Today is the thirtieth in Ordinary Time.
In today’s Gospel reading we hear that blind Bartimaeus threw aside his cloak and sprang up when Jesus called him. As a beggar his cloak was important to him. That’s where he would collect the money people threw to him. Throwing aside his cloak indicates a major change in his life.
When he sprang up Bartimaeus was acting with a sense of urgency. This reminds me of the shepherds going in haste to see the Christ child and Mary going in haste to see her cousin Elizabeth after Mary’s encounter with the angel Gabriel. Joseph also acted quickly when told by the angel to rise and take his family to Egypt. They all acted with a sense of urgency.
So it should be for us when Jesus calls us to something. We need to get focused on the mission and get going. People, including me, can be guilty of analysis paralysis sometimes. That’s not how it should be when Jesus calls.
Bartimaeus had to make a decision when Jesus called him. His friends told him to take courage. At that moment of truth Bartimaeus had to decide if it was worth it to change his life as Jesus was asking. Like the Wise Men who left for their country by another way after encountering the Christ Child Bartimaeus was called to change. We see at the end of the story that he followed Jesus after gaining his sight.
In today’s world there seems to be a lot of spiritual blindness. Some of it around politics, some around various kinds of sin because we want what we want.
As Christians Christ has called us to follow Him. Our ongoing conversion requires us to imitate him. Bartimaeus had the right sense of urgency about Jesus at that moment, likely because he wanted badly to see again. Do we recognize our blind spots or do we go about merrily ignoring Jesus’ commandments because we want what we want?
We need to look at the world around us through the lens of Jesus’ commandments and see what change we’re being called to. Once we recognize our own blindness I hope we’ll act with the sense of urgency Bartimaeus did.
That’s it for now. Thanks for reading.
I hope you have a great week. Remember Friday is a holy day of obligation.
Peace, Bob
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