30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year 2, Oct.29, 2006

Scripture: Jeremiah 31:7-9. Psalm 126:1-6. Hebrews 5:1-6. Mark 10:46-52

In Mark's Gospel two men are cured of blindness; the first man is not named, but Bartimaeus is in the second narrative. He is immediately cured by Jesus. This is the last miracle Jesus will perform in the this Gospel. Bartimaeus hears that Jesus is passing by and he cries out, "Son of David, have pity on me." Jesus is near Jericho about sixteen miles from his destination, the temple in Jerusalem. Bartimaeus' faith and trust in Jesus as the Messiah comes directly from his heart, his whole person is involved in this profession of confident faith. His exclamation about Jesus being the Son of David has only been divined by the demons, so the man somehow breaks through what is called the "messianic secret" of Mark. I like this prayer which is so close to the Jesus Prayer, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me" or simply Lord Jesus, have mercy on me. We hear it at the beginning of our liturgy, Kyrie, eleison.

Up to this chapter in Mark, we know that the disciples who are following Jesus do not have Bartimaeus vision of faith even though they see Jesus and can listen and touch him. Their thoughts were still fixed on his being the messianic king who would liberate them from the oppression of the Romans who were occupying their sacred land of Israel. They did not have faith of the heart and thus did not see Jesus for who he really is, Son of God, Son of Man. James and John, the brother-disciples, want to be seated at the right and left of this messianic king and this incident causes quite an angry stir among the other ten disciples. Jesus has already told them three times that he would be going up to Jerusalem to suffer and be put to death, but they are deaf and blind to what he means. Even Peter fails him and Jesus calls the Rock an obstacle to what he intends to undergo in Jerusalem. Jesus is the Suffering Servant Messiah. When this does come about the other disciples flee from the sight where he will die. Peter denies him, and Judas has betrayed him. What a pitiable team he has. All twelve were spiritually blind while Bartimaeus was spiritually able to see with twenty-twenty vision. He saw Jesus for who he really is.

Do I see Jesus as simply a person who can heal me? Do I call upon him only in my difficult times and forget about him most of the time? Do I see Jesus in persons? Do I see Jesus in my family or my community members? Does my faith heal me of my spiritual torpor and blindness? And am I also deaf to the words of Jesus?

To be a disciple of Jesus, I must like Bartimaeus cry out to the Lord with full throat, and then, once cured of my blindness continue with Jesus on the way to the Cross. May Jesus say to me, "Be on your way ( the Way of the Cross) and follow me! It is your faith that has healed you." Amen.