'Hear the Word!' by Bill Ayres: 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

A reading from the prophecy of Jeremiah

(Chapter 31:7-9)

“The Lord has delivered his people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them back from the land of the north; I will gather them from the ends of the world, with the blind and the lame in their midst, the mothers and those with child; they shall return as an immense throng.”

In this passage, Jeremiah is talking about the return of the Israelites from exile in Babylon in the sixth century before the birth of Jesus. But how are we to think of exiles returning today? There are more than 82 million forcibly displaced persons in the world now, and the number is growing each year. Many of them are women and children fleeing violence, hunger, and abject poverty. Some western countries have opened their doors to the refugees; others have not. It is a very complex issue, but we need to hold these people in our hearts and do what we can to change hostility toward refugees, knowing that most of us have ancestors who were also refugees.

Responsorial Psalm

(Psalm 126)

“The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.” What great things has the Lord done for you? Have you been thankful? Has it brought you joy? How do you express your joy and thanksgiving?

A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews

(Chapter 5:1-6)

The author of the Letter to the Hebrews is talking in this passage about the role of high priest in Judaism. “Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness and so, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God as Aaron was.” The role of high priest was an enormously important part of the Jewish tradition of the time, and the author makes it clear that the person is “beset by weakness.” He was to be a servant, not someone to lord it over the people. Of course, it did not always work out that way and, in similar contexts, has not throughout history.

The main point of the reading, though, is that even Jesus was called by the Father. “In the same way, it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest, but rather the one who sent him…. You are my son: this day I have begotten you.” Jesus was called by the Father and responded as our “suffering servant.” It is the same today in our Church. People are called to priesthood by our Father to serve all of us.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark

(Chapter 10:46-52)

As Jesus leaves Jericho, there is a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, on the side of the road. “On hearing that Jesus of Nazareth is passing, Bartimaeus begins to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.” Jesus stops and says, “Call him.” So bystanders call 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.” Then, Jesus asked what the blind man wants him to do. Bartimaeus replies, “Master, I want to see.” Jesus tells him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you…. Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.”

Notice that the man called Jesus “Son of David.” He knew that this was not just any man, any healer, and he was saved by his faith in Jesus whom, he had recognized, was in the tradition of the great King David. And then, the man did not go away to celebrate but instead “followed him on the way.”

Have you ever experienced a physical or emotional healing that you believed may ultimately have come from Jesus, even though the immediate intervention was by professionals or friends?  If so, give thanks. If not, think again. Maybe you missed the other dimension of that experience or never thought of it as a healing.

Painting, Christ Healing the Blind, Doménikos Theotokópoulos (El Greco) 1541-1614. Public domain.

Excerpts from the English translation of the Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL). All rights reserved.

Bill Ayers was a founder, with the late singer Harry Chapin, of WhyHunger. Bill was a radio and TV broadcaster for 40 years. He is a member of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church in Centerport, New York.