Our first reading this weekend includes Paul’s exhortation to the Romans “to be patient with the scruples of those whose faith is weak.” He calls them to “please” their neighbors in order to build up their spirits. And then he even adds this sort of prayer: “May God, the source of all patience and encouragement, enable you to live in perfect harmony with one another according to the spirit of Christ Jesus.”

Paul’s advice, in essence, is to live like Jesus lived since that way of living increases your greater union with God. He says: “Accept one another, then, as Christ accepted you, for the glory of God.” We bring God glory when we live like He intended us to live. He has revealed to us how He intended humans to live. He gave us a model in the Person of Jesus. Like Jesus we are to love others as we love ourselves.

Our second reading, taken from Matthew’s Gospel, contains two of Jesus’ miracles, namely the curing of the two blind men and the curing of a possessed deaf-mute. The structure of this part of Matthew’s Gospel may be related to the theological development of the miracle. In this section he includes, in addition to the two miracles we hear about in today’s reading, the curing of the ruler’s daughter. The three miracles touch death, blindness and the loss of speech and hearing. Matthew’s intention is to present a comprehensive summary of the saving power of Jesus.

When you think about these two readings together, you realize that the message is twofold. When we attempt to live like Jesus we are cured of (1) any “blindness” that prevents us from seeing the world and ourselves as God sees us, and (2) any inability to “speak about” or “hear about” the love of God for us and all of His creation. I truly believe that something wonderful happens to us when we look at life in a manner that God does. Despite life’s challenges and struggles, we see the goodness in life and we understand that all the events of life are meant to help us spiritually grow and become more like Jesus – to become more aware of being God’s children, created out of unconditional love.

When we can truly state to ourselves that we know that God loves us, I believe we begin to find the meaning and purpose of life and also the beauty and wonder of life. Life becomes the joyful experience that God intends