In this week’s gospel, Christ gives sight to the blind man Bartimeus, and we can read it as just another one of his many miracles, or we can realize that it is just as much our story as it is Bartimeus’.
Because we are blind as well. We do not notice God’s action in our lives or His image in every person we meet. He is constantly making Himself present to us, and we hardly ever see Him.
So we need to be healed of our blindness just as much as our friend Bartimeus. So we follow his story. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, Bartimeus began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.”
So it is with our own souls, which cry out for God at every moment. Even if we have all the world has to offer – great relationships, a fulfilling job, long vacations, and many possessions, there is always that something more that we desire: a deeper relationship with God.
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
There are many forces that pull us away from following this call of our heart for God. Family, friends, coworkers, as well as all of the things that take up our time and energy throughout the week – all of these can overpower the cry of our hearts for God.
But he kept calling out all the more,
“Son of David, have pity on me.”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called the blind man, saying to him,
“Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”
There are times in every day, and above all there is this time of Sunday Mass every week when Jesus calls us to come close to Him. How do we respond to the call? Like Bartimeus? How did he respond?
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
I wish I responded every time God called with such enthusiasm. Regardless of how I have responded up to this point, I have an opportunity at this Mass to respond with faith like Bartimeus. He has called us all here, we have said together “Lord, have mercy on me”, and now He asks us the same thing He asked Bartimeus.
Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?”
What do we want Him to do for us? What is on our hearts? In our daily prayer we have the opportunity to let Him know, but in a most special way each Sunday Mass is a new opportunity to do so. We tell Him what we want, but we also learn from Bartimeus what we should ultimately ask for.
The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.”
What we need is new vision. We need the grace to be able to see God as He is – intimately involved in our lives, always present and always calling us to greatness. We need the grace to see the world and everything as He does: as unique reflections of His glory, to be honored and respected.
Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.
Bartimeus had a choice to go his own way, but in seeing Jesus he was able to see that the only way worth following was Jesus’. He gained that most important vision, which was the vision of God’s will for Him. May we gain that same vision and follow Christ on His way as well as Bartimeus did.
Fr. Michael Niemczak, Santa Maria De La Paz Parish in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Fot. Ryoji/Unsplash