This morning's Gospel presents the great passage of Bartimaeus.
Bartimaeus, was a man completely dependent on others for sight, however he
could hear well, indeed he heard very well that Jesus of Nazareth was passing
by, so he called out to him. He was healed and then literally he followed Jesus[1]…
The first reading from the Prophet Jeremiah tells us that a
day will come when the lame will walk and the blind will see. And certainly,
that day began with Jesus Christ. Certainly, this is one of the teaching in today’s
Gospel. Bartimaeus sees. The great days that Jeremiah had prophesied had begun.
But, perhaps this Gospel reading is deeper than a demonstration of the powers
of the Messiah to give sight to the blind. Perhaps, it is speaking about seeing
with the eyes of faith. We are on the Year of Faith so this brief reflextion is
vert apropriatte.
Can we imagine the joy of Bartimaeus? Can we imagine the
change in his life? And then the reading has a deeper level. Those whose souls
are blind to the Presence of God cannot follow him. Only those who are willing
to take a step of faith, a leap of faith, and seek out the Lord can follow Him.
In other chapter of the gospel Jesus says, I
came so that those who are blind may see[2].
So, can you imagine the joy of those whose lives seemed to have no direction,
who lived in darkness, when they find a path to life, a light to guide them?
Well, we are those people. We are the ones who had been in darkness and who now
have light.
“I need
direction in life,” a lady told me the other day. “I don’t really know where I
am going”. Perhaps, you have felt the same way. Why do we do that? Why do we
look for direction, when all that we need is right in front of us? We have been
entrusted with a treasure, the very presence of the Lord. When we feel that we
are lost then we, need to get back to basics, to the very basics indeed. We
need to follow Jesus to find the path to life the psalmist cries for[3].
We need to reflect on the profound joy the Lord has brought
to all of our lives. He has given us sight. We can see where we need to go. We
can follow Him. We can go to that place where all happiness dwells. Our joy is
realizing that like Bartimaeus we are not blind any more. We can follow the One who gives Light
to our lives.
May we have the courage to live in His Light ■
