Weekend Fiction - Meditation on a Miracle

It was a Tuesday morning. I had just sat down in my normal spot, on the steps of the village synagogue. The clink of a few mites in my cup tells me that one of the rulers must have just passed by. Obviously he must have many things to do today, and doesn't have time to stop and talk to a blind beggar like me.

Here come Stephen and Nico, I could hear Stephen's loud voice from the other side of the village. Just like always, Nico snatched my cup off the ground.

"Let's see what you've got for me today!" In his everyday ritual, he pretends to empty the cup into his own pocket. The cup is always a little bit heavier when he gives it back to me though. I wonder if he knows that I've been seeing through his little act for about the last 5 years?

I don't like to sit here begging, but there's not a lot else to do. Today though, Stephen had another plan.

"C'mon lazy bones, get up!" he shouted; "We've got big plans today!"

I hated to think what he had planned; last time he dragged us out into the country for a supposed wedding feast:

"Don't worry about it," he said; "We'll just say we're cousins of the groom. They'll let us right in."

They let us right in all right, it's just too bad the host was a rebellion sympathizer. I wish I could have the seen the look on Stephens face when a contingent of Roman soldiers broke in and hauled off a few zealots.

Sensing my reluctance he quieted down a bit and said

"Don't worry about it, it's nothing like what you're thinking. That prophet Jesus is in town and we're going to go listen to him."

"Jesus?!" I blurted. "Are you kidding?! I've heard the Pharisees talking about him. This is going to be nothing but trouble."

"Don't you know anything?" Nico chimed in; "He does miracles, He's got to be the Messiah."

"Miracles? I'll believe that when I see it." I snapped. They paused, taken back at my sudden anger and my bad joke.

Then, to make them feel better, I decided to go with them. "Why not," I said; "It can't hurt just to go and listen to him."

"All right then!" Stephen said, clapping his hands and pulling me to my feet. "Let's go before the crowds show up."

I've heard about these so-called miracles that this Jesus guy did, but I've also heard too many people telling too many wild stories to believe something like this. I even heard that one woman had been healed just by touching the edge of his cloak, like that would ever happen. Besides, if this Jesus really is the Messiah or the Son of God or whatever, what was he coming to our insignificant village for? If he's anything like any religious ruler I've ever known, he's so tied up in religion that he doesn't have time for anyone insignificant like us.

When we got there, he was talking to the crowds around him, telling them about the 'Kingdom of Heaven' and the corrupt Pharisees. They were all sitting quietly and listening to him. They all watched as Stephen and Nico marched right up to Jesus.

"Rabbi!" Stephen boomed, "Please heal our blind friend here."

I've never been so embarrassed in my life! I wanted to just run away, but then the crowd started shouting. "Heal him, Messiah, Heal him!"

As his disciples tried to quiet the crowd, Jesus led me away, outside of the village. I didn't say anything; I just let him lead me by the wrist.

"Your friend is really bold," He said, "Quite a bit like a friend of mine."

"He likes to talk, but sometimes it gets him into trouble." I said, "This whole thing was his idea"

"Don't you want to be healed?" He asked.

Just like that. "Don't you want to be healed? As if it were that easy. Then I thought about it. There was no doubt in his voice, just the quiet authority of a man who knows exactly who he is and where he is going. What if this really was the Messiah? Then, I thought, what if he does heal me? It's going to turn my whole world upside down. Finally, I thought of my wife, who I hadn't seen for 6 years and my 3 year old daughter who I might never see.

Like a drowning man, I suddenly grabbed on to Jesus.

"Lord, please heal me!"

"You could learn a lot about faith from your friend." He said with a smile in his voice. Stepping back a bit, he spat on the ground, making mud. He took some and put it on my eyes.

"Do you see anything?" He asked.

I looked and said, "I see people, they look like trees walking around."

Again, Jesus put his hands on my eyes. This time, when he took them away I could see!

This man is the Messiah; He has to be!

"Thank you Lord." I said.

"Don't go back into the village" He said, "go home to your family first." "Do you think you can find the way?"

"I could find it blindfolded!" I said; a really bad joke.

He laughed then turned and walked back to the crowds. I ran all the way home, then opened the door and looked into the prettiest brown eyes I had ever seen.