After the little discussion on the boat about leaven, Jesus and his disciples arrive at Bethsaida (Mk 8:22-26).  Here He cures a blind man at the behest of the people of the area.  The first attempt at healing results in some vision restoration, but only dimly.  The second time Jesus touches his eyes, he sees perfectly.  We don’t read elsewhere about a gradual healing such as this, so what is going on here?  An interesting thing to note is that others begged for healing for the sightless man, not the man himself.  Maybe he was unconvinced of Jesus power or just unaware of His exploits.  His openness to the possibility of healing being effected may have been limited.  Thus, it was only after receiving some sight that he became convinced that a full restoration was possible.  This sort of response should not be surprising to us.  We should be aware that our own healing can be limited by not having full trust in the Lord.  God’s grace is infinite, but the amount we receive is based on our disposition.  Being completely faithful and trusting will provide the graces we need to receive the kind of healing that a perfect Father wishes to grant us.  Similarly, when we deal with others, we should not be disappointed if our efforts to bring them closer to the Lord seem not to be yielding fruit.  Doing the right thing, planting the seed, will yield rewards in due season, when they are ready.  So take heart, even though we may not realize the fruit of our labors this side of heaven.

After leaving Dalmanutha due to a confrontation with the Pharisees, Jesus now has to deal with a problem with His own disciples in the boat in which they are traveling (Mk 8:14-21).  Jesus’ companions are clearly concerned about their bellies, since they find they are running short on bread.  Jesus asks them to look beyond that to “guard against the leaven of the Pharisees” per there many recent encounters with members of this group.   Yet they continue to lack understanding of an important spiritual matter (the Pharisees’ corruption and hypocrisy) as they focus on a minor physical concern (apparently they had forgotten that in recent days, in two separate episodes, Jesus multiplied food miraculously for a total of 9000 persons).  Let us not get caught in the trap of focusing so much on temporary physical needs that we neglect spiritual needs that have eternal ramifications.  Do not delay prayer, good works, total dedication to the Lord, due to earthly concerns.  We don’t save these until after this or that need or concern is taken care of.  We may find that when the Lord calls, we will never have gotten to these important matters.  What will we say, then, when we meet the Lord face to face?

The short gospel reading (Mk 8:11-13) takes up where Saturday’s left off.  After feeding the four thousand Jesus and His disciples went by boat to Dalmanutha.  Apparently immediately some Pharisees confront Jesus (as we have seen, a recurring theme in Mark).  Jesus is asked by the Pharisees to give them a sign from heaven.  He responds with the line above and tells them they will not get a sign.  How often do we seek a sign?  If, God, You only do this or that, I will believe.  If you heal me I will totally dedicate myself to You.  If my spouse pulls through this disease, I will work constantly for You.  Let us not ask the Lord to prove Himself.  He already has since the beginning of time.  Can we ask for things?  Of course; God wants to know our heart’s desire.  Our fervent prayers are always heard.  But remember: “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Mt 6:8 — immediately followed by the Our Father so a good prayer for us when asking for a special intention).  And, believe it or not, He knows what is best for us better than we do.  The operative words are assent, submission, and humility.  Trust God fully, regardless of our desired outcome, and all will be well.  And if we have trouble seeing it or understanding it in this life, we will certainly be enlightened in the next.  We do not want to have happen to us what happened to the Pharisees: Jesus immediately left for another region.  Who knows what great works He would have performed there if He wasn’t rebuffed.  In our day, we don’t want to remove ourselves from Him due to our lack of faith.

Today we pick up where we left off last Sunday, coming toward the end of the first chapter of Mark (vv. 40-45).  A leper begs Jesus to cure Him and He does.  Jesus tells the man to show the priests and do the proper cleansing, but tell no one about Him.  The cured man does not heed Jesus’ admonition to keep the nature of the healing to himself, but rather tells everyone.  Not only could Jesus then not enter towns, but even when He tried to seclude Himself, people found Him.  But let us go back to when the leper encounters Jesus.  His first words are those in the headline of this post.  We should be using those same words today.  For some, this might be a plea for physical healing.  More importantly, regardless of our bodily health, is the mending of our souls.  The stain of sin has much more far reaching effects — in this life and the next — than any disease of the flesh (remember Mt 5:29 — our eternal destination is far more important than any particular body part).  Fortunately, the Fount of Mercy, Jesus, is always waiting for our sincere appeal for forgiveness to make us clean.  The ordinary means to receive those graces is through the Sacrament of Revelation.  Take advantage of the “medicine box” of the confessional often.  And if it has been awhile — even many years — do not hesitate to have the weighty burden of many sins lifted from you.

Moving on to the next chapter, Mark (8:1-10) relates another episode of a miraculous feeding of a large crowd (the previous one, in chapter 6 [vv. 31-44] was skipped).  Jesus, pitying the crowd who have been with Him for three days, wishes to feed them before they leave.  He asks the disciples what is on hand: seven loaves.  He blesses and distributes these with some fish and all are fed and leftovers besides.  After they eat their fill (see above) and clean up, Jesus dismisses them and moves on to another region.  We, too, have the opportunity to be with Jesus, and we can take advantage any time.  Commonly noted is the eucharistic allusion in this story.  Through Mass, spiritual communion, and prayer, Jesus is always available to satisfy the hunger that only God can fill.  The more we are open to the graces available to us in the sacraments, the more we will be satiated.

Jesus moves on from Tyre to the Decapolis (Mk 7:31-37).  Here He heals a deaf man with a speech impediment.  Afterwards, “He ordered them not to tell anyone; but the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it.” (v.36)  The people then declared the line above.  Now, today, we have no such prohibition from the Lord.  In fact, His parting words urge the opposite: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” (Mk 16:15)  Personal testimony about how God has done “things well” in our life is a very powerful witness.  We should reflect often on these blessings.  Then we will not be shy, timid, or afraid to let “every creature” know of the wonderful graces we have received.  Our joy will be powerful in making others desire what we have.

Jesus now moves on from His home to Tyre (Mk 7:24-30).  Hoping to be alone, His presence quickly becomes known.  A Gentile woman approaches Jesus to beg for her daughter to be released from the demonic.  Jesus tells her: “Let the children be fed first.  For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” (v. 27)  The woman responds with the words above.  She was not put off by Jesus seemingly harsh words.  Rather, she acknowledges her unworthiness, but presses Jesus anyway, realizing His power.  Her great faith and humility led to the exorcism of her daughter.  This woman is a wonderful example for us.  As did she, we should also recognize our unworthiness before the Lord and approach Him with the same confidence and meekness.  We can be certain of an answer to our pleadings, even if we receive what is not expected at a time we don’t expect it.

Jesus follows His encounter with the Pharisees by turning His attention back to the crowd (Mk 7:14-23).  He follows up on His previous discussion by pointing out that defiling comes from within not from without.  Explaining this further at home to His disciples, He describes many evils that can lurk in the heart of man that defile him.  Here we recall Peter’s vision reaffirming the ritual cleanness of all creatures (Acts 10:11-16).  It is not some culinary ritual that makes a person free from iniquity.  It is his disposition.  It is worth providing the entire list of sins Jesus spoke of: “evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.” (v. 22)  Not a bad checklist for our own daily examination of conscience, and particularly worth reviewing prior to sacramental confession.  Being aware of the vices that defile us — and their gravity — is the initial step in working on removing these faults.  Jesus constantly challenges us in the gospels.  Hardly more so than in this episode.

Moving to chapter seven of Mark (vv. 1-13) after finishing the previous chapter yesterday, Jesus is again pursued by the Pharisees and scribes.  This time, Jesus is questioned about why certain of His disciples do not follow Pharisaic law regarding hand washing.  Jesus berates the questioners for holding on to traditions developed by their party, even to the point of using them to overrule (“nullify” — v. 13)  Mosaic law from God.  Thus the line at the top of this post, which has Jesus quoting Isaiah (29:13).  Elsewhere, Jesus said, “Not every one who says to me, `Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Mt 7:21)  Today we would say “Actions speak louder than words.”  Not that words are unimportant, but our actions and dispositions should match the goods things that come from our mouths.  An ongoing conversion of heart is possible most efficaciously through the Sacraments, which are the ordinary channels of grace that God provided through Jesus’ institution.  We must take advantage of these often, so that our hearts and lips are both used more perfectly for God’s glory.

The weekday readings continue today as we jump ahead to the end of Mark 6 (53-56 — skipped were the feeding of the five thousand and Jesus walking on water [vv. 34-52]).  Getting off the boat in Genessaret, Jesus and His disciples, with Jesus fame preceding Him, are immediately descended upon by those bringing the sick that He might heal them.  And Jesus healed them all.  The power of faith.  We have even more of an advantage.  We do not have to settle for touching Jesus’ clothing.  We have the opportunity to receive Him fully in Holy Communion.  What great healing of all types can be ours if we receive in faith and thus are open to the infinite graces available in this sacrament “par excellence” (Pope Benedict XVI, Homily delivered by satellite for the closing of the forty-ninth International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec, June 22, 2008).  Take advantage of it as often as possible.