29/10/2006 - XXX SUNDAY in ORDINARY
TIME - Year B
First Reading Jeremiah 31:7-9 Psalm 125/126
Second Reading Hebrews 5:1-6 Gospel Mark 10:46-52
Beginnig of Solar Time
Being sincere and truthful is especially necessary and mandatory in familial
relationships: the lie that enters in the husband-wife relationship is capable
of "dividing what God has joined together"! No lie can take up space
in this environment: he who is careful becomes vigilant in defending against
feelings and ties from outsiders, feelings which can take one to the destruction
of the family. There must be no dark, obscure corners between husband and wife:
everything must be out in the open, even how each uses their money. Many families
are ruined by the fact the one spouse or the other keeps his/her expenditures,
and economic and financial choices, hidden from his/her spouses, or he/she covers
them up with lies. Love for the future of one's own family and for its unity
helps in being humbly and serenely sincere, even in this field.
There is, also, a type of lie from which few repent; only those parents who
see their children moving away from the faith and the sane life of the church.
It is a lie created by our being lukewarm, superficial, comfortable Christians,
ignorant in the mysteries of our faith, incapable giving life to our hope!
With this superficiality, we are not witness of the seriousness of the love
of our God, nor of the truth of the resurrection of Jesus, from the dead. This
is the worst lie, because it renders our life useless for the kingdom of God
and dangerous to the salvation of our brothers, because they will not be helped
to get close to the only Saviour they need! If we, then, are the few Christians
with whom they come in contact, in their family, at work or in other surroundings,
our false witness is very grave! We are the light of the world, and the light
is not to be swept under the rug or under the bed! We cannot keep Jesus hidden
out of respect for the belief of others: should we allow them to be deceived?
Oh, how we must pray and must remain united with other believers so that we
can always be faithful and strong in living our faith and in living true and
pure charity! Jesus said that He "came on earth to be witness to the truth":
we wish to share this task with Him because, though it is a commitment, it is
a source of blessing!
The announcement of joy proclaimed by Jeremiah, is repeated in the Psalm! Their
joy is that much grander, as the suffering they experienced is profound. "With
weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back!"
First the crying, the tears, the humiliation of slavery, the imprisonment, the
exile; then, the return, the joy, the fruit that was sown, so deprived of hope!
This is the story of the people of Israel; this, therefore, is prophesy for
the Son of God that is to come! He, in accordance with the people, carries its
weight and its weakness.
The Letter to the Hebrews underlines this vocation of the Messiah, a vocation
which gives Him great honour, but which, above all, leads Him to suffering.
He is called to offer sacrifices for sins; thus, to exercise a special priesthood
which, according to the order of Mechizedek, is not a priesthood inherited from
men, but conferred directly from God, who calls Him "my Son"!
The Gospel brings us the meet Jesus as He begins his walk from Jericho towards
Jerusalem so that He can fulfill His sacrifice. He is surrounded by a large
crowd, but only a blind beggar recognizes Him and he is not afraid to shout
his certainty: "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" The Jesus,
who goes to Jerusalem, is the one who can intervene and change the state of
misery and suffering of the man, the One that we can trust in our most painful
poverty! He is the Son of David! He is the Messiah! He is the one the people
longed for. No one dared to say these things in public, just as no one dares
to display, on the road or in a public place, his own faith in Jesus. Everyone
wants to keep him quiet. No one likes that anyone says what the others are ashamed
to say. Jesus is not ashamed of him; actually, He sees that the man is the only
one, among those present, who is not blind! The blind man recognizes Jesus and,
by opening his eyes, helps him to take a step further: to start walking with
Him. No longer blind, the man is no longer a beggar; he is no longer obligated
to depend on others, and he is totally free to follow Jesus. He can, and wants,
to follow Jesus towards Jerusalem, towards offering Himself as sacrifice to
the Father!
By listening to this story, we must learn something. We are not blind when we
recognize Jesus! We are free when we make our profession of faith in Jesus!
We are filled with joy when we throw away everything to run towards Jesus! We
are on the path of life when we follow Jesus on His way to offering Himself!
Offering ourselves with Jesus is not a road to death, but the certainty of life,
of security and of true peace!