Year B
Discover the deeper meaning and connections found in this week's readings, through these great commentaries written by our priests.
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“Master, let me see again.”
It’s the obvious answer to Jesus’ question – “what do you want me to do for you?” What else would a blind man ask for? It may be the obvious answer, but it is not always the answer given. No one wants to be blind. That’s not the question.
The deeper question is whether we really want to see.
Do we really want to see the reality of our lives, things done and left undone, who we are and who we are not?
Do we really want to see the needs of our neighbour, the poor, or the marginalised?
Do we really want to see the injustices of the world?
“Do you really want to see?” That’s the question Bartimaeus must answer.
True seeing is more than simply observing with our physical eyes. It implies relationship and a deeper knowing and understanding. This happens when we see with the eyes of faith. This seeing, however, is not without risk. If we really want to see, then we must be willing to change and be changed.
Sometimes that risk is too much. We turn a blind eye and choose not to see.
This story is not so much about physical blindness, but about spiritual blindness.
As tragic as blindness is, the greater tragedy is when we do not even see that we are blind. We bump and stumble our way through life believing that this is as good as it gets.
This blindness happens in many different ways. Sometimes it is the darkness of grief, sorrow, and loss.
Other times we live in the darkness of fear, anger, or resentment.
Failures, disappointments, and shattered dreams can darken our world.
The list could go on and on. The darkness fills and covers us in a thousand different ways.
I do not know what caused Bartimaeus’ blindness. In some ways it does not matter. What matters more is that he knew he was blind. Even though he was blind, he saw Jesus with the eyes of faith.
Even when he was rebuked by the crowd for confessing his faith out loud, he refused to be silenced.
This man’s faith literally brought Jesus to a standstill. When he heard that Jesus was calling him, he first of all threw off his cloak. His cloak, no doubt, served many purposes. It sheltered him from the weather; it was his bed; it was in a sense his home.
Yet, he abandoned it, and having done so, he jumped up and went to Jesus in his blindness. Nothing was going to hold him back from connecting with Jesus, not even his precious cloak.
Bartimaeus speaks to all of us of our own need to free ourselves of the binds that stifle our faith and keep us from approaching the Lord.
Bartimaeus stands before Jesus. Jesus asks him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
That is not just a question for Bartimaeus.
It is a question for everyone who has ever sat by the roadside of life; everyone who has ever lived in darkness; everyone who has ever begged for life, for hope, for a second chance.
It is a question for you and for me.
Jesus’ question offers a turning point, a new beginning.
It asks us to look deep within our self, to face what is, and name what we want.
So what do you want Jesus to do for you?
What is the one thing you need today that will open your eyes to see yourself, others, and all of creation as beautiful and holy?
What is the one thing you need today that will allow you to throw off the cloak of darkness?
They are hard but important questions. They are the questions that will change your life.
I do not know what your answer is.
I cannot name it for you, but I can promise you this.
He is listening, he is willing, and he is able.
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 547-550: Jesus performed messianic signs
CCC 1814-1816: faith, a gift of God
CCC 2734-2737: filial confidence in prayer
It seems easy to focus on the miracle of blind Bartimaeus having his sight restored by Jesus, certainly one of the “marvels the Lord worked for us”; and it is clear that the compilers of the Lectionary selected the First Reading from Jeremiah because it includes the blind and the lame and thus relates to today’s Gospel. God has indeed saved his people. But perhaps we might also reflect on our need for a clearer vision, for the gift of actually seeing what goes on around us.
What do our liturgical ministers look like? Are their postures and their movements conducive to an atmosphere of prayer, or are they just functional? How do our gestures appear to onlookers? What symbolism do they carry?
Eucharistic Prayer IV (p. 690) would be an appropriate choice for today. It has its own Preface.
Prayer over the People 9 (p. 723) is suggested for use today.
Sample intercessions:
Let us pray for those whose abilities are different from our own, and for those who care for them so lovingly.
Lord, in your mercy — hear our prayer.
For those who serve us in the ordained priesthood, and for blessings on all their pastoral work.
Lord, in your mercy — hear our prayer.
That we may have the courage to get up and respond to Jesus’s call, and that our faith may be strong.
Lord, in your mercy — hear our prayer.
Note: These hymns have been chosen from different sources.
O Jesus Christ remember (CFE535, L982, LHON521)
All ye who seek a comfort sure (CFE31, L212)
I heard the voice of Jesus say (L795)
Blessed are they (Beatitudes) (CHE83, L815)
For all the saints (CFE176, L371, LHON260, TCH166)
Key
CFE - Celebration Hymnal for Everyone
L – Laudate
LHON – Liturgical Hymns Old and New (Mayhew, 1999)
TCH – The Catholic Hymnbook (Gracewing)
Do you have questions about the liturgy and how we are called to participate in it? Explore how the Church councils, saints, and popes have answered this key question and many more.
Every movement of the Mass is rich in meaning but we can become over-familiar with it. Rediscover the Mass and explore how it relates to the Exodus story, where many of its rituals come from, and how it makes Jesus present to us today.
