Homily 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time - October 24, 2021

 Today's readings can be found here.

            Have you ever considered what it would be like to be blind?  To be unable to see and be led around by another?  Perhaps you’ve done an exercise in trust where you’re blindfolded and need to rely on a partner to get around or complete some task.  During my time in the Navy, I attended firefighting school.  Part of our training was to enter a building raging with a Class B (or Bravo) fire as a team and put it out.  A Class Bravo fire is an oil fire, and it produces thick clouds of black smoke.  We entered from the top of the building meaning the entrance was engulfed with it.  We were told that when you first enter, your mask might get covered in soot so wipe it clear with your hand.  I remember entering the building, not being able to see anything, and trying to wipe my mask.  It didn’t make a difference.  The smoke was so thick, I literally could not see my hand in front of my face.  The only way I knew where to go was to rely on the person in the lead and to hang on to the hose.  If I let go of the hose, I would have been lost in the building, unable to find my way out.

            It must have been like that for Bartimaeus.  All his life, someone needed to lead him around.  That day Jesus passed by him, someone likely helped him find his spot then left him there to beg as people passed by.  Most people probably ignored him as he called out for alms or charity.  But then he hears a commotion and finds out Jesus is passing by.  So he starts calling out to Jesus.  Not just call out to Jesus, but he calls out to the Son of David, one of the titles of the Messiah.  How did Bartimaeus know Jesus was the Messiah?  Perhaps he’d heard stories about Jesus’ ability to heal or the miracles Jesus performed.  But what allowed Bartimaeus to make the connection between what he’d heard of Jesus and the expectations of the Messiah?  Faith allowed Bartimaeus to recognize Jesus as the Messiah.  It was this faith that inspired Bartimaeus to request mercy from Jesus.

            The crowd, however, tried to silence Bartimaeus.  His faith made him reject these calls to be silent and caused him to cry out for Jesus even louder.  When his cries were heard and Jesus called out to him, Bartimaeus threw his cloak aside, sprang up, and went to Jesus.  Think about that a moment.  Bartimaeus wasn’t led to Jesus as he’d been led his entire life.  He sprang up and went to Jesus, even though he had no way of knowing where Jesus actually was.  Bartimaeus wasn’t afraid to let go of his lifeline, his hose, so to speak, to find Jesus.  He trusted that he would find Jesus without being able to see Him.

Further, in throwing aside his cloak, he must have had some expectation of being cured of his blindness.  Otherwise, why would he toss it without knowing where it went?  How would he have found it again if he couldn’t see?  This is another indication of the faith Bartimaeus had in Jesus.  It was this faith that allowed Bartimaeus to find Jesus and ask that he be able to see.  Jesus, knowing his faith, tells him this faith has saved him and he can go his own way.  On regaining his sight, Bartimaeus follows Jesus, even though Jesus never requested he do so.  He was told to go his own way and yet chose Jesus over any other path.

            While we may be able to see physically, how many of us have experienced spiritual blindness?  Or desired to see more clearly that we do now?  Do we cry out for Jesus the way Bartimaeus did?  I’m sure we’ve all experienced times where “the world” has tried to shout us down.  Or to look to things other than Jesus to make us happy or cure our spiritual restlessness.  In those cases, do we call out to Jesus even louder?  And are we willing, like Bartimaeus, to throw everything aside and spring up to find Jesus, even if we’re not exactly sure where He is?  Jesus calls us continually to be healed of our blindness.  Are we willing to let go of whatever we’re holding on to and run to Jesus, even if we can’t see Him?  Are we willing to let go of the hose?