Homily: Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Mk: 10:46-52) “From Darkness to Light.”
We believe the words of Scripture are God speaking to us. We can take Scripture at face value reflecting on it in a scholarly way. We can also meditate on it as an allegory. We have several spiritual traditions in our church that emphasize the allegorical approach, especially when we hear a compelling story. The question we ask is, “Who are we in the story that is told?” Since this is a Sunday, we emphasize ministry, looking at the story of Bartimaeus in an allegorical way can be most helpful. Bartimaeus was a person who wanted to imitate Jesus.
Bartimaeus is blind. When we meet him, he is sitting by the side of the road. Bartimaeus sits in darkness. We get a sense that at one time he could see, but now the light had gone out of his life. How many of us feel that way today? While we are children, we may feel close to the Lord. But as we age, we can feel like we have moved away from the light of Christ. As the distance grows, we recede into darkness until we cannot see where Jesus is. We are full of uncertainty. The world around us is all too ready to affirm our doubts. Living a life full of doubt is a dark place to be.
When we sit in doubt it is like sitting by the side of the road. Life passes us by. We have a sense that everyone but us is on their way somewhere. We might feel like we aren’t getting anywhere. We are more of a spectator than a participant in life. We might be exhausted as we are bombarded by all that is happening in the larger world, in our own life. We might feel like we have nowhere to go. We might sense that no one would miss us if we were gone.
What does our prayer look like as we experience darkness? We might feel like we are beggars. We call out to God. Our well has run dry. We have nothing in reserve. All we can do is plead for relief.
The thing we notice about Bartimaeus is that he isn’t afraid to express his desire to escape his situation. He comes off the pity pot when Jesus walks by. He initiates an interaction with Jesus. He doesn’t care if he embarrasses himself. He casts off the cloak of apathy. When Jesus restores his sight, he doesn’t say, “Follow me.” Bartimaeus chooses to follow Jesus up the road towards Jerusalem. He finds a fresh approach to life.
We all can be tempted to sit by the roadside as life passes us by. We can also dive in. We are being invited to participate more fully in our parish life today. We have a plethora of activities to volunteer at Sacred Heart. We might say that I have enough to do. I’ve done my bit. I don’t have time. But what is being a disciple about? Being a disciple of Jesus is about stretching ourselves, evolving, becoming.
When I remember times when I have grown as a person. Usually, it has had to do with beginning a new ministry. I remember when I went to a college seminary. Shortly after I arrived a fellow seminarian approached me. He told me that he worked with the special scouts. Special needs men and boys participated in scouting. He invited me to attend a meeting with him. I told him I didn’t think I was equipped to do such a thing. He wouldn’t take no for an answer. He dropped by my room. He drove me to the meeting. I ended up spending six years working with people with special needs. I ended up directing a weeklong camp three different times: raising money, recruiting staff, leading. I grew so much as a person.
I remember several years later when I was a deacon in Peoria. May supervising pastor told me I would be helping with a communion service at the county jail. The thought of going into the jail and having a door lock behind me wasn’t appealing. But I went. I later ministered in several jails. I grew so much in my faith by trying to help those who were in deep trouble.
Discipleship is about taking a risk. Not every church activity is for us, but we don’t know what we might be able to do for Christ if don’t cast aside the cloak of apathy. Everyone can do something. When I visit the nursing home (which I never thought I would like) a resident will often ask, “What can I do?” I will say, “You can pray for our parish.” Everyone can do something. One last thing we remember from the Bartimaeus story is that his prayer led to action. Prayer isn’t very authentic unless it leads to a question. The question is, “What will I do for the Lord today?”
Reflection Questions:
1. Do I see myself in Bartimaeus? Why or why not?
2. How do I feel about my Christian life? Apathetic? Energized?
Dear Parishioners,
One of the tasks of every Christian is to pray for the dead. We might ask why? If God is a benevolent God, why don’t we just trust our deceased loved ones to God and move on? Grief does not work like that. If someone we love dies, we always have mixed feelings. We may feel sadness, grief, relief, guilt or a host of other emotions.
We need to process these feelings. One good way to do that is to pray about those feelings. Death is a mystery. We may be uncertain about whether our loved one has died in the state of grace. We may need assurance that those that we care deeply about will move through the gates of death to a new and more abundant life.
One way of praying is that we can have a Mass offered for the dead. This may take the form of praying for all the faithful departed. We also may want to remember one individual. If we offer a Mass, the priest will pray in a special way for our deceased loved ones and the Christian community that is gathered will as well.
If you would like to have a Mass celebrated for a special person you know that has died you can put the person’s name and your name and contact information in a white envelope labeled “Mass Intention” in the collection. Our office staff will contact you to see if you want a specific date or whether you agree to have the Mass offered at the first possible opportunity. You may want to attend the Mass for the person you are grieving for. A typical Mass stipend is $10.
May Our Lady of Sorrows pray for us,
Fr. Mark
P.S. I am sure all of us have heard the sad news that Suzie Buddie, the administrative assistant at Sacred Heart died Sunday morning in her home. Suzie has worked here since the 1990’s. This is a huge loss for all of us. Suzie was a wonderful minister and friend to many. At this writing, I do not have details concerning the funeral. Wheelan-Pressly funeral home will be handling the arrangements. Please follow their website for details. Please pray for Suzie’s family at this difficult time for them. We entrust her to the God she loved and served so well.