Sunday 28 October 2012
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time B
Readings at Mass
Jeremiah 31:7-9, Psalm 125 Rv.3, Hebrews
5:1-6, Mark 10: 46-52
I
have loved you with an everlasting love, so I have kept for you my mercy.
What
marvels the Lord worked for us.
He
can sympathize with those who are ignorant or uncertain.
Throwing
off his cloak, he jumped up and went to Jesus.
First reading
Jeremiah 31:7-9
The Lord says
this:
Shout with joy
for Jacob!
Hail the chief
of nations!
Proclaim!
Praise! Shout:
‘The Lord has
saved his people,
the remnant of
Israel!’
See, I will
bring them back
from the land of
the North
and gather them
from the far ends of earth;
all of them: the
blind and the lame,
women with
child, women in labour:
a great company
returning here.
They had left in
tears,
I will comfort
them as I lead them back;
I will guide
them to streams of water,
by a smooth path
where they will not stumble.
For I am a
father to Israel,
and Ephraim is
my first-born son.
The people
of Israel are in exile. However the prophet Jeremiah gives them this
encouraging message that God will save them and lead them back to Jerusalem. He
will take even the blind and the lame.
As St.
Paul teaches us, opur true home is in heaven and while we are here in this
world we are in exile. We are on a journey like the Israelites back from Babylon.
By our faith in him, Jesus leads us in joy and expectation.
____________________
Psalm
Psalm 125:1-6
What marvels the
Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
When the Lord
delivered Zion from bondage,
it seemed like a
dream.
Then was our
mouth filled with laughter,
on our lips
there were songs.
What marvels the
Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
The heathens
themselves said: ‘What marvels
the Lord worked
for them!’
What marvels the
Lord worked for us!
Indeed we were
glad.
What marvels the
Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
Deliver us, O
Lord, from our bondage
as streams in
dry land.
Those who are
sowing in tears
will sing when
they reap.
What marvels the
Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
They go out,
they go out, full of tears,
carrying seed
for the sowing:
they come back,
they come back, full of song,
carrying their
sheaves.
What marvels the
Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
____________________
Second reading
Hebrews 5:1-6
Every high
priest has been taken out of mankind and is appointed to act for men in their
relations with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins; and so he can
sympathise with those who are ignorant or uncertain because he too lives in the
limitations of weakness. That is why he has to make sin offerings for himself
as well as for the people. No one takes this honour on himself, but each one is
called by God, as Aaron was. Nor did Christ give himself the glory of becoming
high priest, but he had it from the one who said to him: You are my son,
today I have become your father, and in another text: You are a priest
of the order of Melchizedek, and for ever.
Jesus is our High Priest who offers the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
He does not offer goats or bulls butonthe Cross he offered his life for the
remission of our sins. He continues to offer this. It is an eternal offering.
Gospel
Mark 10:46-52
As Jesus left
Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus (that is, the son of
Timaeus), a blind beggar, was sitting at the side of the road. When he heard
that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and to say, ‘Son of David,
Jesus, have pity on me.’ And many of them scolded him and told him to keep
quiet, but he only shouted all the louder, ‘Son of David, have pity on me.’
Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him here.’ So they called the blind man.
‘Courage,’ they said ‘get up; he is calling you.’ So throwing off his cloak, he
jumped up and went to Jesus. Then Jesus spoke, ‘What do you want me to do for
you?’ ‘Rabbuni,’ the blind man said to him ‘Master, let me see again.’ Jesus
said to him, ‘Go; your faith has saved you.’ And immediately his sight returned
and he followed him along the road.
Dare you
throw your cloak away?
We must always remember that the Gospels are not a history or a
biography. They are reflections on the life of Jesus, with lessons for the
community in which the Gospel developed. Today Jesus is on a journey. He is on
his way to Jerusalem
Two weeks ago, we saw a man come
up to Jesus eager to follow him. However, he went away sad at heart, as he
clung to his riches which one day would be wrenched from him anyway. The Spirit
asks us to reflect whether our riches or our desire for riches choke the Word
of Jesus.
Today we see a blind beggar. He
is not on the journey but sitting at the side of the road. He is in darkness and
he has nothing but a cloak with which to cover himself. When he knows that
Jesus is passing by, he realizes that this is the moment of his life. Whatever
happens he has to get the attention of Jesus. No one will take him to Jesus and
so he screams above the noise of the crowd –Son of David have mercy on me.
Jesus, who has come for the lost, stops and has members of the crowd call the
blind man. He jumps up and goes to Jesus. What do you want me to do for you,
Jesus asks and with passion the man says, let me see again.
Here too the Spirit is speaking
to us. “Blessed are those who realize they are poor.” We are all poor. We are
all blind. We have nothing. This is our real state as human beings. Wealth is
an illusion. Power and fame are unreal. Our days are swept away like a dream.
Bartimaeus knows he can only live if he meets Jesus. Would that we had his
wisdom. When the people tell him Jesus is calling him, he flings away his
cloak. It is all he has. He has nothing else to cover himself with at night but
he throws it away. It is a hindrance and he is eager to get to Jesus. Would
that we were so eager.
Do you consider Jesus real? To
be someone who can change your life today? Are
you ready to throw away everything that hinders you ‘especially the sin that clings
so easily and keep running’ towards him (Heb12:2). Do you keep your sight on
Jesus (12:3)? Alternatively, is Jesus a distant abstract figure? Of course, we
believe in him but he does not confront us and we have not encountered him.
What are you to do to make your faith real?
Father, grant
that I may throw off everything that weighs me down and run to meet Jesus
today. May he open my eyes.
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