30th Sunday of the Year B, 2015

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Jer. 31, 79; Hebrew 5, 1-6; Mark 46-52: 30th Sunday of the Year B, 2015)

            Bartimaeus was blind and a poor beggar. He was however fortunate. He was fortunate one day as Jesus was passing along the road where he was. He attracted Jesus’ attention who cured him of his blindness.  He had good qualities; his first quality was his belief that Jesus was the Messiah. He was shouting to Jesus: Jesus Son of David... After Jesus cured him of his blindness, he emphasized on Bartimaeus’ faith: Your faith has saved you. The second quality of this blind person was his insistence in crying out to Jesus to have mercy on him. He did not succumb to the people who tried to prevent him from making his request. His third quality was that he became a disciple of Jesus after his cure. We note that the cure of this blind man was Jesus’ last miraculous cure before he underwent his passion in Jerusalem. By this cure, he was able to confirm the faith of the blind man who was imploring for help and by the same cure he was able to demonstrate, even at the end of his public ministry, his divine, benevolent disposition and mercy towards the suffering human person.

            What is the key to the interpretation of the cure of Bartimaeus’ blindness? One finds a verse in the gospel of John as a ready key for an in-depth appraisal. This is where Jesus says: I am the light of the world, who follows me shall have the light of life. In other words, Jesus has the divine power to give back physical sight to a blind person in such a way that the blind person sees light again. But this does not exhaust the meaning that Jesus is the light of the world. He came into the world to be light to the minds and souls of men. He is light to the mind by indicating the way to be followed, teaching the truth to be followed in order to gain eternal life. He is light of the world by imparting, through the gift of faith, supernatural light by which one can participate in the intimate life of God and be acquainted with God’s plan for man.

            Jesus also affirms that whoever follows him will not walk in darkness (John 8, 12). Humanity needs Christ and without him humanity would be wallowing in darkness. Without Christ, man’s life would have no sense. Without incarnating in human flesh in this world, what would have been the goal of man? His destiny? Why does he live and what is the scope of his life? What is to be done with this life?  We, who are privileged to be adorned with the fruits of the incarnation and redemption wrought by Jesus need to shout out at the top of our voice, imitating the blind man of Jericho. We should be exclaiming: Lord that I may see! That I may see more clearly! I have eyes that tend towards darkness. Give me your light! Increase my faith in you and in your word. May I meet with you and experience you and know you very intimately. Let my faith in you not remain only in words but let it move me to follow you and become your generous disciple.

            To have, the light of Christ illumine us is necessary for and beneficial to me, you and also our brothers and sisters whom we meet on the way, in our homes, towns, villages, parishes, stations and places of work. There are so many of them who have lost the meaning of this life. They are lost as they do not have a reliable reference point they can turn to for illumination; they have no guide and are led astray by false doctrines. We, who have the gift of faith, are illumined by Christ, the light of the world, and share in his truth, have the duty and the great responsibility to be light for our brothers and sisters. Christ has already entrusted this work to us: You are the light of the world...Let your light shine before people and they will see your good works and will glorify your celestial Father. If we are unable to do this we are like lamps that are lighted and put in an opaque clay pot that do not illumine the surrounding. May we, therefore, in the Eucharistic assembly of this Sunday, request the Almighty God for the grace to be illumined by Christ, the light of the world, and the grace to share this illumination, as a generous disciple of Christ, with our brothers and sisters who are in serious need of it. +John I. Okoye