? Many times we are blind, not physically, but blind to God’s love, forgiveness and presence in our lives, in our world because of a poor self-image. 

Too often our self-concept is very poor. Listen to this short dialogue. Why is everyone in this room so happy except me? Because they have learned to see goodness and beauty everywhere, said the master. Why don’t I see beauty and goodness everywhere? Because you cannot see outside of you what you fail to see inside. Because you cannot see outside of you what you fail to see inside. What blindness do I need to be healed of? What keeps me from fully loving myself and others? 

If you think about it, we all have weaknesses. We all have our weak spots. We all have our blind spots. We all need some type of healing of something in our lives. 

How many times have you driven a car and got caught in that blind spot where that place where you’re about to change lanes, you don’t see the car next to you. The car in your next lane is in your blind spot. Maybe our blind spot is a poor self-image. We’re believing God doesn’t love me or God could never forgive me because maybe I can’t forgive or love myself. Maybe I’m too proud to admit weakness or to get help. Is that our blind spot? 

Jesus asks all of us today, “what do you want me to do for you?”  

I want to see. See what? People are mirrors. When they are in the presence of love, that’s what they reflect. When love, peace, happiness are absent, when we are blind, unable to live through eyes of faith, we have nothing to give out. Of what use it to have eyes if the heart is blind?