BIBLE STUDY #112


THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

October 28, 2012



READING 1

JEREMIAH 31:7-9



Thus says the LORD:

Shout with joy for Jacob,

exult at the head of the nations;

proclaim your praise and say:

The LORD has delivered his people,

the remnant of Israel.

Behold, I will bring them back

from the land of the north;

I will gather them from the ends of the world,

with the blind and the lame in their midst,

the mothers and those with child;

they shall return as an immense throng.

They departed in tears,

but I will console them and guide them;

I will lead them to brooks of water,

on a level road, so that none shall stumble.

For I am a father to Israel,

Ephraim is my first-born.



The Word of the Lord



READING 2

HEBREWS 5:1-6



Brothers and sisters:

Every high priest is taken from among men

and made their representative before God,

to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring,

for he himself is beset by weakness

and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself

as well as for the people.

No one takes this honor upon himself

but only when called by God,

just as Aaron was.

In the same way,

it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest,

but rather the one who said to him:

You are my son:

this day I have begotten you;

just as he says in another place:

You are a priest forever

according to the order of Melchizedek.



The Word of the Lord



GOSPEL

MARKK 10:46-52



As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,

Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,

sat by the roadside begging.

On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,

he began to cry out and say,

"Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."

And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.

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."

He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.

Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?"

The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see."

Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you."

Immediately he received his sight

and followed him on the way.



The Gospel of the Lord



Reflection



We are at the conclusion of Mark’s journey narrative. The next passage is Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He will die within the week.



This story is more than a miracle story, it is a story of faith. The name “Bartimaeus” isn’t really a name. It means “Son of Timaeus.” It is a story of how he was healed both spiritually and physically and brought to faith. This story also tells us about Jesus’ identity.



Bartimaeus, the man without a real name, is sitting by the road begging. This was the only way to aid in the support of his family, who would have seen him as a drain on family resources. Unfortunately, there were a number of beggars, and they didn’t always do well.



He hears that Jesus is approaching, and calls out to him, "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me." Jesus fame has spread so far now that even a blind beggar has heard of him. The title “Son of David” is a messianic title referring to the one that was expected to be sent from God to be the Messiah that would save Israel.



In the Gospels, when someone applies a messianic title to Jesus, he tells them to be quiet and not to tell anyone. This is known as the ‘messianic secret’. We can’t understand Jesus until we take his whole life, death, and resurrection into context. Here, Jesus doesn’t do this. Ironically, it is the crowds who try to silence Bartimaeus, who don’t understand who Jesus is. We are to finds out shortly in the Passion Narratives. By being quiet, Jesus is assenting to this messianic title.



Bartimaeus is insistent, ignoring the crowd trying to silence him, and keeps calling out to Jesus. This continued calling shows his faith in Jesus abilities to heal and bestow God’s mercy. Notice that this blind beggar is not asking for alms, but for healing.



He is also being called by Jesus, indicating that he is being called to follow Jesus in faith, just as we are all called by our baptism to follow Jesus in faith. The crowds encourage him in this call, and we should all encourage each other in our own discipleship.



He threw aside his cloak (maybe the only possession he owns - he is giving up everything to follow Jesus), sprang up (he wastes no time in following Jesus), and went to Jesus.



Jesus asks him a seemingly strange question, since the beggar is blind. "What do you want me to do for you?" But it isn’t really that strange when you think about it. It seems that Bartimaeus has his priorities straight. He is like Solomon, when told to ask for anything he wants and it will be granted, asks for wisdom. Bartimaeus could have asked for physical sight, for riches or power, but he says to Jesus, "Master, I want to see." He wants to see with the eyes of faith.



Jesus tells him that his faith has saved him. The word translated as saved can refer to both physical and spiritual healing. The healing is instantaneous, complete, and involves no physical contact or healing word. He gets up and follows Jesus, meaning he becomes a disciple and follows Jesus, but he is not heard from again.



Bartimaeus has no real name because he represents all of us. We are all blind in some way, broken by sin and unable to do anything about it; our own journey on the spiritual path is halted because of this. We sit on the side of the spiritual road unable to go towards God on our own. Our trip resumes when we acknowledge our plight and turn to Jesus for help. Like Bartimaeus, we should ask to be healed of our sins, of anything that keeps us from God, to be people of faith, for the grace to be the best disciples we can be. We should ask for spiritual healing to see with the eyes of faith so we can bring His light to others.



This idea of healing and salvation refers to living in the kingdom of God in the here and now. God gives us a better way to live, a way of grace, peace, and love, and we should be experiencing these kingdom values now.



In the first reading, Jeremiah promises that one day, God will save his people. He will bring them out of slavery, even from the ends of the earth. He is not referring to an afterlife, since there isn’t any concept of heaven or hell in Jeremiah’s day. One day, God will bring all of his people back from where ever they are, make the trip easy, and settle them in the Promised Land.



The second letter from Hebrews talks about the priesthood. Priests are to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins (sacraments). They are to be patient with people while leading them on their own faith journey. They are to acknowledge that they are beset by weakness and ask for forgiveness. They do it because they are called, and not for any honor for themselves. It is God who glorifies priests, so all honor, praise, and credit should go to God. This is some good advice for all us priests.





Fr. Phil