Catching men and women for Jesus by sharing our joy - Homily for 5th Sunday Ordinary Time, Cycle C

 A few years ago, I went on a fishing trip that was far away from a Catholic Church.  I was concerned about being able to get to Sunday Mass as it would be several hours each way to attend Mass. I did not have my own car to travel to Mass, so on Sunday I read the Mass readings, offered some intercessions, and prayed the Our Father. Upon return I felt a need to go to confession and told the priest I missed my Sunday obligation due to the fishing trip.  He asked me whether I was fishing or catching. His question puzzled me a bit, but I told him we had caught a lot of fish on the trip.  He then said with a wry smile if you were only fishing your penance would be a full rosary, but since you were catching it will just be three Hail Marys.  I think he too enjoyed catching much more than fishing and was being merciful like Jesus is for us.

 

In today’s Gospel we hear another story about fishing and catching. Jesus travels to the Lake of Genneserat to preach and there are so many people he gets into boat to avoid the swell of the crowd.  He chooses the boat that Simon is in.  Simon had encountered Jesus once before when Jesus cured his mother-in-law of an illness.  Simon was a fisherman by profession, so he knew very well how to fish. Jesus requests for Simon, who had not caught a thing after fishing all night, to throw out his net into the deep for a catch, and he may have been a bit reluctant. But in having previously encountered Jesus, he obediently responds to Jesus. request.  The catch of fish was so astounding that the nets were tearing, and the boats were full to the point of sinking.  

 

Now to give some perspective of how much fish this was, we have evidence of a  boat
recovered in an archeological site in 1986 when the Lake of Gennesaret went through a severe drought. The age of the boat was estimated to be from the time of Jesus and was 25 feet long, by 8 feet wide, and four feet deep.  It would take an incredible number of fish to fill two boats of that size. The income from this abundance of fish must have been more than Simon and his companions made in over a year. The immensity of the catch was so overwhelming that Simon in humility pleads to Jesus, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”  

 

I really think this is why Jesus chose to encounter Simon because of his awareness of being an unworthy sinner. Jesus responds in love and mercy to Simon’s confession, “Do not be afraid, from now on you will be catching men.”  Jesus doesn’t care about his past, but only about who he can become. He invites him on a much greater mission than catching fish to satisfy the physical hunger of men.  He chooses to invite him to catch men and women whose spirits are hungering for everlasting life. 

 

I think the miraculous catch of fish had a dual purpose for Simon, James, and John. 

First to elicit a response of faith in Jesus and also to provide income for the families, so they were free to leave everything to follow Jesus becoming “catchers of men”.  Simon’s weakness in sin is overcome by the grace of Jesus to heal the wound of his sins.

 

We are invited as well to become “catcher” of men and women for Jesus. A fisherman needs to have the right tackle, bait, and patience to attract fish.  To be catchers of men our bait and tackle is the joy we have for our faith in Jesus and sharing it with others.  When we are filled with joy, people will be drawn to us and be attracted to become Jesus’ disciples, because they will want some of that joy as well. Why are we joyful?  Because of Christ’s love for us and the gift of eternal life he won for us which gives us hope.  To share the joy, we need to start simply by being friends with others and getting to know their stories. Many people are lacking hope today and need to know that someone cares about them. They may feel like Simon did saying, “Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful person”, because of their past. If we listen to them being the eyes, ears, hands and feet for Jesus and sharing the story of Jesus and what he did for us we can give them hope. We do so by giving the gift of an encounter with Jesus by sharing with our heart of who Jesus is for us and why he make’s a difference in our life. 

 

St. Paul sums up his encounter with Jesus very well today in the reading we heard from the to the Corinthians.  In just a few sentences he shares about how his encounter with Jesus changed him from being a persecutor of Christians to becoming the apostle to the Gentiles. He starts the story with what Jesus did for us: dying for our sins, so we can be forgiven and live eternally. Many people still today still don’t know the story.  This upcoming Lent can be a good time focus on the Holy Father's call to bring hope to others in this Jubilee Year of Hope. Reading the Gospels. or a book like Matthew Kelley’s Rediscovering Jesus can be a good thing to do over Lent to help us know the story of Jesus so we can share with others.  This can also help us as well to give us hope as we go through the challenging times in our life.  I pray for all of us to be open to Jesus’ invitation of catching men and women for him and that the gift of the Eucharist empowers us with God’s grace to do so.

Jesus' first miracle at the wedding at Cana is a sign of his great love for marriage, Homily 2nd Sunday Ordinary Time, cycle C

 In today’s readings we hear of God’s desire to be one with us through the image of marriage.  The prophet Isaiah uses rich language of how special special the people of Israel are to God:   “You shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the Lord, a royal diadem held by your God.”  The people are so special to God, that they are seen as the crown jewel.  In the image of marriage Isaiah declares,

“As a young man marries a virgin,
   your Builder shall marry you;
and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride
   so shall your God rejoice in you”

God desires to be in an intimate relationship with the people of Israel, portrayed in the image of a bride to a bridegroom. This marital image is fulfilled through Jesus, the Bridegroom and all people, the Church.

Our Gospel focuses on marriage in the wedding at Cana.  This is the first miracle that Jesus performs in the Gospel of John and is a sign of Jesus’ divinity. The miracles in the Gospel, are signs to bring about faith in people that Jesus, is the Son of God, the long awaited Messiah. I think that Jesus performing his first miracle at a wedding is a sign to us of how special marriage is to Jesus.

Today we heard that Jesus is with the disciples and Mary at a wedding in Cana.Weddings during Jesus’s time were celebrations that may have lasted for a week, and included many relatives and friends. An entire village may have been invited to a wedding celebration. Sumptuous food and drink were provided as a sign of joy for the couple entering into the marriage covenant. When Mary noticed that the wine was running out, she turned to her son for help. Running out of wine, would be an embarrassment for the bride’s family. Mary’s action at the wedding is a great example of how she intercedes on our behalf when we come to her in prayer. Jesus responds to Mary, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” This may sound a bit disrespectful, but I think he really was caring for his mother. Any intervention by Jesus would set in motion his public ministry, that would ultimately lead to his crucifixion.  I think Jesus was concerned about whether his mother was ready for this to happen.Also addressing Mary as “woman”, was not a sign of disrespect, but a reference to her role as the woman who said yes to God, as opposed to the disobedience of first woman, Eve. We hear Mary’s last spoken words in the Gospel as she addresses the servers, “do whatever he tells you”.  These are good words for us to follow from our Blessed Mother.

Jesus responds to Mary’s request by turning water into wine. Wine served at a wedding celebrations represents joy. If the wine ran out, the joy of the celebration would fade. Jesus’ presence at the wedding shows his desire to be part of the bride and groom’s lives from the very beginning of their marriage. He performs the miracle of turning water into wine in abundance, producing 180 gallons. The wine that Jesus produces is not just ordinary wine, it's much better than what was served earlier. The large quantity of wine that Jesus provides for the wedding feast represents the abundant grace to sustain the couples marriage in union with him. Jesus miracle of changing water into wine is a sign of the change of a natural marriage, which is good, to a supernatural sacramental marriage supported by the God’s grace.   

Over the past few years there seems to be a lot less people getting married in the Church. I think that some of this has to do with young couples not being connected to the Church, when they decide to get married. Many who were raised Catholic may not be aware that for marriage to be a valid sacramental marriage that it must be officiated by a Catholic minister, or permission granted for the wedding ceremony to be done in another faith tradition if there is a non-Catholic spouse.

Many weddings today are civil ceremonies at exotic destinations or extravagant venues and are more about the celebration of the wedding day rather than a lifelong marriage. Civil weddings are valid according to the state, but unfortunately are not considered valid sacramental marriage in the Church. Why does it matter that a marriage be sacramental? Because of the grace that Sacrament of Marriage provides with Jesus united with the couple in marriage. In a wedding ceremony in the Roman Catholic Church the bride and the groom marry each other in union with Jesus, upon which the sacrament is conferred. The priest or deacon are the Church’s official witnesses of the marriage. A sacramental marriage is made up of three persons, the bride, the groom, and Jesus. Jesus provides the grace to bring joy to a marriage and sustain it in the times of sorrow, suffering, and stress. This grace of Christian marriage is a fruit of Christ's cross, the source of all Christian life.

What if you’re married civilly, but you now desire your marriage to be a sacramental marriage? The good news is that it’s possible by having your marriage con-validated. It requires meeting with a priest or deacon to understand the circumstances of the original marriage, and may require a few things to be done before the con-validation ceremony takes place. But once everything is in order the con-validation can be done and you will have the grace of sacramental marriage with Jesus at the center of your marriage to sustain you.

For those who a single the spousal image of being married certainly applies to you as well. God desires to be in an intimate relationship, and does so by becoming one with you. In Baptism you have become adopted sons and daughters of God. In receiving the Eucharist, you are joined in the wedding feast with Jesus, where the two become one flesh.

So as we continue with this celebration of the Eucharist, let’s rejoice in God’s desire to be one with each of us and in strengthening sacramental marriages through his grace.

Ponder like Mary in the new year, Homily for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

Today is the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, which is the Eighth Day in Octave of the Christmas Season where we recognize Mary’s special role in being Mother of God.   

 

This is a Holy Day of obligation, but I like to think of it as a Holy Day of opportunity to spend another day to receive Jesus and be together with our family of faith during the Christmas season.

 

Many of us make resolutions for the New Year as a new beginning. 

 

I was curious about the most popular resolutions and found the Marist poll of annual New Year’s Resolutions with the top five being:

 

1)   Eating healthier

2)   Exercising more

3)   Being a better person

4)   Losing Weight

5)   improving one’s health

 

I really like being a better person.  One of the best models in being a better person is the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Of course, Mary always leads us to Jesus, the model we all strive for, as she was his first and best disciple. Mary brought about a new beginning for mankind through the birth of her son, Jesus, by her strong faith.  Mary’s faith and prayerful pondering are great examples as we make our own New Year resolutions.

Mary was prepared for her special role as being the Mother of God by being preserved from Original Sin from the time of conception. Even though she was given this special grace, Mary still had the freedom to choose in cooperating with God’s plan.  When the Angel Gabriel greeted her with, “Hail, Favored One, you will conceive a son who be the Messiah and Lord”, Mary must have really been tested.  Since she had no relations with Joseph, conceiving a child would have been a scandal and possibly life threatening. 

Trying to understand God’s plan, Mary asked the angel how this could happen. Who responded: Through Holy Spirit she would conceive the Son of God.  After pondering the angel’s response, Mary answered a resounding yes! 

Now what is pondering? 

For Mary it is prayerfully reflect on the meaning of life’s events in relation to God.  Our reading today tells us that Mary “kept all these things in her heart”.   She took the time to be quiet and reflect on God’s presence in her life. We hear today Mary’s pondering the shepherd’s message who came in search of the infant lying in the manger.  The angel’s message to the shepherds was: Good news of great joy for all the people!  A savior was born who would be Messiah and Lord. This was very similar to Gabriel’s annunciation to Mary.   

Another time we hear of Mary’s pondering was in response to Jesus being lost in the Temple where he says to his parents after being found, “Did you not know I must be in my Father’s house”.  When Mary ponders she’s prayerful reflecting over time of God’s plan for her and her Son.

Mary’s pondering gives us a good model to follow in reflecting on God’s plan for us.   She’s a very good intercessor in prayer for our own joys and sorrows.   Even though she’s the Mother of God, she has a lot in common with us.  She is a mortal human being like each of us and a mother who cared for and loved her child.  Mary experienced many joys and sorrows in her life that we can unite to ours:

-       She rejoiced to God in learning of her conception of Jesus.

-       She was told her heart would be pierced when presenting Jesus in the Temple.

-       She was a homeless refugee as she fled with Joseph and Jesus to Egypt.

-       She lost her child for three days in the temple.

-       She lost her husband and was a widow

-       She met her Son on his way to be crucified.

-       She witnessed her Sons’ crucifixion.

-       She received the Her Son’s dead body and buried her Son.

 

Mary is also like a mother to us.  She gave birth to the Son of God, Jesus, who made us children of God.  She is now in heaven with her Son and we can develop a relationship with Mary as our Heavenly Mother which will help us to grow closer to Jesus. Many of us ask our friends and family to pray for us when we have struggles.  So if we ask our friends and family to pray for us, why not ask our Blessed Mother in heaven who is closest to Jesus, to offer prayers for us?

So how can we ask for Mary’s prayers and follow her model of pondering?  One way is by praying the Rosary. The prayers of the Rosary, the Apostles Creed, Hail Mary, Our Father, and Glory be, are all familiar to us. In praying these on the  beads of the Rosary it provides a quiet rhythm as we meditate on the life of Jesus and Mary through the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious mysteries.   While praying the Rosary, we can ask Mary to intercede in prayer for our life’s challenges.   Praying the Rosary allows us find some quiet time and peace to be with our Blessed Mother and our Lord.  

 

It also gives us an opportunity to become better disciples of Jesus, by meditating on his life.   If praying a full Rosary seems to be a challenge, consider praying just one decade to start.    Another prayer to consider is the Magnificat, Mary’s prayer of gratitude found in the 2nd chapter of Luke. Every evening clergy, religious, and even some lay people pray this as part of the Liturgy of the Hours.  It’s a good way to close each day reflecting on God’s blessings in your life and uniting them with Mary’s gratitude for the gift of Jesus.

So in making your New Year’s resolutions look to the Blessed Virgin Mary as a model of faith in saying yes to God and prayerfully pondering God’s will in your life.   The Mother of God can be a powerful prayer intercessor and lead you to grow closer to her son, Jesus.   Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with You!

 

 

 

 

Mary, a woman of action sharing the joy of Jesus: Homily for the 4th Sunday of Advent

 On this final Sunday of Advent, the Church provides a Marian lens for us to view Christ’s coming to us as a little baby at Christmas.    In today’s Gospel we hear of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth.   We are told that Mary travels in haste through the hill country.   We often think of Mary being passive, humbly pondering in contemplation.   But today she is a woman of action, traveling to share her cousin’s joy of finally conceiving a child as was told to her by the Angel Gabriel.  Elizabeth’s pregnancy was a sign of the impossible becoming possible.    Mary went in haste as she cannot wait to rejoice with Elizabeth and to share her joy of bearing God’s son.   

 

We don’t have a lot of details on Mary’s journey to visit Elizabeth in the Bible.  A commentary I read speculated it was about four days through difficult terrain.  This would be a dangerous journey for young woman, traveling alone.  Some scholars think Mary may have traveled in a caravan or possibly Joseph accompanied her.  She may have gone alone, feeling she was protected because of the holy child she bore within her would fend off evil.

 

To try to get a sense of Mary’s journey and the encounter with Elizabeth, I decided to pray over some artistic renditions of the Visitation.   Joseph Robusti Tintoretto, a 16^th century artist,  paintings depict Mary processing through

treacherous terrain looking up to Elizabeth, head encircled in a halo, humbly bowing, and clutching her chest, as she climbs roughhewn stone steps to meet Elizabeth.  The scene depicts Elizabeth, halo also encircling her head, bending down to Mary with arms open wide to embrace her.   Both Joseph and Zechariah are off to the sides in the background.   In a later Tintoretto painting Elizabeth

lovingly embraces Mary as she stumbles forward into her arms after a long journey.   Another 16^th century artist,  Jaccopo Pontomo, captures the younger Mary’s bright eyes looking intently at the much older and worn face of Elizabeth, as they embrace and share their miracles with each other.  Elizabeth’s face is visibly brighter, reflecting a glow radiating from Mary who is carrying God’s son in her womb. This scene captures the humble wonder

of Elizabeth who proclaims, “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me.”  If you would like to view these images, I will post them on my blog.  I would encourage to you to view them and prayerfully imagine Mary and Elizabeth’s encounter.  

 

Mary truly desired to personally encounter Elizabeth to share in her joy. She actively journeys to be with her, and both Elizabeth and her infant, respond to the presence of Jesus within her.  Elizabeth’s baby leaps in her womb in hearing Mary’s voice and filled with Holy Spirit, she proclaims, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb”.   These words uttered by Elizabeth are the scriptural basis of the Hail Mary prayer.    If you’re ever challenged by someone for praying this prayer, remember it is based on Elizabeth’s praise of Mary in Luke’s Gospel for carrying God’s son within her.  In praising Mary, she is praising Jesus.

 

This Christmas many of us will be traveling on a journey, like Mary, to visit family and friends.   The journey may be difficult with travel delays and traffic jams.  Some of us may have encountered a challenging personal journey over the past year since we have visited our loved ones.   We may have had illnesses, losses, and disappointments.  Maybe we didn’t experience any challenges, but our loved ones we visit may have.  As we visit, be aware of the journey that each of us have been on the past year, and that the joy of Jesus is needed in this world to help us through these challenging journeys.

 

Let’s keep in mind the joy of Elizabeth and Mary, that our Lord has come to be with us, as a humble little baby. He chose to enter humanity amid our trials and challenges to save us, not for what we have or have not done, but out of his love for each of us.  He can turn the impossible into the possible if we put our faith in him.   Please share the joy of Jesus like Mary did with Elizabeth with those you love.

 

Jesus came into the world at a distinct time in history, which is why we celebrate Christmas each year.  But keep in mind, he also continues to be with us in the presence of the Eucharist, which we will soon receive.   When we are filled with the Eucharist, made possible by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will carry Jesus in our own bodies, just like Mary did.   When we receive him, prayerfully contemplate in the wonder that the Lord is truly in each of us. May our hearts leap for joy like John the Baptist did in Elizabeth’s womb at the Lord’s presence.  As we visit with the family and friends this holiday season, let’s remember to share the joy of why we are celebrating Christmas, that God has truly come to be with us as a humble little baby, and invite them to share in this joy through our faith in Jesus as our Lord and savior. 

 

 

When you see the signs, be joyful for your redemption is at hand! 1st Sunday of Advent, Cycle 3 - 11/28/2021

            Happy New Year!   We are beginning a new year in the Church.   We just lit the first purple Advent Candle.   The priest and deacon are now wearing purple vestments.  These are signs of the Lord’s coming.     

We are of course anticipating Jesus’ arrival as a little baby, but early in Advent we focus on the Lord’s second coming at the final judgment.    

            In today’s Gospel Jesus speaks of signs.  He references the sky:  the sun, moon, and stars that the people of His time relied on for guidance in their travels.   If these changed the people of the time would be lost.  These were their GPS.  He also spoke of nations in 

distress and being perplexed by the roaring of seas and the waves. These were disorienting situations where control and order was lost. The is a world in chaos and people are in fear anticipating what is coming next.    They don’t know what to rely on because the signs they trusted are passing away.

            People today like to reference these signs of uncertainty to predict the coming of the end times.   When they see these signs of chaos in the world they predict the end is coming causing people to be afraid.  But throughout history there have been many of these signs that have come and gone.   Nobody knows the day or the hour when the Lord will come again.  So what are we to do?  

            Jesus tells us, “When these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads, because your redemption is at hand.”  By living as faithful Christians, loving God and neighbor, we look forward to the coming of the Lord, because we have the hope that the justice of the Lord will be ours.   Our hope is that He will find us worthy to join him in His heavenly Kingdom.  

            In order for us to anticipate His coming we need to stay awake.    Jesus tells us not to let our hearts be drowsy from carousing, drunkenness, and anxieties of daily life.    When we are focused on these things we’re focused on ourself and not loving God or others.    We know the Lord will come again, but we don’t know exactly when.   To be ready we can listen the Lord’s advice: “be vigilant and pray for the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”   We need to always be ready to meet the Lord when he comes again.  Saint Paul offers us some insight on how to do this, to grow in love.   He tells us, “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you, so as to strengthen your hearts, and be blameless in holiness before our God and Father.”  

This is possible by conducting ourselves to please God, showing our love for Him and our neighbor, walking in the Way of the Lord.

 

            There have definitely been signs in our faith community showing this love for one another.   The hundreds of people in need that showed up for the Thanksgiving food distribution last weekend.  The thousands of items donated and service to the Thanksgiving food distribution, food pantry, Christmas store, Pro-vida toy drive, and Gabriel project baby showers over the past year.  The many volunteers who prepared and served food at funeral meals throughout the year.  The hundreds of visits by Eucharistic ministers to bringing the life giving food of Jesus in Communion to the sick and homebound.  The numerous volunteers and teachers of the faith in RCIA, religious education, school and athletic ministries. There are of course countless signs seen only by the Lord himself in acts of love serving others in the name of Jesus.

            So as the New Year in the Church begins, it’s a good time to reflect on spiritual resolutions to work on so we can grow in love and be ready when the Lord comes again. Try to find some quiet time to pray for the strength to grow in love and listen to the Lord of any changes He’s calling you to.  By striving to live a life of loving of God and neighbor we can be ready to stand erect and raise our heads with joy when the Lord comes again.

When end times come remember: You are my inheritance O Lord! Homily for the 33rd week in ordinary time

The readings that we hear today sound a bit ominous, like a plot for a blockbuster disaster movie.  It’s the end of the Church year, and the readings we hear are about the end times, the final coming of Jesus.  We hear in the first reading from prophet Daniel, “It shall be a time

unsurpassed in distress since nations begun in that time”.   In the Gospel we hear Jesus tell his disciples, “In those days after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.”  What are we to make of such distressing signs?

These occurrences would cause the people of Jesus time to be disturbed.   The people relied on the natural phenomenon of the sun, moon, and stars as their GPS to navigate them in the day and night.    They did not have the modern conveniences of GPS on cell phone to give them directions.  Without them, they would be lost. 

Jesus was trying to tell them that the world they relied on to guide their lives was about to change.  But when was this change going to happen?  Even Jesus did not know.  He says, “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, no the Son, but only the Father.”  If Jesus did not know, this certainly was a cause of anxiety for the disciples.  

The world that the disciples lived in was the Roman empire.  This was a culture that certainly had great disregard for human life. If you wanted to survive in the Roman empire, it was necessary to follow the ways of the ruling power.   Their rulers, Caesar, were thought to be divine.   They also had many pagan gods.  To survive in this world, it was necessary to worship these gods, and offer sacrifice to them through offerings of animals or grains.  On top of these the people were required to pay taxes to the Roman government. These practices were a threat to the Jewish people, who only worshipped the one true God.  If you did not comply with the demands, there were visible signs to warn the people.  These signs were the so-called criminals who were crucified to warn the people of what happened if they were not compliant with the Romans.   To survive in this world their guides were to follow the demands of the Roman rulers.  They were the sun, moon, and stars that the people had to follow if they did not want to meet their end. What were the people to do? 

The Psalm that we heard today was the key: You are my inheritance, O Lord!   Instead of trusting the culture of the world, they were to trust in the Lord.   Their inheritance is life in the Lord.  The Psalm states: Therefore, my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices,
    my body, too, abides in confidence;
because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
    nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.

And

You will show me the path to life,
    fullness of joys in your presence,
    the delights at your right hand forever.

By trusting in the Lord, Jesus Christ, their inheritance would be eternal life.  Jesus overcame the instrument of death, crucifixion, that the Romans used to control the people.   Jesus’ rising from the dead was the new sign that the ways of the world no longer had power over the lives of the people.   The real power was not that of brute force, but of sacrificial love.  

Jesus told his disciples, “They will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.”

So, if we believe that the Lord is our inheritance, we should not fear in Jesus coming, because we are living as the Lord Jesus has taught us, loving God and loving neighbor.   And by doing so, we will be the elect that is gathered from the four winds to be with him.

As the end of the Church year comes to an end, it’s a good time to reflect on whether we are loving God and our neighbor, or if we are following the culture of the world.   If there is some way of the world that we are struggling with that causes us to sin, we don’t have struggle alone.  We can come to Jesus, and ask him to forgive us, because as we heard in Hebrews, “he offered one sacrifice for our sins and took his seat forever at the right hand of God.” He took on our sins, so we can be reconciled to God. The Sacrament of confession is a tremendous healing remedy to return us to be in a right relationship with God.  To continue in that relationship the Eucharist provides us the graces we need to overcome the power of the world and remind us of what we all desire, to be the elect that the angels gather to be with God.  To remind us of this desire, remember to pray Psalm we sang today, You are my inheritance, O Lord!

 

 

Have faith in Jesus to be healed of blindness, seeing others as he sees them - Homily 30th Sunday, cycle C

 In today’s Gospel we hear about how persistent faith of Bartimaeus brings about a miraculous healing.   Of the healings in the Gospel of Mark, this is only the healing where the person’s name is given.   I looked up what this name meant.  The first part, Bar, stands for “Son of”.  Aramaic and Greek were two common languages in use at the time and there were two meanings for Timaeus.  In Aramaic it meant unclean and in Greek it meant honored one. It’s quite interesting how these contrasting names reflect how Bartimaeus is perceived by people in the story.

In the Gospel, Jesus is traveling from Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd.  Jericho was the city in the Old Testament where Joshua led the Israelites carrying the Ark of the Covenant for seven days around the city walls, which miraculously came tumbling down. God’s presence led the Israelites to conquer Jericho.   The presence of God, in the person of Jesus, can conquer injustices in the world.

The blind man Bartimaeus is begging by the roadside and hears that Jesus is coming.   Why do you think that Bartimaeus is in need to beg? Many during Jesus time thought that a disability was a result of the personal sin of the person, or their family.  Consequently, they were excluded by society in participating in worship and engaging in meaningful work to support themselves.   They were outcasts seen as being unclean.

Bartimaeus has heard about Jesus miraculous healings and tries to get his attention.   He cries out, “Son of David, have pity on me.”  The crowd responds telling him to be quite and stop bothering Jesus. They don’t see any worth in him due to their view of him being unclean.  Bartimaeus again calls out, “Son of David, have pity on me.”  He is quite clever in using the title, “Son of David”, which is an honorary reference to the great King of Israel, inferring a messianic title upon Jesus.   Such a public acclamation of honor by Bartimaeus, would require a favorable response by Jesus.   He was putting Jesus in quite a predicament.

In a surprise response to the crowds, Jesus tells them to call him. Jesus is responding not in disdain, but in honor of Bartimaeus. He sees his human dignity of being created in the image and likeness of God, and instead of ignoring him, Jesus engages in a relationship. Bartimaeus is told to “take courage, Jesus is calling you.”  

Bartimaeus responds by throwing away his cloak, springing up, and coming to Jesus. Throwing away his cloak was a sign of letting go of his most trusted possession, to put his trust in Jesus.   His cloak probably gave him protection and comfort in his lonely existence, isolated from the community. His trust was in an object rather than a relationship.  Jesus was offering a relationship by engaging in dialogue with Bartimaeus, asking him, “what do you want me to do for you?” to which, Bartimaeus responds, “Master, I want to see.”  

His response really made me think.  Does Bartimaeus really want to see?   In his isolation as a beggar and exclusion from the community, he may have been longing more so to be seen, rather than to physically regain his sight.  If people would recognize him as Jesus did, a person created in God’s image, with dignity and respect, he would be seen and welcome him into the community as he was.   Instead of being isolated and labeled as the blind beggar, he would be known as Bartimaeus, the son of the honored one, and welcomed into the community.

Jesus responds to Bartimaeus with, “Go your way, your faith has saved you”.  Bartimaeus faith in Jesus results in him gaining his site.  And with the restoration of his sight, his so-called disability is gone, and returned to the community. In the time of Jesus, these miraculous healings were done signs of his divine power to heal, leading people to believe in him.  But there were more importantly about uniting the person to return to community to worship God. 

Bartimaeus really takes a leap of faith in throwing off his cloak, which was his most trusted possession.   He put his total trust in Jesus, has his sight restored, and is restored to relationship in community. This cloak is a symbol of what we cling to that prevents us from seeing others as Jesus sees them. Do we see others as being unclean like the crowds because have a disability, an immigrant, a different ethnicity, race, or sexual orientation?  Or do we see them as being sons and daughters of honor, with the eyes of Jesus, as a person created in the image and likeness of God?

Many times, we can be blind to others because we don’t see as God sees them.  We each may want to ask ourselves what we are clinging to that blinds us from seeing others as God sees us.  As we close out the month of October, which is Respect Life month, let’s put our faith in Jesus, to help throw off the cloak that blinds us, from seeing others in our community as God’s children. God’s desire is to have all to come into communion with Jesus.  As we come forth to receive the Eucharist, ask him to give us the faith, to see others as beloved sons and daughter of God, through His eyes of love.