[dangus]

I don't feel negated at all... It's awe-inspiring what can be unfolded from an (apparently) simple passage.

But I still think it's going far to call mud and spit sacramental, and I still stand by my initial statement that Jesus was (yes, among other things, I concede) helping the man's faith by what he did...

I immediately thought of Genesis when considering the symbolism of the act, but I still am at a loss for saliva... except that's what folks did back then.

[Hermann the Cherusker]

All of Jesus' miracles also have a supernatural component to them. To be "born blind" and then be "given sight" is analogical to Baptism - being born blind of faith, hope and charity because of original sin, and then having them infused by divine grace. Mud and spittle does take us back to Genesis and the natural creation of the human race. Christ uses them here to teach about Baptism and the supernatural recreation of the human race.

The miracles also show that Christ is the divine physician, here to heal our bodies of all infirmities in the glory of the resurrection, and our souls of all infirmities by His sacramental grace.

The finest link of these things is in Mark 2, where the cripple is lowered through the roof to be healed and Christ says to him that hs sins are forgiven, rather than healing him. But when the pharisees are scandalized, Christ heals his body to proove his ability to forgive sins.