DAILY GOSPEL COMMENTARY:
THE BLIND MAN OF JERICHO (Mk 10:46-52)
THURSDAY, 8TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME GOSPEL
Mk 10:46-52
They came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage; get up, he is calling you.” He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.
THURSDAY, 8TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME GOSPEL COMMENTARY
In today’s Gospel, (Mk10:46-52) OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, SHOWS US THE IMMENSE LOVE, MERCY AND COMPASSION OF GOD THE FATHER to His people, especially to the poor and sick, curing the blind man of Jericho who demonstrated his immense faith and insistent prayer upon knowing that Christ was passing by, he cried out: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”. Many rebuked the blind man, telling him to be silent, but the more he insisted, calling upon Our Lord: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” so that he could be heard by Our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’ So they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.’ He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man replied to him, ‘Master, I want to see.’ Jesus told him, ‘Go your way; your faith has saved you.’ Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.”
Among the many things we can learn from this Gospel passage are the following:
1. GRATITUDE: “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy”, as we repeat in the Responsorial Psalm. let us thank the Most Blessed Trinity for for His Immense Love and Mercy for each one of us through His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
- We could never thank Him enough but we should at least have this constant and daily attitude of gratitude for what He is constantly giving us for all that we are and all that we have, we have received from God.
2. PERSEVERANCE IN PRAYER: The blind man’s faith and perseverance in prayer is in an example for us to imitate. We should never tire out on calling to Our Lord. In spite of the odds and reproaches we receive from persons, difficult situations, or the hostile culture or environment, all of which conspire to make us shut up or prevent us from living our Christian faith, we should always turn to Jesus, incessantly crying out: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me, a sinner!” asking him to heal our blindness, above all, the spiritual blindness caused by our disordered passions, worsened by an ever-increasing hedonistic environment. St. John Chrysostom comments:
“Our Lord, who had heard him right from the beginning, let him persevere in his prayer. He does the same with you. Jesus hears our cries from the very first, but he waits. He wants us to be convinced that we need him. He wants us to beseech him, to persist, like the blind man waiting by the road from Jericho. ‘Let us imitate him. Even if God does not immediately give us what we ask, even if many people try to put us off our prayers, let us still go on praying.’”
(St John Chrysostom, Hom. on St Matthew, 66).
3. DETACHMENT AND PROMPTNESS TO FOLLOW CHRIST: The blind Bartimaeus also gives us a wonderful example of DETACHMENT and PROMPTNESS in ANSWERING GOD’S CALL. When the others told him “Take heart; rise, he is calling you.”, what was his reaction to Our Lord’s calling? “He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus!”
- He threw aside what perhaps was his most valuable possession and raced towards Jesus! May we also have the same generous, detached and prompt attitude once we hear that God’s calling, for our divine vocation is what gives meaning to our existence! Never should we let God wait, once we have seen the light and grace of our vocation, holding to our personal ambitions or possessions.
- We should not forget that Our Lord Jesus Christ cannot be reached without this self-renunciation, sacrifice, and detachment which we have to practice many times in the small things of our daily life…and promptly!…racing towards Christ to do what He asks from us.
4. FOLLOWING JESUS, OUR CHRISTIAN VOCATION: With Bartimaeus’ promptness, a marvelous dialogue with Jesus occurs. Jesus asks him what he wants and Bartimaeus replied: “‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man replied to him, ‘Master, I want to see.’ Jesus told him, ‘Go your way; your faith has saved you.’ Immediately he received his sight and FOLLOWED HIM on the way.”
- Jesus finally granted Bartimaeus’ request, after demonstrating his faith and perseverance in prayer and the best part of this is what happened immediately after receiving his sight: Bartimaeus followed Our Lord on the way!
- As Christians, we too should embark on following Jesus faithfully on his way. Christian life is not an easy one. But we must be assured that Christ led the way for us, or better yet, He is the Way Himself that leads us to the Father!
Dear friends, LET US ASK THANK THE MOST BLESSED TRINITY FOR HIS IMMENSE LOVE AND MERCY IN JESUS CHRIST. Let us ask God through Our Lady so that like Bartimaeus, we will never tire out of calling upon Him: “Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner!”, living the virtues of FAITH, PERSEVERING PRAYER, DETACHMENT, GENEROSITY AND PROMPTNESS IN ANSWERING GOD’S CALL, which is our vocation TO FOLLOW THE FOOTSTEPS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, disposed to give up or reject any thing which may constitute as an obstacle in our way to live Christ’s life, a life of holiness and love.
Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us!
A Blessed day ahead!
Fr. Rolly Arjonillo
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Thanks and God bless you and your loved ones! Fr. Rolly Arjonillo.
