From the Gospel reading from today’s Mass:

Mark 8:22-26

When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethsaida,
people brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.
Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on the man and asked,
“Do you see anything?”
Looking up the man replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.”
Then he laid hands on the man’s eyes a second time and he saw clearly;
his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.
Then he sent him home and said, “Do not even go into the village.”

We are alcoholics for whatever the reason, whatever the origins. We want and need a healing. Not necessarily with the idea of ever drinking again, but a healing of the craving and compulsion to drink.

And so we turn to Jesus, who came not for the healthy, but for the sick.
(Mark 2:17 Jesus heard this and said to them (that), “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”)

And so Jesus healed the blind man. But one curious thing, the man was not healed immediately. Why? The notes in the NAB translation say that it is symbolic of the gradual illumination of the Apostles eyes to the wisdom of Christ’s teachings. Probably, but let us take a harmless liberty and approach it from the perspective of this blog.

In our alcoholism, we frequently wanted things, and wanted them NOW. The same may be true in our recovery. We want to be better right away.

As this Gospel example shows Jesus healed the blind man, but gradually. We need to take this to heart. We can prayerfully request for Jesus to heal us of our afflictions, but the healing may take time. But as the episode shows, it will occur.

We have to learn patience and in God’s time we will be healed.

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