MAKING SENSE OF OUR LIFE BY SEEING EVERYTHING IN FAITH

20151025 MAKING SENSE OF OUR LIFE BY SEEING EVERYTHING IN FAITH

Readings at Mass

First reading

Jeremiah 31:7-9 ©

The Lord says this:

Shout with joy for Jacob!

Hail the chief of nations!

Proclaim! Praise! Shout:

‘The Lord has saved his people,

the remnant of Israel!’

See, I will bring them back

from the land of the North

and gather them from the far ends of earth;

all of them: the blind and the lame,

women with child, women in labour:

a great company returning here.

They had left in tears,

I will comfort them as I lead them back;

I will guide them to streams of water,

by a smooth path where they will not stumble.

For I am a father to Israel,

and Ephraim is my first-born son.

Psalm

Psalm 125:1-6 ©

What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.

When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage,

  it seemed like a dream.

Then was our mouth filled with laughter,

  on our lips there were songs.

What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.

The heathens themselves said: ‘What marvels

  the Lord worked for them!’

What marvels the Lord worked for us!

  Indeed we were glad.

What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.

Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage

  as streams in dry land.

Those who are sowing in tears

  will sing when they reap.

What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.

They go out, they go out, full of tears,

  carrying seed for the sowing:

they come back, they come back, full of song,

  carrying their sheaves.

What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.

Second reading

Hebrews 5:1-6 ©

Every high priest has been taken out of mankind and is appointed to act for men in their relations with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins; and so he can sympathise with those who are ignorant or uncertain because he too lives in the limitations of weakness. That is why he has to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. No one takes this honour on himself, but each one is called by God, as Aaron was. Nor did Christ give himself the glory of becoming high priest, but he had it from the one who said to him: You are my son, today I have become your father, and in another text: You are a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and for ever.

Gospel Acclamation

Jn8:12

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the light of the world, says the Lord;

anyone who follows me will have the light of life.

Alleluia!

Or	cf.2Tim1:10

Alleluia, alleluia!

Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death

and he has proclaimed life through the Good News.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Mark 10:46-52 ©

As Jesus left Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus (that is, the son of Timaeus), a blind beggar, was sitting at the side of the road. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and to say, ‘Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me.’ And many of them scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he only shouted all the louder, ‘Son of David, have pity on me.’ Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him here.’ So they called the blind man. ‘Courage,’ they said ‘get up; he is calling you.’ So throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and went to Jesus. Then Jesus spoke, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ ‘Rabbuni,’ the blind man said to him ‘Master, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has saved you.’ And immediately his sight returned and he followed him along the road.

MAKING SENSE OF OUR LIFE BY SEEING EVERYTHING IN FAITH

SCRIPTURE READINGS: JER 31:7-9; HEB 5:1-6; MK 10:46-52

Physical blindness is a terrible thing.  A man without sight is like a bird without wings.  Without sight, life would be simply darkness. Even for those of us who have physical sight, many do not have any vision in life.  Yes, when we cannot make sense of our life, then we are blind as well – spiritually blind.  This was the same situation with the Israelites who has just returned from exile during the time of Jeremiah.  They too were still living in fear and apprehension.  They too needed to make sense of their exile and their return.  They too were looking for meaning and hope.

If we want to make sense of our life, we must first inquire as to the causes for the loss of meaning in life.  Perhaps, the first cause is our moral blindness.  When we read today’s gospel, we are given the impression that Bartimaeus is the blind man.  But in reality, St Mark wanted to contrast Bartimaeus with the apostles of Jesus.  They were the really blind people.  In last Sunday’s gospel, James and John were squabbling over position and power. They were totally insensitive to Jesus who was about to meet His death in Jerusalem.  They were blinded by their pursuits in life.  What is said of them is applicable to us as well.  Very often it is our vain pursuits in life that make us forget what is essential for happiness.  We are taken up by our pursuit for more money, more power and higher status that we are blind to the more important things in life, such as love, relationships, peace in the family, forgiveness, compassion and respect for the dignity of others.

Besides moral blindness, some of us also suffer from psychological blindness.   Many of us suffer from low self-image and low self-esteem.  In fact this is perhaps the real obstacle in finding happiness in life.  The tragedy is that many of us have suppressed our fears, our sins and our past so much that they are deeply repressed in our sub-conscious.  Deep within, we know that our feelings, desires and needs are not fulfilled.  In the process of denying our true selves, we create in ourselves a split personality, living a schizophrenic kind of life-style.   This was the problem of the blind man.  He was a no-body, an outcast in society, sitting by the roadside begging.  In fact in the gospel of Matthew and Luke, he is nameless.  At any rate, he was never addressed by name.  This man who became so ashamed of his state hid himself under his cloak.  It was his security blanket, like Linus in the Peanuts Comic.  He could not face the truth about himself; hence he could not face the world.  We, too, when we do not live authentically by being ourselves will also find life empty.

When we are blinded in all these areas, when life has no more meaning, what must we do to recover our purpose and motivation to live?  Like the blind man, Bartimaeus, we cry out, “Master, let me see again.” The question is, will God answer our prayer?  The answer is clearly in the affirmative.  This is the promise given by God through Jeremiah to the disheartened and broken Israelites.  God assured the remnants of Israel that He would bring them back to Jerusalem, including those who were blind and lame.  Guided by the Lord, they would never stumble in darkness again. This same promise holds true for us.  Precisely, in the gospel we are told that Jesus who reached out to Bartimaeus has also come for everyone who is in that kind of predicament.   What then does it take?

Firstly, we must be humble enough to ask with persevering faith.  Indeed, there is none as blind as those who would not see.  We must be ready to swallow our pride and come out of our shell to seek for direction and help.  Bartimaeus, upon hearing that Jesus was passing by, threw off the cloak that was covering him and shouted to Jesus in earnestness.  Even when he was humiliated, shouted at by the crowd to keep quiet, he continued to persevere in humility begging Jesus to have pity on him.  Without humility, God can never reach out to us because even when He tries to, we will reject Him.  This was what happened to the Israelites.  Before the humiliating exile and banishment to Babylon, they were too proud to listen to the warnings of God through the prophets.  It was only during and after the exile that they learnt how to listen and seek for the truth and direction from Yahweh.

Secondly, if we want to see again, we must be sincere and clear of what we want.  Jesus asked the blind man, “What do you want me to do for you?”  We might think that it is an obvious question.  But it is not.  The fact is that many of us are not sincere in our prayers.  We are not absolutely clear and convinced about what we are praying for.  Similarly, very often, when people see counsellors to sort out their problems, they are only interested to hear what they want to hear but not the truth about themselves.  To see, we must be courageous to see both the goodness and weakness in ourselves.  Otherwise, we will eventually cheat ourselves even more.  Hence, we must be clear of what we are praying for, and only then will God respond to our prayers.

Thirdly, we must have confidence and faith in the Lord.  This confidence of course is not a vain or blind faith.  If Bartimaeus had faith in Jesus, it must have been because his ears were wide open even though he was blind.  He must have heard about Jesus and His works.  His faith in Jesus must have been growing each day. Thus, he would not give up faith in Jesus even when the crowd ridiculed him. On the contrary, because of his faith, he could see even more of Jesus what others could not.  He knew that Jesus would not disappoint him.

However, confidence and faith are not the total faith the gospel wants us to have.  Faith also implies our total openness to the power of God.  Such openness is manifested in our availability to the power of God to heal.  This availability in turn is expressed in our initiative in availing ourselves to God who wants to heal us.  In other words, faith does not simply mean that we sit and wait for something to happen.  It means that we must make ourselves docile, waiting for the opportunity to come.  Bartimaeus did not sit all day and do nothing.  He was waiting patiently by the side of the road for that day to come when his saviour would come and heal him.  When the opportunity came, he seized the day.

Fourthly, this active co-operation must involve our determination to put away the cloak of sins of self-deceit, dishonesty, greed, anger, hatred and fear.   Indeed, when Bartimaeus heard Jesus calling him, he immediately threw away the cloak of his past, his sins and shame away.  He did not fold up his cloak neatly and keep it somewhere else so that he could collect it later.  No, he threw off his cloak, jumped up and went to Jesus without any hesitation.  Like him, the Lord will not be able to liberate us if we continue to cling on to our chains.   Difficult it may be, unless we make an act of will to leave our past behind and begin a new life, the grace of God might be in vain.

Once we have responded like Bartimaeus, then the life of truth and meaning is given to us.  And what is this life all about?  It is nothing else but a life of discipleship in Christ.  When Bartimaeus was healed of his blindness, he followed Jesus along the road to Jerusalem, the place of His passion, death and resurrection.  But more importantly, Bartimaeus was not only healed of his blindness but his Christological blindness as well.  For unlike the apostles who saw Jesus as only a miracle-worker, Bartimaeus recognized that the Christ he was to follow is the Suffering Christ.  It is at this juncture that the full meaning of life was then revealed to him.  Within this context, we are called to share in the sufferings of Christ.

Indeed, the full meaning of life is seen when we learn to accept the mystery of suffering in our life.  Just as Christ our high priest suffered for our sins, we too are called to accept our sufferings in life as the way to purify us of our sinfulness.  The cross is the antidote to cure our blindness.  Through our own sufferings and the sufferings that we inflict on others, it becomes clear that suffering is due to our selfishness and pride.  Hence, if we carry the crosses of our sins blindly, then it would lead to the meaninglessness of life.  But if we see the crosses of life with the eyes of faith, then the cross becomes the way to transform us in love and compassion.

In conclusion, it is clear that life is meaningless only because of our sins of selfishness and pride, which lead to our self-destruction due to our psychological, emotional and spiritual blindness.  Once we free ourselves from our sins that weigh us down, then we become free to be for others just as Jesus and Bartimaeus made themselves free for others, even to the extent of carrying the consequences of the sinfulness of others.  But through sufferings carried in love and with patience, we will reveal the love of God in the world and show that suffering can be redemptive because it brings about purification, transformation and growth.  In this way, we become like Jesus, truly His priests for the salvation of ourselves and humankind.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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