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| Christ Healing the Blind Man by Bloch |
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Monday, November 18, 2013
33rd Week in Ordinary Time
Luke 18:35-43
35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging; 36 and hearing a multitude going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 And he cried, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 And Jesus stopped, and commanded him to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me receive my sight.” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he received his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
Cited in the Catechism: In promulgating the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Blessed John Paul II explained that the Catechism "is a statement of the Church's faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church's Magisterium." He went on to "declare it to be a sure norm for teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion" (Fidei Depositum). Passages from this Gospel reading are not cited in the Catechism, however, passages from the parallel reading in Mark 10:46-52 are cited in paragraphs 548, 2616 and 2667.
Commentary
Curing of the blind man of Jericho
18:35–43. The blind man of Jericho is quick to use the opportunity presented by Christ’s presence. We should not neglect the Lord’s graces, for we do not know whether he will offer them to us again. St Augustine described very succinctly the urgency with which we should respond to God’s gift, to his passing us on the road: “Timeo Jesum praetereuntem et non redeuntem: I fear Jesus may pass by and not come back.” For, at least on some occasion, in some way, Jesus passes close to everyone.
The blind man of Jericho acclaims Jesus as the Messiah—he gives him the messianic title of Son of David—and asks him to meet his need, to make him see. His is an active faith; he shouts out, he persists, despite the people getting in his way. And he manages to get Jesus to hear him and call him. God wanted this episode to be recorded in the Gospel, to teach us how we should believe and how we should pray—with conviction, with urgency, with constancy, in spite of the obstacles, with simplicity, until we manage to get Jesus to listen to us.
“Lord, let me receive my sight”: this simple ejaculatory prayer should be often on our lips, flowing from the depths of our heart. It is a very good prayer to use in moments of doubt and vacillation, when we cannot understand the reason behind God’s plans, when the horizon of our commitment becomes clouded. It is even a good prayer for people who are sincerely trying to find God but who do not yet have the great gift of faith. See also the note on Mk 10:46–52.
Note on Mark 10:46-52
Bartimeus, the blind man of Jericho
10:46–52. “Hearing the commotion the crowd was making, the blind man asks, ‘What is happening?’ They told him, ‘It is Jesus of Nazareth.’ At this his soul was so fired with faith in Christ that he cried out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’
“Don’t you feel the same urge to cry out? You who also are waiting at the side of the way, of this highway of life that is so very short? You who need more light, you who need more grace to make up your mind to seek holiness? Don’t you feel an urgent need to cry out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me’? What a beautiful aspiration for you to repeat again and again!…
“ ‘Many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.’ As people have done to you, when you sensed that Jesus was passing your way. Your heart beat faster and you too began to cry out, prompted by an intimate longing. Then your friends, the need to do the done thing, the easy life, your surroundings, all conspired to tell you: ‘Keep quiet, don’t cry out. Who are you to be calling Jesus? Don’t bother him.’
“But poor Bartimaeus would not listen to them. He cried out all the more: ‘Son of David, have mercy on me.’ Our Lord, who had heard him right from the beginning, let him persevere in his prayer. He does the same with you. Jesus hears our cries from the very first, but he waits. He wants us to be convinced that we need him. He wants us to beseech him, to persist, like the blind man waiting by the road from Jericho. ‘Let us imitate him. Even if God does not immediately give us what we ask, even if many people try to put us off our prayers, let us still go on praying’ (St John Chrysostom, Hom. on St Matthew, 66).
“ ‘And Jesus stopped, and told them to call him.’ Some of the better people in the crowd turned to the blind man and said, ‘Take heart; rise, he is calling you.’ Here you have the Christian vocation! But God does not call only once. Bear in mind that our Lord is seeking us at every moment: get up, he tells us, put aside your indolence, your easy life, your petty selfishness, your silly little problems. Get up from the ground, where you are lying prostrate and shapeless. Acquire height, weight and volume, and a supernatural outlook.
“And throwing off his mantle the man sprang up and came to Jesus. He threw off his mantle! I don’t know if you have ever lived through a war, but many years ago I had occasion to visit a battlefield shortly after an engagement. There, strewn all over the ground, were greatcoats, water bottles, haversacks stuffed with family souvenirs, letters, photographs of loved ones … which belonged, moreover, not to the vanquished but to the victors! All these items had become superfluous in the bid to race forward and leap over the enemy defences. Just as happened to Bartimaeus, as he raced towards Christ.
“Never forget that Christ cannot be reached without sacrifice. We have to get rid of everything that gets in the way—greatcoat, haversack, water bottle. You have to do the same in this battle for the glory of God, in this struggle of love and peace by which we are trying to spread Christ’s kingdom. In order to serve the Church, the Pope and all souls, you must be ready to give up everything superfluous.…
“And now begins a dialogue with God, a marvellous dialogue that moves us and sets our hearts on fire, for you and I are now Bartimaeus. Christ, who is God, begins to speak and asks, Quid tibi vis faciam? ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man answers: ‘Lord, that I may see.’ How utterly logical! How about yourself, can you really see? Haven’t you too experienced at times what happened to the blind man of Jericho? I can never forget how, when meditating on this passage many years back, and realizing that Jesus was expecting something of me, though I myself did not know what it was, I made up my own aspirations: ‘Lord, what is it you want! What are you asking of me?’ I had a feeling that he wanted me to take on something new and the cry, Rabboni, ut videam, ‘Master, that I may see,’ moved me to beseech Christ again and again, ‘Lord, whatever it is that you wish, let it be done.’
“Pray with me now to our Lord: doce me facere voluntatem tuam, quia Deus meus es tu (Ps 143:10) (‘teach me to do thy will, for you art my God’). In short, our lips should express a true desire on our part to correspond effectively to our Creator’s promptings, striving to follow out his plans with unshakeable faith, being fully convinced that he cannot fail us.…
“But let us go back to the scene outside Jericho. It is now to you that Christ is speaking. He asks you, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ ‘Master, let me receive my sight.’ Then Jesus answers, ‘Go your way. Your faith has made you well.’ And immediately he received his sight and followed him on his way. Following Jesus on his way. You have understood what our Lord was asking from you and you have decided to accompany him on his way. You are trying to walk in his footsteps, to clothe yourself in Christ’s clothing, to be Christ himself: well, your faith, your faith in the light our Lord is giving you, must be both operative and full of sacrifice. Don’t fool yourself. Don’t think you are going to find new ways. The faith he demands of us is as I have said. We must keep in step with him, working generously and at the same time uprooting and getting rid of everything that gets in the way” (St Josemaría Escrivá, Friends of God, 195–198).
Source: The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries. Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." St Jerome
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