THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
24 OCTOBER 2021
On
most Sundays in this liturgical year, we have been hearing from the Gospel of
Saint Mark. He begins his Gospel with
these simple words: “The beginning of
the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
Having revealed this truth, he chronicles how Jesus slowly reveals the
truth about himself to his contemporaries.
After being baptized in the Jordan by John the Baptist and tempted in
the desert by Satan, Jesus begins his Galilean ministry by calling people to
follow him. Those first disciples saw
people drawn to Jesus in large numbers, because he proclaimed that the kingdom
of God was in their midst. As they
walked with him on his way to Jerusalem, the saw him revealing his identity as
the Son of God by working many miracles:
curing the sick, healing lepers, driving out demons, feeding thousands
of people with five loaves and two fish, and calming a dangerous storm on the
Sea of Galilee. They even witnessed
Simon Peter identify him as the Christ, the long awaited Messiah.
But they
were so focused on seeing Jesus as a conquering hero that they could not see
their beloved teacher as a suffering servant who would be crucified at the end
of their way to Jerusalem. Even though
Jesus has clearly told them this truth three times, their eyes were
blinded. Last week, James and John
revealed their blindness by asking Jesus for positions of power, authority, and
fame. They were unable to “see” that
true disciples are humble servants.
Today,
Jesus begins his final ascent to Jerusalem.
He and his disciples are part of a large group of pilgrims on their way
to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem. They
are in Jericho, the oldest and lowest city on the earth at 850 feet below sea
level. A blind man begging for scraps of
bread “sees” the truth about Jesus that had eluded the disciples with good
physical eyesight. He cries out, “Jesus,
son of David, have pity on me.” Even
though other people in the crowd try to silence him, he calls even louder, “Son
of David, have pity on me.” Jesus calls
him to come to him. Unlike the rich
young man who could not give away his many possessions to follow Jesus,
Bartimaeus leaves behind his only possession – the cloak that would keep him
from freezing at night. Jesus asks him
the same question he had asked James and John, “What do you want me to do for
you?” Bartimaeus states, “Master, I want
to see.” Jesus is impressed with his
deep faith. He grants his request and
tells him to go his way.
Grateful
for the gift of physical eyesight, Bartimaeus does not go his own way. Having “seen” the truth about Jesus instead
of imitating the blind ambition of the disciples, he follows him along the
way. He will enter Jerusalem to see
crowds welcoming Jesus with shouts of “Hosanna to the Son of David.” Later in the week, he will see him betrayed,
tortured, and crucified. He would see
him raised from the dead three days later.
Some have suggested that the name of this blind man is remembered,
because he became one of the earliest disciples who embraced the message of
sharing in the Lord’s cross and his call to humble service.
We too are
disciples walking on the way to the new and eternal Jerusalem. We can be blinded by our desires for honor
and power and fame. The Lord can open
our eyes to see him in the poor and those who reach out to us in need. He can open our eyes to see his presence in
this Body of Christ in the midst of anger and political divisions. He helps us to see that we share in his
redemptive work when we bear our crosses and endure those sufferings that are
thrust upon us. We too can see the truth
as Bartimaeus saw it and follow him on the way.
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