First a side note: Genesis tells us that Noah, the first non-vegan in the Old Testament, was 601 years old when the flood waters began to dry up on the earth. Later we learn he died at the age of 950.
In order to accept such statements, it is necessary to have recourse to scholars who interpret Genesis stories in light of the culture when they were composed. That is a challenge for serious readers of the Bible and of Magis. Meet the challenge!
Now for the Gospel: Jesus wished to preform this miracle quietly, away from the crowd. There he shows the blind man how to grow in faith, progressively. I too can grow in faith by being aware of the discrete yet powerful action of the Lord in myself and in those around me, in the Church and in our secular society.
Jesus’ cure comes from his divine nature; yet he exercises it though his human nature, showing me the power of the divine is manifested in and through the human, the created – through the ordinary. Jesus continues to act this way in the world today, particularly through the sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist.