30.Sunday in Ordinary Time , Year B

To see better… When I meet young people, I often say to myself how well these young people can see. Few people wear glasses. And when we talk longer, it becomes clear that their eyesight is not so famous. Many people wear contact lenses. Today we will look together at the word of God on the 30th Sunday in the year B. Again, it is from the Gospel of St. Mark. And in it, two important words are typically repeated. The first is the word go – actually, the whole Gospel is the journey of Jesus to Jerusalem. And the second word is: to see, to look – the gospel reveals to us the dynamics of looking and seeing and understanding who Jesus is and what it means that he is the Messiah, the Son of God. The entire Gospel of Mark reveals the good news – Jesus is God’s Son, God. At the same time, it reveals the slowness of people in accepting this news and the difficulty of believing in this fact. The Gospel, from the beginning, describes the difficulties of understanding, seeing the essence of things and relationships, and the greatness of God, who became so small. There are two episodes in it about the healing of the blind, that is, about gaining sight, and today we will focus on the second of them. But first, let’s take a moment to look at the first reading. There, too, they talk about the blind and walking along the road. 

This is what the Lord says: “Sing, full of joy for Jacob, rejoice over the first of the nations; proclaim, sing and say: ‘Save, Lord, your people, the remnant of Israel.’ Behold, I will bring them back from the north country and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, together with the pregnant and the mother: a great community will return here. They will come crying, I will lead them in humble supplication and I will lead them through streams of water, on a straight path, they will not stumble on it, for I am the father of Israel and Ephraim is my firstborn » Jer 31,7-9. 

The prophet Jeremiah invites us to look to the future with optimism. It calls for joy. Also, it reminds us that God did not come to gather his people only from the chosen, the best, the wise, and the healthy. No, he said that he will also bring to himself those who cannot yet see, who have not yet learned to walk well. Many of them will come crying, that is, with regret over their past and maybe even their present, and yet God will guide them so that they do not meet on the road. Although they will not go on a wide and comfortable road, but on a narrow and crooked road. We know that Jesus taught in parables. And yet he stated that he says that people should look, look, and not see. Mk4. More than once this year we discussed the secret of not being able to see those who were close to Jesus: family, relatives, or even his disciples. He also said to them several times: do you have eyes and do not see? Mk 8,14-21 It was especially striking in the story after the multiplication of the bread. Then we have the nameless blind man at Bethesda. As if his slow acquisition of sight resembled his disciples’ gradual acquisition of vision and understanding. (Who do you think I am?) 
But let’s go and listen to the second story about the healing of the blind man. The blind beggar is the only one who calls Jesus by name and who himself has a name. The story of Bartimaeus of Jericho is worth listening to carefully.

Heard that there was no one to bring the blind beggar to Jesus – unlike at Bethesda. He was dependent on himself, so when he heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, he decided only based on his intuition that someone was passing by who would save him. Someone to have mercy on him. And he decided to scream. People around him threatened him to keep quiet. But he didn’t give up. He shouted even louder. Have mercy on me. God is not only merciful, he is merciful. God, like a father who listens to the cry of his children, stopped in Jesus. And he sent people to call him. Jesus’ call also often comes to us through others. So they went to call him and tell him to be of good mind, not to be afraid. And that important word sounds: Get up! (Awake, you who are sleeping, rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you) What appeals to me

Next, the blind man threw away his cloak. The only thing he had. A beggar’s coat is like a closet in a house. Many things are hidden in it. It is perhaps the bed on which he sleeps, the duvet with which he covers himself. And the beggar gave up the only certainty he still had. He did it without being asked. What a disproportion to the rich young man who ran to Jesus. He was asked by Jesus to give up the wealth that he considered his security, and he did not know how to do it and did not want to. And he went away from Jesus in sorrow. When Jesus and Bartimaeus found themselves face to face with the blind beggar, Jesus, although he heard him screaming, asked him again the question he had previously asked his two disciples: John and James. It is perhaps the decisive question of this Gospel. Jakub and Johannes – they didn’t know what they wanted. The blind beggar knew that. To see. More precisely, so that I can see again so that I can see up. Looking up means seeing the cross of Jesus and on it the one who gives salvation. All of us are often called to look at and contemplate the face of Jesus.

Finally, we notice that Jesus made no gesture. He just concluded that the miracle had already happened. He said: go, don’t see…your faith has saved you. Yes, it was a faith that did not allow itself to be disgusted discouraged, or intimidated by various external influences. He knew how to leave what little he had. This man represents the character traits that a disciple of Jesus should have: someone who is independent of his certainties, someone who has steadfast faith, and someone who longs to see and regain his sight. To see and understand how it is with the Messiah and with his – God’s kingdom. But even that is not enough. It is still important to see and understand so that I can follow. And so it was with Bartimaeus. Jesus did not say to him: and now follow me. But go. Nevertheless, it was clear to the former blind man that if he did not want to lose his sight again, he needed to follow Jesus. To follow him, to walk behind him. And so he does not depart from Jesus. This experience of rescue helps him to decide that the path of his life will wind near the Savior. And so it is with us. We are blind too. We need to see. Getting rid of dependence on our certainties. To build in faith and desire to see better than before. And follow Jesus.

Let us be encouraged by the story of one blind masseur, who was told by Father Elias Vella. He worked for the people, talked with them, encouraged and prayed for them. Many were healed by his intercession. One asked him: why don’t you pray for yourself too, so that God will heal you of your blindness? He said: I haven’t even thought of that yet. I meet many people who don’t see the meaning of their lives, they have their troubles that they tell me about, they lost their jobs, family, and health, and so I try to help them. I have a job, I have a family, and good friends, so I didn’t even have time to start praying for my recovery. After all, I have so much and others don’t. What will we answer to Jesus when he asks us on Sunday: What do you want me to do for you?