October 28, 2018Sunday 30th Week in Ordinary Time 1st Reading: Jer 31:7–9 2nd Reading: Heb 5:1–6 Gospel: Mk 10:46–52
As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth passing by, he began to call out, “Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!” Many people scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he shouted all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man saying, “Take heart. Get up, he is calling you.” He immediately threw aside his cloak, jumped up and went to Jesus. Then Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said, “Master, let me see again!” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way, your faith has made you well.” And immediately he could see, and he followed Jesus along the road.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life
Experience)
After recovering his sight, Bartimaeus followed Jesus to Calvary, blindly so to speak. Isn’t it surprising of him to thoughtlessly follow Jesus instead of exploring the world on his own with his newly recovered vision? He must have found the “Jesus event” so attractive that he tailed behind Jesus even when the road led to Calvary.
Today’s Gospel story of Bartimaues (Mark 10:46 – 52) is also found in Matthew 20:29-34 and Luke 18:35-43. St. Mark also tells us that after the miraculous restoration of sight, Bartimaeus “followed Jesus along the road.” We know that this road led to Calvary. It was a figurative description of how Bartimaeus became an active disciple in the community — so active that Mark deemed it appropriate to make him stand out in his Gospel account by taking the extra mile of explaining that his name means “son of Timaeus”.
After narrating the incident of the healing of Bartimaeus, all three evangelists begin the Holy Week account. Going deeper into the meaning of this succession of events in the Gospel narratives, we see the importance of spiritual vision vis-à-vis the Passion and Death of Jesus. A spiritually blind person will never understand the crucifixion. To the spiritually blind, the Calvary experience of Jesus was a defeat, a failure of divine wisdom, a sign that God succumbed to the power of death.
While none of us consider Jesus’ death at Calvary as a defeat, most of us are reluctant to “follow him along the road” to suffering and death. We may not be blind. But if Calvary is not attractive to our sight, what advantage does “not-being-blind” bring to our spiritual lives? – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M.
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