Your faith has saved you-30th Sunday YearB homily
Your Faith has saved you!
Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Back in the late 1700’s a man named John Newton worked hard to destroy the Christian faith. He was an alcoholic and a moral libertine. By the grace of God he was rescued, restored, healed, and given the sight to see what he was and what God wanted him to be. In his gratitude he wrote a hymn the words of which you will recognize:
“Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see.”
Yes dear brothers and sisters, It is difficult to answer “Who is really blind, and who really sees?”
The most debilitating form of blindness is found in folks who think they see the truth when they really don’t. There is a no more pitiable form of blindness than one who thinks he or she has all of the right answers, who thinks he or she knows all that one needs to know about God, about Jesus Christ, about the Church and about religion…but really doesn’t.
Today’s gospel account bids us to see and recognize ourselves as Bartimaeus, the blind beggar sitting on the roadside in Jericho.
I want you to notice some points out of today’s gospel account. The first and the most important point is that Bartimaeus knew he was blind. Do we know that we really don’t see reality as Jesus sees it, that we miss seeing the works and the hand of God in our lives, that we’re bedazzled and blinded by the glitz and glitter of this world, and that our souls are surrounded by a spiritual darkness, and that we often do not let the light of Christ illumine our way through that darkness? Do we realize we are blind when it comes to seeing ourselves as Jesus sees us?
Secondly: those around Bartimaeus tried to hush him up and keep him away from Jesus. It’s significant because that’s the situation in which we find ourselves today. There are a whole lot of voices and forces attempting to keep us from contacting and personally encountering Jesus Christ. Bartimaeus took the courageous risk of going against the crowd. In faith he approached Jesus. He didn’t wait but ran to Jesus.
Next, we notice that Jesus does something he rarely does. He stops in his tracks. Then he tells them to bring the blind beggar to him. Jesus stops what he is doing to put himself at the disposal of someone in need, especially those who call out to him for help. Jesus stopped everything to pay personal attention to him. I have no doubt whatsoever that you are just as important to Jesus as was Bartimaeus and that, if you call out to Jesus, He will drop everything to give you the same level of attention, love and compassionate care as He gave to Bartimaeus.
Jesus stresses that it is the man’s faith that has saved him. What do we want to do to be saved by our faith? Now here’s the clincher. What does the blind beggar Bartimaeus do when he is told that Jesus is asking for him? It says here that he throws aside his cloak, jumps up and runs to Jesus. What’s so important about that? If he’s a homeless, blind beggar, and is sitting there on the ground at the gate, he would lay his cloak on the ground in front of him so people could throw a few coins at him, so that he would have a few dimes to buy a piece of bread. In other words, that cloak contained his alms, all the money he had in the world. And at the call of Jesus, he instantly throws it all away. He cares nothing for money, everything for Jesus. By this simple action, Mark points out how Bartimaeus threw aside material things and went straight to Jesus.
His eagerness is further highlighted by the fact that he jumped up—no slowly getting to his feet with stiff joints after sitting so long by the wayside. No he leapt to his feet and left his material possessions behind on the ground. And he ran to Jesus.
When he recognized Jesus then he called out left everything behind jumps up and runs to Jesus.
So, I think the question for us is do we recognize Jesus as Bartimeaus when Jesus pass us by. Clearly, you have faith in him. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here this cool windy evening. But, how do you see him? What kind of person is Jesus for you? Is your recognition of him, perhaps, confined to Weekend Mass, and that, perhaps, distracted by the thought that you have arranged to go to dinner with some friends? And what about the rest of the week? Do we recognize Christ then? Do we even say “Hi” to him in a daily prayer? We are so distracted, so busy. So much goes on in our lives that, sometimes, it is a real struggle to aver to the fact that Jesus is here in our lives.
Jesus is present in the Word of God. Listening to Scripture, to the word of God: The Vatican Council said, “Christ is present in his word, since it is he himself who speaks when the Holy Scriptures are read in Church.” Let me repeat that. “Christ is present in his word, since it is he himself who speaks when the Holy Scriptures are read in Church.”
We all believe that he is really present in the Eucharist under the form of bread and wine. But, again, a question..... Do we actually grasp the reality of that presence? How does it affect our faithfulness, our commitment? Are we eager to come to church to receive him, body and blood, really present, to have him touch our lives in the deepest possible way, and most of all, do we carry his presence with us out into the wider world? Does it affect how we live for the rest of the week? Does it affect our relationship with family and friends, with neighbors, with co-workers, with strangers?
Remember that Scripture gives us a third way of recognizing the Risen Lord. Jesus himself said, “Whatever you do for the least of my brothers and sisters, you do for me.” He is really present in every human being. Do we grasp that? Does it really affect our relationships with others?
Yes brothers and sisters, today this poor, blind beggar, who has no home, no food, no family, and no security, cries out, “Jesus Son of David, have mercy on me,”. He identifies Jesus as the Messiah and begs for mercy. That is how we are to pray and come before Jesus from now on. So what does this story mean for us? Each one of us needs Jesus, just as Bartimaeus did. Each one of us needs to recognize Jesus in our lives. This Gospel calls us to learn from Bartimaeus--to call out for mercy from our God; to turn away from money and possessions; to run after Jesus; and to ask Jesus for the gift of vision, so that we too can begin to see Jesus standing in our midst saying your faith have saved you go in peace. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Back in the late 1700’s a man named John Newton worked hard to destroy the Christian faith. He was an alcoholic and a moral libertine. By the grace of God he was rescued, restored, healed, and given the sight to see what he was and what God wanted him to be. In his gratitude he wrote a hymn the words of which you will recognize:
“Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see.”
Yes dear brothers and sisters, It is difficult to answer “Who is really blind, and who really sees?”
The most debilitating form of blindness is found in folks who think they see the truth when they really don’t. There is a no more pitiable form of blindness than one who thinks he or she has all of the right answers, who thinks he or she knows all that one needs to know about God, about Jesus Christ, about the Church and about religion…but really doesn’t.
Today’s gospel account bids us to see and recognize ourselves as Bartimaeus, the blind beggar sitting on the roadside in Jericho.
I want you to notice some points out of today’s gospel account. The first and the most important point is that Bartimaeus knew he was blind. Do we know that we really don’t see reality as Jesus sees it, that we miss seeing the works and the hand of God in our lives, that we’re bedazzled and blinded by the glitz and glitter of this world, and that our souls are surrounded by a spiritual darkness, and that we often do not let the light of Christ illumine our way through that darkness? Do we realize we are blind when it comes to seeing ourselves as Jesus sees us?
Secondly: those around Bartimaeus tried to hush him up and keep him away from Jesus. It’s significant because that’s the situation in which we find ourselves today. There are a whole lot of voices and forces attempting to keep us from contacting and personally encountering Jesus Christ. Bartimaeus took the courageous risk of going against the crowd. In faith he approached Jesus. He didn’t wait but ran to Jesus.
Next, we notice that Jesus does something he rarely does. He stops in his tracks. Then he tells them to bring the blind beggar to him. Jesus stops what he is doing to put himself at the disposal of someone in need, especially those who call out to him for help. Jesus stopped everything to pay personal attention to him. I have no doubt whatsoever that you are just as important to Jesus as was Bartimaeus and that, if you call out to Jesus, He will drop everything to give you the same level of attention, love and compassionate care as He gave to Bartimaeus.
Jesus stresses that it is the man’s faith that has saved him. What do we want to do to be saved by our faith? Now here’s the clincher. What does the blind beggar Bartimaeus do when he is told that Jesus is asking for him? It says here that he throws aside his cloak, jumps up and runs to Jesus. What’s so important about that? If he’s a homeless, blind beggar, and is sitting there on the ground at the gate, he would lay his cloak on the ground in front of him so people could throw a few coins at him, so that he would have a few dimes to buy a piece of bread. In other words, that cloak contained his alms, all the money he had in the world. And at the call of Jesus, he instantly throws it all away. He cares nothing for money, everything for Jesus. By this simple action, Mark points out how Bartimaeus threw aside material things and went straight to Jesus.
His eagerness is further highlighted by the fact that he jumped up—no slowly getting to his feet with stiff joints after sitting so long by the wayside. No he leapt to his feet and left his material possessions behind on the ground. And he ran to Jesus.
When he recognized Jesus then he called out left everything behind jumps up and runs to Jesus.
So, I think the question for us is do we recognize Jesus as Bartimeaus when Jesus pass us by. Clearly, you have faith in him. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here this cool windy evening. But, how do you see him? What kind of person is Jesus for you? Is your recognition of him, perhaps, confined to Weekend Mass, and that, perhaps, distracted by the thought that you have arranged to go to dinner with some friends? And what about the rest of the week? Do we recognize Christ then? Do we even say “Hi” to him in a daily prayer? We are so distracted, so busy. So much goes on in our lives that, sometimes, it is a real struggle to aver to the fact that Jesus is here in our lives.
Jesus is present in the Word of God. Listening to Scripture, to the word of God: The Vatican Council said, “Christ is present in his word, since it is he himself who speaks when the Holy Scriptures are read in Church.” Let me repeat that. “Christ is present in his word, since it is he himself who speaks when the Holy Scriptures are read in Church.”
We all believe that he is really present in the Eucharist under the form of bread and wine. But, again, a question..... Do we actually grasp the reality of that presence? How does it affect our faithfulness, our commitment? Are we eager to come to church to receive him, body and blood, really present, to have him touch our lives in the deepest possible way, and most of all, do we carry his presence with us out into the wider world? Does it affect how we live for the rest of the week? Does it affect our relationship with family and friends, with neighbors, with co-workers, with strangers?
Remember that Scripture gives us a third way of recognizing the Risen Lord. Jesus himself said, “Whatever you do for the least of my brothers and sisters, you do for me.” He is really present in every human being. Do we grasp that? Does it really affect our relationships with others?
Yes brothers and sisters, today this poor, blind beggar, who has no home, no food, no family, and no security, cries out, “Jesus Son of David, have mercy on me,”. He identifies Jesus as the Messiah and begs for mercy. That is how we are to pray and come before Jesus from now on. So what does this story mean for us? Each one of us needs Jesus, just as Bartimaeus did. Each one of us needs to recognize Jesus in our lives. This Gospel calls us to learn from Bartimaeus--to call out for mercy from our God; to turn away from money and possessions; to run after Jesus; and to ask Jesus for the gift of vision, so that we too can begin to see Jesus standing in our midst saying your faith have saved you go in peace. Amen.
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