INTRODUCTION:
The ancient Israelites suffered in exile as a result of their spiritual blindness and deaf ear to the oracles of the Yahweh. Bartimaeus in the gospel represents all human condition of wretchedness and desolation. Deprived of sight to perceive our God as a result of our sins, we are called today to beg for his mercy as he makes his way towards our path of misery and abandonment. It is a call to a renewal of our spiritual odyssey. We may have been held hostage by our pride, fear, or any other obstacle that keeps depriving us of the intervention of Jesus (like the crowd telling Bartimaeus to keep quiet), but with Bartimaeus, let us open our ears to hear the voice of Jesus asking, “what do you want me to do for you?” And let us pray for both freedom from spiritual blindness and growth in faith, saying, “Lord, I want to see.”
FIRST READING: Jeremiah 31:7-9
This prophesy of Jeremiah spanned within the period of Babylonian exile and desolation. The people at this time were far away from their land. They had lost their dynasty, their land as well as their temple. Thus, the chapter 31 in consonace with chapters 30, 32 and 33 were a radical articulation of hope for the exiled. They portray messages of consolation, liberation, homecoming, restoration as well as renewed relationship with their God. Specifically, the chapter 30 announces the restoration of Judah, while chapter 31 from which comes the excerpt of today’s message contains the prophesy of the restoration of the rest of Israel’s ten tribes. In other words, it bears a message of total restoration, not just Israel in General but all the families of Israel, and nothing will be left behind. In fact the mention of the blind and the lame means that, not even the least and the insignificant members of the house of Israel, the most infirm and unfit persons will be left out of God’s great plan of imminent restoration; all shall make their way back to their homeland. The time of slavery will soon be over. The time of forced labour and suffering will soon be in the past. They will soon regain their long awaited freedom. How will this take place? The prophet says that they shall come with weeping. This demonstrates a sign of regret for their past sins which caused their exile (Ps 126:5.6). They will weep, but their weeping will turn into joy (Jer. 50:4.5). The Lord himself will console his people and take them back home along the path of waters which he will create in the wilderness to refresh his thirsty people. The journey will not be rough like when they were dragged into slavery. It will be a smooth journey even for the blind and the lame because he will not allow any of them to stumble (Jer. 31:9). God will renew his paternity to his people: “I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first born” (v.9). This means that the ten tribes will no longer be severed from Judah, but will form one common people with it since God is their common Father.
Like the Israelites our sins and disobedience place us in a state of spiritual slavery needing the liberation of God. Yet even in our state of rebellion, God comes to renew his closeness and paternity everyday through various means made available for us to re-encounter him anew. His message of restoration resounds today to our hearing. The time of homecoming is here. He has offered to lead us out of our various states of slavery into freedom as his son’s and daughters. The situation that has rendered us blind and lame can no longer be an impediment for this imminent restoration, for he will lead us smoothly without any stumbling to a state total healing. This is what Jesus will do in the life of Bartimaeus in the gospel reading. He who was once in a state of darkness and wretchedness will eventually regain wholeness because God in Jesus decided to cross his way.
The Responsorial Psalm: 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6 chosen for today’s liturgy is the most appropriate psalm that blends with the first reading, because it is a hymn that equally celebrates the return of the people from Babylonian exile who left their home in great sorrow but now return with inexplicable joy: “They go out full of tears, carrying seed for sowing. The come back full of songs, carrying their sheaves.”( Ps 126:6)
SECOND READING: Hebrews 5:1-6
This passage of the letter to the Hebrews exhorts the priestly office as an office that mediates between God and his people. It is a call. This means that no one takes up the honour by himself. Being an office, it has both divine character as well as human character. It’s divine character is identified in the fact that it is God himself who calls and appoints. But this call is given to beings who are subject to sin and imperfection, needing also to offer sacrifices again and again for their own sins and the sins of the people. Hence the human character of the office. Meanwhile the office has been sanctified by Christ himself who is the high priest. The priesthood of the new covenant was established through the one perfect sacrifice offered once and for all by Christ. And every priest born of this covenant offers sacrifices to the Father in persona Christi capitis. And being sealed in the office of the priesthood of Christ, every priest of the new covenant wears the indelible mark of perpetuity. The mention of Melchizedek is a way the author wishes to express the eternity of the priesthood of Christ. Melchizedek is a historical figure (Gen. 14:18), but the writer of the letter to the Hebrews describes him as one who had no origin, no parents, no progeny. Thus Christ’ priesthood is in the order of Melchizedek. Therefore He is a Priest forever. He did not take up this honour for Himself. It was bestowed on Him by the Father to mediate between Him and his people. Thus the mediating character of the priesthood of Christ is explained in the gospel. He intervened in the situation of Bartimaeus through the restoration of his sight.
GOSPEL: Mark 10:46-52
The prophesy of restoration announced by Jeremiah in the first reading is fulfilled in the gospel. Mark tells his audience that this Jesus is the concrete and definitive revelation of God and that the promises of old has come to fulfilment in his days. The wretched human condition appears in both readings expressed in the concept of “blindness”, as well as the divine character of restoration. Mark made mention of the name of the blind man (Bartimaeus) as well as indicating his root (son of Timaeus). It simply implies that our God knows us through and through, and nothing about our identity escapes Him. It equally suggests that He does not work with impersonal and faceless crowd. He comes to meet us in our concrete personal human condition. He equally described the state of Bartimaeus. He calls him, “a blind beggar”. It shows that he was not just impeded health wise, but he was also dependent; a pure destitute. He represents all human condition of misery, begging for the mercy of God. Mark did not also tell his audience how long Bartimaeus had been in that condition. For him, it does not matter how long a wretched human condition may lasts. God is capable of taking care of every situation young or old. Every given human condition appeals to God’s mercy. And He is always moved with pity to respond. On a third note, it may not be the first time Jesus was crossing that path. And it is probably not the first time Bartimaeus has heard about Jesus, if not, he wouldn’t have been able to identify Him as the son of David. It tells us that we may be in a particular situation for a long time, and we may have prayed and sought for situation, but we only need to wait for the appointed day of the Lord. It will even happen when we least expect it. One would expect Jesus not to dive out the voice of Bartimaeus yelling for mercy from among the crowd, but that’s when he even heard him more clearly.
Bartimaeus represents the old Israel who has lost sight of his God as a result of sin and disobedience. And being cut off from his God, he lived in suffering and desolation, needing divine intervention. Jeremiah says that with weeping the people of God will return to their God. In connection to that, Mark presents Bartimaeus crying in a loud voice seeking for healing mercy from Jesus.
Before he restored Israel, God knew that there was an obstacle. They were under the clutch of the enemy. But at the appointed time nothing could prevent him again from setting his people free. To trap his restoration, Bartimaeus had to face obstacles. The crowds tried to stop him. They rebuked him to keep quiet, but because his hour of restoration has come, and because God in Jesus has come to set him free, he is unstoppable. The encoutable number of voices shutting him up could dominate his scarcely lonely voice. Secondly, nothing can stand as an obstacle to our God. No amount of noise and distraction from the world can prevent him from hearing the voice of those who call upon him for help.
LIFE MESSAGE
Wounded by sin, we have all lost hold of God. We live in darkness and can barely see or perceive our God. The light given to the eye of our soul at baptism has suddenly gone dim because of our infidelity to our baptismal promises. But our God has not ceased to cross our way. He is not yet done with us. At the appointed time he will, he will surely come to meet us on the road where we are lying wretched and seeking for aid.
Like the Israelites in the first reading, God still refers Himself as our Father, and to us as his children; not just his children, but his first born: “For I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first born.” (Jer. 31:9).
God in Jesus renews his paternity to us today. He has a plan to restore us and to heal us from our spiritual blindness we have been suffering from for a very long time as result of our sins. The time to subdue moments of darkness is here because he is walking across the path where we are located. We may be blind not to perceive our God, but we still here about him everyday through his word. Bartimaeus did not see him, but he heard about him. This time, he did not take chances. He did not postpone the meeting with Jesus. He did not allow anything to come between him and this God-given moment of restoration. He said no to threats, humiliation and intimidation from obstacles that have kept him blind from seeing his God. He needed to break the covenant made with sin which caused his spiritual blindness. He knew that there is only one person who can do that, Jesus the son of David. He called upon him in a loud voice. He called upon him insistently, and he responded. The conversation is ;”what do you want me to do for you?”, “Master, let me receive my sight.”
Every day, every hour, Jesus makes his way toward us, but most times we pretend not to hear him. He makes himself available to heal and restore us but we often ignore him. We rather prefer to dwell in the wretched state our sins have confined us, because we still enjoy impunity. Most times the thought of God even scares us. We don’t want to hear the word of God that reminds us of our weaknesses and calls us for change because we are not ready, yet we are afraid of rapture. One thing is sure, the initiative to save man comes from God himself. In the first reading, it was God who decided to to save his people. And in the gospel, it was Jesus himself who decided to take the direction where Bartimaeus could meet him. Meanwhile, in both readings, we were meant to see the response of man to the salvation which God offers him. The Israelites came with a great weeping, a sign of repentance, and Bartimaeus cried in a loud voice begging Jesus to have mercy on him. We all need healing and restoration whatever be the category and degree. Jesus is making his way towards our direction today. We have to grab the opportunity as if the only one we will ever have. Let us not postpone it. Let us be courages enough to overcome the obstacles that keep shutting us up. Let us throw away whatever we may have around us (throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus ) and hurry to Jesus without hesitation
MESSIANIC IMPLICATION OF THE HEALING OF BARTIMAEUS:
The healing of Bartimaeus has Messianic implications. Jesus commended Bartimaeus because he had correctly understood that Jesus was the Son of David and the expected Messiah. Referring to the coming of the Messiah, Isaiah wrote: “Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped” (Isaiah 35:5; 29:18, 42:7). The Church has taken the persistent prayer of Bartimaeus to heart. The prayer “Kyrie eleison” (“Lord, have mercy”), appears frequently in the liturgy. Bartimaeus’ prayer has also become the source of the prayer of supplication to Jesus : “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.” In its adapted form, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” it has become a popular Christian prayer. The Church advises us to repeat it frequently, in acknowledgement of our sinfulness and our need for God’s mercy. Like Bartimaeus, we should recognize — even in our blind moments — the presence of Jesus. We can trust in the power of Jesus to give us new visions and to strengthen us in our weakness. (Fr. Tony Kadavil)
SUMMARY OF THE LESSONS FROM THE HEALING OF BARTIMAEUS:
1. Instead of remaining in spiritual blindness, we need to seek for spiritual sight.
2. We need insistently cry out to Jesus till he responds.
3.we need to wear the courage of conviction in the healing power of Jesus irrespective of the other solutions the world might offer us and the obstacles that tend to stop us.
PRAYER
God of mercy and love, who in your kindness has always blessed and approved the course of your children. When darkness covers our day, You o Lord give us light to see. When we face rough moments, You smoothen them for us because your desire is that we be saved and come to the fulness of salvation. Grant that we may respond to your love and live a life worthy of our calling, who live and reign with the Son and the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.
PAX VOBIS!
