Le 19 Février

Évangile de Jésus Christ selon saint Marc

(Mc 8, 22-26)

Jésus et ses disciples arrivent à Bethsaïde. On lui amène un aveugle et on le supplie de le toucher.
Jésus prit l'aveugle par la main et le conduisit hors du village. Il lui mit de la salive sur les yeux et lui imposa les mains. Il lui demandait : « Est-ce que tu vois quelque chose ? »
Ayant ouvert les yeux, l'homme disait : « Je vois les gens, ils ressemblent à des arbres, et ils marchent. »
Puis Jésus, de nouveau, imposa les mains sur les yeux de l'homme ; celui-ci se mit à voir normalement, il se trouva guéri, et il distinguait tout avec netteté.
Jésus le renvoya chez lui en disant : « Ne rentre même pas dans le village. »

Le message

Jésus a conduit l’homme par la main hors du village. Il l’a conduit hors du brut de la société, hors de son habitude et de sécurité, hors de tout ce qu’il vit aujourd’hui. Ce déplacement est important pour que nous découvrions la lumière du Christ.

Pour un aveugle ce geste du Seigneur de le prendre à la main, n’a seulement guéri son aveuglement et son solitude dans l’ombre, mais également a rétablit de nouveau une relation personnelle avec son créateur, qui le transforma et l’amena vers la lumière.

Le conseil du Seigneur nous étonne. Il le renvoya chez lui, non pas au village. Jésus pense non seulement à cet homme guéri, mais aussi au peuple de sa maison. Il va leurs apporter la lumière de l’espérance à travers le fils de la maison. Partageons-nous la lumière du Christ dont nous parle Jacques dans la première lecture avec nos frères et sœurs ?

In English

Gospel text (Mc 8,22-26):

When Jesus and his disciples came to Bethsaida, Jesus was asked to touch a blind man who was brought to him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had put spittle on his eyes and laid his hands upon him, he asked, «Can you see any­thing?». The man, who was beginning to see, replied, «I see people! They look like trees, but they move around». Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again and the man could see perfectly. His sight was restored and he could see everything clearly. Then Jesus sent him home saying, «Do not return to the village».

The message

In this simple healing touch of Jesus there are quite a lot message hidden for us to discover. The first one the first step of Jesus. He takes him out of the village. He is taking him out of the noise of the society, from the habitue, from the security, etc. Taking a journey out to an unknown place is a risk in life. If we put faith in the Lord and ready to take these less traveled road, there is always the possibility of a new life, an unknown entity in life, which will one day transform our existence. Are we ready to follow the new way Jesus is proposing us today?

The second one is the personal touch of Jesus. He always wishes to establish a personal relationship with us. It is important to create an ambiance of silence and solitude away from the crowd, to establish this deep personal relationship. Once established, we are called to go back to the society. Today by healing this man twice, Jesus affirms of the perfection of the healing. Not only the blindness is removed, the person is totally transformed. Every personal contact with Jesus will transform the person in its totality. Does our contact with our brothers and sisters help them to get transformed?

The third aspect is the counsel that Jesus gives to this man. By asking him to go back to the family, Jesus thinks not only this healed person, but He goes beyond him, and through him Jesus reaches to all the members of this man’s family, so that they also participate in this light, the light of Christ. Do we take this light to our brothers and sisters and are we the light of Christ to others?