Dirt from Siloam
A friend of mine had just come back from the Holy Land. As he discussed his excursion, he reached into his pocket and gave me a small plastic film tube that he had taken with him on his trip.
“What’s this?” I asked
“It’s dirt…from the pool of Siloam. I thought you might appreciate having a souvenir from the Holy Land. You know, Jesus healed the man born blind there.”
I thanked him as he left, puzzled about what I would do with a vial of dirt! I looked up the Gospel of John, Chapter 9. It says:
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
9 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
“But what am I supposed to do with a vial of dirt?” I asked myself
I put it in the top drawer of my dresser. It’s the drawer where I collect things that I might find useful in the foreseeable future. Such as my old pair of glasses, a watch I only wear on special occasions, spare pocket change, a compass and various other sundry items. You never know when they might come to be useful.
At the time my wife and I had a prayer ministry to reach out to fellow parishioners at our church, neighbors and to friends in a charismatic community to which we belonged. Not long after, Suzanne announced, “Ellis and Marianne want to come over and have us pray with them.”
“When?”
“Wednesday afternoon. Ellis took the time off from work to be with Marianne.”
I knew this had to be important. Ellis and Marianne were newlyweds and trying to start a family. Suzanne may have had some prior knowledge, but I was clueless. They seemed to be a model couple and I often greeted them after Sunday Mass.
When Ellis and Marianne came into the house Suzanne and I tried to make them comfortable. Then I noticed something that I had not seen before. Ellis was guiding Marianne to her place. When she looked at me, here eyes weren’t focused.
We began by praying, “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.”
We began to pray charismatically and the room began to warm as we invited Jesus to send his Holy Spirit. I turned to Ellis to ask what needs they were coming for. He turned to Marianne and asked, “Do you want to tell them?”
She replied, “Yes. I just came from a specialist who is treating me for blindness that I have had since birth. I have always had partial sight, so it wasn’t a big deal until recently. I noticed that some of the print that I used to be able to read were no longer legible. Recently I took a vision exam and failed it completely. That’s when I was referred to a specialist whom I have been seeing recently.
The specialist tested m eyes and said that my left eye has degenerated to over a 90% loss while my right eye now has over 80% loss. My left eye is almost completely dark. I can only see a pinprick of light when I look at a light bulb. My right eye can see light, but I can no longer see anything but shadows and I am restricted from driving.
The worst of it is that the specialist has put me on steroids to see if they will arrest the degeneration. He has strictly ordered that, while I am on these steroids, Ellis and I should stop trying to have a baby.”
She burst into tears.
“That is my heart’s desire. To have babies.”
Suzanne, Ellis and I laid hands on Marianne and began to pray, asking Jesus to be with us and guide our prayers for healing.
Suddenly the vial of dirt came to mind. “If I can heal with that dirt, so can you.” The thought kept coming back. Jesus smeared mud made of spittle and dirt and rubbed it on the blind man’s eyes. The whole idea seemed odd.
I went to my room and got the vial of dirt. I opened the top and poured some dirt into the palm of may hand. It was gritty and, well…dirty. I held it in my upturned hand, looking at it.
“It’s dirt from the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem.” I explained.
“Spit on it.” Said the Voice.
I’m looking at the dirt and my mind revolted. “It’s so unsanitary!”
I asked Suzanne to find me some Holy Water. She who is never without her sacramentals went looking but couldn’t find any Holy Water. A minute later she came back, shaking her head.
“Spit on it!” the Voice insisted.
My mouth suddenly went dry. I wanted to ask Suzanne to do it instead, but she wasn’t hearing the Voice. Reluctantly, I tried spitting. I blew out a puff of air instead. Some of the grit blew out of my hand.
I tried again. Some spit came out, but hardly wetted the dirt. The third time enough spit came out to moisten the dirt. I mixed it to make a paste with my finger. It certainly was not the best mud that I had seen. It was still gritty with clay and small particles of gravel.
I asked Marianne, “Do you wish me to rub this mud over your eyes?
“Yes, please.”
“Close your eyes.” I said
She closed her eyes and tilted her face upward as I smeared the mud on my fingertip and applied it over her eyelids. Mud and grit smeared over her closed eyes. The thought occurred to me that this could hurt her eyes if she opened them.
“As Jesus healed the blind man with mud made from this dirt and spit, I anoint you in His name and in the Name of the Holy Spirit.”
Marianne did not flinch. “Thank you.”
I felt a bit of a let-down after this prayer, as if to say that we had accomplished what we set out to do. Suzanne gave Marianne a tissue to wipe her eyes.
Marianne mentioned that she had scheduled a follow-up appointment with the specialist in two days. I asked if she would get back to us and let us know how it went. She agreed.
Two days later I sat near the phone all evening to receive her phone call. It didn’t come. Perhaps she had forgotten. Doubts set in. I didn’t see Ellis and Marianne in church. Were they avoiding me? Was this a farce or was it real? I decided to forget the whole episode.
Two weeks later our doorbell rang. I went to answer. It was Marianne. “Where’s Ellis?”
“He’s working late. I drove over by myself to thank you for praying with me.”
Then it dawned on me. She was healed. I invited her into the house.
“The specialist cancelled my appointment and rescheduled it for this week. During that time my eyesight came back.”
“What did he say?” I asked
“He says that my right eye has regained one hundred percent of its vision. It is now better than it ever was since I was born. The left eye had regained over 90% of its faculties with a small flaw that would not cause any restrictions.
His comment was that the steroids were used to arrest the degeneration of my eyesight. They could not have affected a healing. He had no explanation for it. The best news is that I no longer need to take the steroids. I can have babies after a brief waiting period so that my body can eliminate most of the toxins from the steroids. He dismissed me with no follow-up appointment. “
Over the next year I watched as Marianne became pregnant and had a little girl. Shortly after, Ellis was transferred out of town. I have lost touch, other than hearing that Ellis and Marianne had four children.
Since that day I have lost track of that vial of dirt. I searched for it several times, with no success. I cannot remember giving it back to my friend…or not. Suzanne and I moved twice during our marriage. It never showed up again.
Leave a Reply