Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading I
Jer 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.
Responsorial
Psalm
Ps 126:1-2, 2-3,
4-5, 6
R. (3) The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Reading
II
Heb 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.
Gospel
Mk 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.
Today’s First Reading is taken from a section of the book of Jeremiah, which most scholars agree constitutes a climax and even an apogee of all prophecy. The entire section (30:1-31:40) is actually a collection of poems, which express the theme of salvation after judgment and is still the subject of much heated argument among scholars. The most disputed question revolves around the identification of “Israel” to whom the oracles are addressed. Some scholars believe the term Israel in this context includes both the kingdom of Israel and Judah. Others hold that Jeremiah is addressing Judah after the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC. However, due to the use of geographical and personal names used by the writer in this section, such as Samaria, Jacob, Ephraim, Ramah, etc., there is good reason to believe that the prophet was addressing the northern kingdom of Israel which had been experiencing exile since 721.
This particular passage speaks of the triumphant march through the desert after Israel’s second exile. The “remnant” constitutes a small number of the people who have escaped the calamities that befell Israel in 721, and who have been purified through the exile to constitute a new Israel who will now be faithful to God. This new exodus is comprised of weak people, which accentuate the miraculous nature of this event. That the people will be lead to “brooks of water”, alludes to the incident at Meriba in the first exodus. This exodus however, will be quite different from the first.
In the Second Reading, the writer defines the role of the high priest and exemplifies it in the person of Jesus. The writer uses three specific qualifications to define the office of high priest:
1. The high priest is chosen from human beings and represents them in the sacrifice he offers.
2. He is able to represent us because he shares in our human weakness.
3. Is called to this office by God.
The remainder of the verses from today’s reading goes on to explain (in reverse order) how Jesus fulfills these qualifications. First of all, Christ did not assume the office of high priest but received it from God. Second, verses 7-9 demonstrate Christ’s solidarity with our weakened humanity, but the argument is subtle because Jesus has been declared sinless and thus cannot offer sin offerings for himself as well as for the people as other priests do. Finally (though omitted from today’s reading), Christ is the representative of the people for whom he offers sacrifice, and his intercession was so effective that he became a source of salvation for others.
Today’s Gospel Reading contrasts the healing of the unnamed blind man that was brought to Jesus in 8:22-26. Bartimaeus (in Aram. Bar Timaeus or son of Timaeus) is the one who actively seeks out Jesus. His reaction to Jesus and his willingness to follow him, contrasts with the misunderstanding and the blindness that the disciples and others have shown throughout the journey. He is immediately healed, and thus becomes a disciple of the “way”. The phrase “to follow him on the way”, was a familiar designation for discipleship in the early Church.
Jericho is about 15 miles NE of Jerusalem and 5 miles W of the Jordan River. Jesus is therefore bringing to an end the journey to Jerusalem that he began in Caesarea Philippi. It would not have been unusual for beggars to sit at the gates of the city to wait for passersby and ask for alms. Bartimaeus however, calls out to Jesus: “Son of David, have mercy on me” Thus publicly recognizing Jesus’ true identity by applying to him this messianic title. The action of throwing aside the cloak is probably a reference to leaving behind the “old”. Jesus’ question to Bartimaeus provides the opportunity for a profession of faith about Jesus’ healing power.
At the age of 3, Michael May lost his sight to a chemical explosion. In the 43 years since Michael became blind, he obtained a Master’s Degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; he worked as a Political Risk Analyst at the headquarters of the CIA in McLean Virginia, and has been recognized for his work by the Discovery Blind Sports, The United States Association of Blind Athletes, the San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind, The Peninsula Center for the Blind, and many others. He’s also been the recipient of the American Foundation for the Blind Kay Gallagher award. Additionally, Michael May holds the downhill speed skiing record for a totally blind person at 65 MPH. But perhaps the most intriguing thing about the life of Michael May is that in the year 2000 he regained his sight through surgery. However, three years after having his vision restored, researchers say that May’s case shows how vision is more than just eye function. Because of his prolonged blindness, Michael’s ability to interpret what he sees is impaired.
Michael’s story is a great example of today’s Gospel of the blind Bartimaeus. Although Bartimaeus was physically blind his sight was perfect. What his eyes could not see was known through his faith. Bartimaeus knew even better than the disciples who Jesus was even though he had never witnessed any of Jesus’ miracles with his own eyes as the others did. With all their perfect vision, not even the twelve closest to Jesus understood who he really was. In fact, not until they were enlightened by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost could they see Jesus’ true nature. Yet here we are presented with a blind person who can apparently see better than those with 20/20 vision. And to make things even more ironic, those who saw and walked with Jesus were becoming an obstacle to others: “many rebuked him, telling him to be silent”. We should stop and wonder about what would have happened if blind Bartimaeus had listened the crowed and remained silent. Instead he cried out louder because he could see what others failed to see, and because of his persistence and keen vision, God’s glory was manifest through Jesus’ saving action. What would have happened to Michael May if he had listened to the countless people who told him he couldn’t do something? Yet Michael like Bartimaeus had the ability to see much more than what our human eyes can.
To this day, Michael May prefers to ski with eyes closed. His ability to see again has been received with mixed feelings. Throughout 43 years he developed another more keen vision that is not subject to the distraction that the seeing world presents. Today’s readings challenge everyone to see beyond what our eyes see. Like Bartimaeus and Michael May, we must learn that it is not necessary to “see in order to believe”. Instead, these two men are proof that it is in believing that we are able to see.
New American Bible; Brown, R. K., and Comfort, P. W. (trans.) and Douglas, J. D., (ed.) “The New Greek-English Interlinear New Testament”; United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; Holladay, W. L., “Jeremiah 1”; Hyatt, J. P., “The Book of Jeremiah”; McKane, W., “A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Jeremiah: Jeremiah I-XXV”; Thompson, J. A., “The Book of Jeremiah”; Attridge, H. W., "Hebrews"; Bruce, F. F., "The Epistle to the Hebrews"; Kingsbury, J. D., “The Christology of Mark’s Gospel”; Schweizer, E., “The Good News According to Mark”; Tuckett, C. (ed.), “The Messianic Secret”; “The Collegeville Bible Commentary”; Brown, Raymond E., S.S., “Introduction to the New Testament”; Brown, Fitzmyer, and Murphy (ed.) “The New Jerome Biblical Commentary”.
Deacon Lazaro J. Ulloa