October 28, 2012

30th Sunday of Ordinary Time

First Reading: Jeremiah 31:7-9

   Thus says the LORD: Shout with joy for Jacob, exult at the head of the nations; proclaim your praise and say: The LORD has delivered his people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them back from the land of the north; I will gather them from the ends of the world, with the blind and the lame in their midst, The mothers and those with child; they shall return as an immense throng. They departed in tears, but I will console them and guide them; I will lead them to brooks of water, on a level road, so that none shall stumble. For I am a father to Israel, Ephraim is my first-born.

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Second Reading: Hebrews 5:1-6

   Brothers and sisters, every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. In the same way, it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest, but rather the one who said to him: "You are my son; this day I have begotten you"; just as he says in another place: "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

Gospel Reading: Mark 10:46-52

   As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, son of David, have pity on me." And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, "Son of David, have pity on me." Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take courage; get up, he is calling you." He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see." Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you." Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.

Reflection: Fr. James Theophilus 

   When Jesus asked Bartimaeus, the blind man, ‘What you want me to do for you?’ he meant to ask him whether he was ready to give up his begging. He was asking him whether he was ready for a different way of life. He was asking him whether he was ready to earn his living (working and not sitting on the road side begging). Bartimaeus was challenged to change his way of life.
   Bartimaeus was ready for that and that was the reason that he threw his cloak. Cloak was used to spread on the ground to gather his begging. Jericho was not a cold place which needed a cloak to put on and that too during the day. Bartimaeus accepted the challenge even before he got the sight. He was not only ready for a new way of life but he was also ready to choose the best way of life- to follow Jesus.