Tuesday. [Heb. 9:8-10, 15-23; Mark 8:22-26]

   The Lord did not heal the blind man of Bethsaida right off—He first healed him a little, and then completely, so that he began to see everything clearly. Why the Lord did this is known to Him Alone. We can get from this the following thought: if it was considered necessary to heal bodily vision gradually, then even further is such gradualness indispensable in the enlightenment of the eyes of our mind. So it was. In the patriarchal period, God-revealed knowledge was not intricate; in the period under the law it became more intricate and detailed; in our Christian period it is even more detailed and exalted; but is this the end? Do not expect anything higher on the earth; it will be [revealed] in the other world. Two holy apostles assure us of this: saints John and Paul. Now we see everything through a glass darkly; but then we will see everything clearly. But even there, there will be degrees of enlightenment of the mind, for the sphere of the knowledge of God is boundless. God’s revelation on earth is already complete; there is no point in dreaming about something higher. We have everything we need; learn it and live by it. Christian revelation does not promise new revelation in the future, but only that the Gospels will be known in the whole world, and that this universality and generality of knowledge of the Gospels is the limit to the existence of the current order of things. After this, faith will weaken, love will dry up, life will become difficult—and God’s goodness will put an end to the world.