Excerpt from Luke 18:35-43

"Jesus stood still and ordered the [blind] man to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, 'What do you want me to do for you?'"

Reflection by Martin B. Copenhaver

Jesus asks so many questions in the four gospels—307 different questions, to be exact.  Some of his questions are profound, while others are probing.  And then there are the silly questions.  For instance, when Peter tries walking on water and eventually begins to sink, Jesus asks, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

That sounds like a silly question to me.  Why did Peter doubt?  Because he was trying to walk on water, that's why.

When a blind man cries out to Jesus as he passes by on the road to Jericho, Jesus responds by asking him, "What do you want me to do for you?"

Is that just another silly question?  I mean, if you are blind, of course what you want most of all is to have your sight restored.  Does Jesus have to ask?

But we have to be careful here.  Most of us have a tendency to assume that we know what another person needs or wants, particularly if that person is dealing with some kind of challenge or disability.  Perhaps what the blind man wants, more than anything else in the world, is something other than the restoration of his sight.  He might respond to Jesus' question by saying, "I most want to be reconciled with my father," or, "I want to share a life with someone."  One of those, or something else entirely, might be his deepest yearning.  You will only know if you ask.

So when Jesus asks, "What do you want me to do for you?' he is showing respect for the man.  He is not presuming to know what he wants.  He is asking.  And he is listening.

Prayer

O God, help me to respond to the needs of people without presuming to know what those needs are.  Give me the wisdom to ask and to listen. Amen.

About the Author Martin B. Copenhaver is Senior Pastor, Wellesley Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Wellesley, Massachusetts. He is the author, with Lillian Daniel, of This Odd and Wondrous Calling: the Public and Private Lives of Two Ministers.

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