Coffee With God

Reflection: Matthew 9: 27-31

Today the Church celebrates the witness of life and missionary example of Saint Francis Xavier. Co-founder of the Society Jesus, his apostolate span across southern India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, parts of Indonesia and Japan. He died in Shangchuan Island, in China at the age of 46. St. Francis Xavier is a patron of all the missions of the Catholic Church. The Gospel today speaks two blind men following Jesus. Reflecting on the scene of these two following the Lord, a simple thought attracts our imagination! How could the blind men catch up with Jesus unless Jesus slowed down for their sake? In all likelihood, Jesus heard their shouting, knew their plight, welcomed their desire, and wanted them to catch up with him. And when they did, he tested their faith and trust in him. In response to their proclamation of faith, Jesus healed them. These men were overwhelmed with their cure, and their emotion overtook them. Jesus instructed them to “See that no one knows about this” miraculous healing. But their excitement could not be contained. They did not know how else to express their joy other than by telling others that now they could see and this man named Jesus healed them. A possible reason why Jesus told them not to tell others about Him could be because He knew they did not fully understand who He was. He knew that their testimony about Him would fail to present His true identity. They would present Jesus as the miracle worker, “Son of David” – the Saviour! But what they did not know is that this Saviour saves through His sufferings, humiliation, torture and death. Oftentimes we can also fall into the trap of misunderstanding Who Jesus is. Indeed, we believe that Jesus is the saviour. But the danger is that we want a “god” who acts according to our will and desires. We want a “god” who will heal us and free us of every earthly burden. But the God of Jesus is a different God. He taught us that we must take up our own crosses and follow Him; that sufferings, pain and death are very much part of our life in faith. A false understanding of God would frustrate people when they are faced with struggles of life. Many people question God and give up faith in God when confronted with agonies in life. It is because of their wrong notion of God. Our faith in God shall not be because He performs miracles but because He has assured us Heaven!