Before healing two blind men Christ said, “Let it be done to according to your faith.” We ask God for many things in our lives, but we rarely ask in faith. Instead of rambling a list of demands for God, ask Him to open your eyes to see the blessings He has already given to you.

Transcript:

My brothers and sisters, in this morning’s gospel, we hear a couple of miracles, but as always, the story is not about the miracle, it is about faith, and in this case, it is about the response of the faith. These two blind men came up to Christ begging him, begging him to have mercy on them. And Christ says, “Do you believe that I can do this for you?” They said, “Of course, we believe. Yes Lord.” And the gospel says that he touched their eyes saying, “According to your faith, let it be done to you,” and their eyes were opened. You see, in that moment, their faith was challenged because Christ said he’s putting their faith to the test. Christ said, “As long as you believe, according to your belief, it will be done.” Now, I don’t know about you, but I would’ve been thinking in that moment, “Uh-oh, is my faith really strong enough or am I just asking God for something?” We do that every time. We wake up in the morning, we ask God for stuff. God, I want this, God, I want that, God help me this, God help me there. But do we ever ask ourselves, are we asking these in faith or are we just rambling requests out to God?

Imagine the challenge they must have felt in their heart at that moment when Christ says, okay. As he’s touching their eyes, he says, “According to your faith, may it be done,” and their eyes were opened. They must’ve been really relieved. But then Christ says, “Make sure no one knows what happened.” And what does the gospel say? But when they had departed, they spread the news about him in all that country, not just to their family, but everywhere they went, they shared the news of what God had done for them. They couldn’t keep quiet about the blessings that God had given them. They could see long before their vision was restored, because in their hearts they could see the love of God. And their faith was so strong, my brothers and sisters, that the entire area learned of God’s power and his love and of his grace.

Now, let’s get back to us. We ask God for all of these things in our life, for all of these blessings in our life, this list of demands that we’re always giving to God in our prayers. And God says to us, “Do you believe?” So the first thing we have to do is we have to challenge our faith. Are we asking out of faith or are we just rambling requests out to God? And then when God does bless us, what is our response? Is our response to remain silent as if, ooh, I don’t want to tell anybody because I want to be special. I want to have the love of God. Or is our faith so profound like these two blind men, that we will go not just to anyone, but to everyone and tell them how God has blessed us?

In order for that to happen to my brothers and sisters, two things have to be true. First, we have to have faith. But second, and maybe more important, is we have to love God enough to understand the blessings that he in fact has already given to us. It’s not about the list of demands, it’s about the very life that he has given us. The very opportunity to come into this church and worship him freely. The very opportunity to share his love with other people. These are the blessings that God has given to us. And if we have enough faith to receive them, those blessings will change our lives and open our eyes to God’s love. And then we send out and go to our friends. Let me tell you what God has done for me. Let me tell you how God has helped me turn my life around. It’s not about wealth. It’s not about a new job. It’s not about physical blessings from God. It is about the opportunity to see him and to love him and to feel his grace and love in return. This is how he opens our eyes to see his blessings and to share his blessings. And the gospel tells us what happens when we have the wrong response. The story continues.

There was a demon possessed man who came and was healed by God, and as the crowds were so marveled, the Pharisees, the ones who should have known better, the religious elites of their day, if you will, instead of seeing God’s blessings like the blind men, the Pharisees instead said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.” They were so blind to his love that instead of sharing his grace and mercy with other people, they accused him of being a demon. You see, my brothers and sisters, this is spiritual blindness. When we refuse to see the blessings right in front of us … God has done amazing things for us, we just never open our eyes to see it because we’re so busy rambling off our list of demands. And so I invite you, my brothers and sisters in your prayers every morning and every afternoon and every night, ask God one simple prayer. God, open my eyes to see your blessings so that I can appreciate and share the love with other people. And then allow your faith to pour open, opening your eyes and opening your heart to other people. Glory to God for all things.