In our Gospel the blind man exclaimed on two occasions, “Son of David, have pity on me.” This exclamation along with a few others from scripture are associated with the Jesus Prayer. It is this prayer that is popular in the Orthodox Church where one simply recites, “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”
In 1st Thessalonians Saint Paul states, “pray without ceasing.” Such a command can seem to be impossible especially in the midst of a world which is as busy as ours. The Church is an important place for prayer to take place, but prayer must also be taken outside of these walls and integrated into who we are as a human person.
This means that our prayer is to be taken into the world and be lived. It is to take place while we are at work, at school, driving down the road, shopping at the store, when with family, when we are alone. Prayer must be an important part of our walk of faith. Without prayer we have no relationship with the Lord.
This blind man called out to the Lord on many occasions. He understood that He was the one for whom his heart longed. No matter the difficulty and set back of life he continued to cry out only the louder. We too must take his example upon us as we continue to cry out to the Lord in the midst of our own need.
The beauty of the Jesus Prayer is its simplicity. Despite its simplicity it is filled with so much meaning. It is to proclaim an understanding that Christ is God, that we are a sinner who is in need of His mercy, and lead us further into entering into communion with Him. We must be stirred out of our slumber and be placed into action that embraces a life of faith at all times.
Some can grow confused and think that they have nothing to grow in. God is an infinite reality and so is His love. Therefore, there is always something more that we are able to grow in. If we were to reach such a level of perfection then we would be God Himself and that would be a great impossibility for we are not God.
From the book The Way of the Pilgrim we are told: “Again, I started off on my wanderings. But now I did not walk along as before, filled with care. The invocation of the Name of Jesus gladdened my way. Everybody was kind to me. If anyone harms me I have only to think, ‘How sweet is the Prayer of Jesus!’ and the injury and the anger alike pass away and I forget it all.”
This is the prayer of the blind man, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” Likewise, this becomes our prayer, “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” Through these words ever placed upon our lips may we grow in love for God and our desire to serve His Gospel as the blind man came and “followed him on the way.”
