LET IT BE DONE
“Do you believe that I can do this?” – Mt. 9:28
For me, the key question of faith is not, “Does God exist?” or “Does God really love or care?” These are important philosophical and theological questions. However, the question, “Do I believe that God loves me?” has greater capacity to impact our lives. Wrestling with this query makes faith more personal. It risks relationship. It elicits both suspicion and trust.
Jesus gets to the heart of faith when he asks the two blind men in today’s Gospel: “Do you believe that I can do this? Their “Yes, Lord” response echoes their loud cry for mercy. It expresses trust and reveals open-heartedness, which allows the power of Jesus’ touch to heal. He reassures them, and us, that healing happens neither by magic nor by their own doing. It involves trust, which opens the flow of life through Jesus: “Let it be done for you according to your faith.”
I do believe that God loves me, a bit. But I struggle to let God truly heal my brokenness, free me from fear or following false voices in my life, empower me to forgive others and myself, guide me through the thicket of running a budding non-profit, and give me peace in the midst of current racial and political strife in the US.
Jesus’ question, “Do you believe that I can…?” invites more than a “yes” or “no” response from us. It beckons trust in the present moment, with its particular challenges. It uncovers to what extent you and I allow God to work in our lives. God, who is both intimate and incomprehensible, breathing whatever healing, acceptance, letting go, or heartache into our day.
Lord, help me today to respond, however hesitant: “Let it be done unto me.”