"RABBI!... I want to see!" 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mk 10:46-52

In today's Gospel we hear about Jesus' healing of Bartimaeus. What is remarkable about this story is the courage of Bartimaeus and his expectant faith. We pray for those who are on the margins of society and those who are suffering. Some of the crowd attempt to silence Bartimaeus. We pray for those who persecute others. We pray for those whose voices cannot be heard. Bartimaeus calls out louder because he has the kind of faith that speaks up and acts up. If Bartimaeus had believed quietly in Jesus, he would not have been noticed. We pray for those who are persistent in their faith and in their actions for healing and justice regardless of the consequences. Some of the crowd encourage Bartimaeus telling him to have courage and get up. We pray for those who work on the fringes of society, whose eyes and ears have been opened to the voiceless. Jesus asks "what do you want me to do for you?" We pray that we may have the courage to ask God for what we need no matter how impossible it may seem. Bartimaeus wants to see. We pray that we may all have our eyes opened to the realities of the world around us, that we too may take courage and ´get up´. We pray for those who do not want to have their eyes opened because they are afraid. Bartimaeus' healing is immediate and he follows Jesus on the way. We pray that we may receive the same insight as Bartimaeus so that we can follow Jesus on 'the way'.

Mission Sunday 2012

“For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve” (Mark 10:35-45) Today, Mission Sunday, Catholics worldwide are asked to recommit themselves to mission, to the Gospel message. Many people think of missionaries as those who travel to so-called developing countries and dedicate their lives to serving the poor and spreading the Gospel. Today we pray especially for them but we also recommit ourselves to following the Gospel message in prayer, in our daily lives and relationships with others. We live in an extremely unequal world that is in desperate need of the Gospel message of hope, solidarity, peace, love and equality. The Mission month of October reminds us all that we are bearers of that message. We are all called to be missionaries wherever we live; we are all invited to love and serve God by loving and serving others. That’s how we share our faith with the world. The Mission month of October offers everyone the chance to renew their commitment to the Gospel message. Can we be missionaries to our own families and to the people around us?

The impossible is often the untried...

Today’s gospel (MK 10:17-27) reminds me of the Olympic games in London a few months back as I was literally glued to the TV for two weeks of good news stories, images of solidarity, humanity at its best and the universal language of sport breaking down all cultural and political barriers (if only for 16 days). What struck me most was the interview given by Katie Taylor right after she won her gold medal, her first words being “Where would I be without God in my life?” Katie decided aged 11 she would be Olympic champion and aged 26 that’s exactly what she achieved. Katie talks of the Bible as her psychological tool and Jesus as the strength in her life.

The man in today’s Gospel is a man of faith but he wants to know what rules to obey and what things to avoid so that he can simply get on with things and achieve some deeper existence without too much bother. The man goes away sad perhaps thinking about a goal he had set but not achieved because he was unwilling to give everything. What Jesus asks seems impossible to him. We are not given impossible tasks. We are given dreams that can be achieved but that will involve hard work, determination, perseverance and bouts along the way. There is no easy path to a deeper involvement with life, whether that be in our relationship with God or with a community, a cause or a lifelong dream. We are reminded that ‘all things are possible with God’.

October 7th Mark 10:2-16

In today’s Gospel Jesus is being tested again with a controversial question on remarriage. “Is it legal…?” this honour/shame spectacle is challenging Jesus’ interpretation of the Torah and Jesus immediately tries to take his questioners beyond the letter of the Law. He reminds us of God’s creation and the harmony that exists or that should exist in the world around us. While the questioning refers specifically to remarriage, Jesus’ response is that we are all equal and should strive to stay away from all that causes disharmony.

The story of the little children may appear a separate incident but it again involves human relationships. The word ‘children’ meaning ‘little ones’ is not referring solely to children but to those in society who are considered ‘little’. What does Jesus do for them? He welcomes the rejected, he blesses them, he shows us that they are unique and each have something to teach us. “Lord, there are many things in life which you have made complementary, not two, but together forming one reality: young and old in a community; men and women in relationships; people of different cultures in our one world; body and soul within each of us. It is difficult to make this unity, and so we allow ourselves to divorce these things from each other. We see them as opposed and in competition. We thank you for Jesus who taught us that it was not so at the beginning of creation, and what you have united we human beings have no right to divide” (Michael de Verteuil).