As Jesus approached Jericho a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging, and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me!” Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He replied, “Lord, please let me see.” Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.” He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God. When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Mark tells us that this blind man healed in today’s Gospel was named Bartimaeus.
Imagine him wrapped in his cloak, his face covered by a scraggly beard, his eyes milky blue.
There he is on a patch of dusty earth, seated next to the road leading up into Jerusalem, begging pilgrims for spare change in order to feed himself that day.
“Sir, Ma’am, a spare coin, please!”
Suddenly, the crowd alerts him that Jesus of Nazareth is passing through – not because they think Jesus will want to see him, but because they want Bartimaeus to get out of their way!
What happens next is both surprising and miraculous – Bartimaeus lunges at the Lord’s feet, professes his faith, and begs to see.
Jesus, moved with pity for the man, heals him.
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It’s easy to consider this scene like any other – a person in need approaches Jesus and is healed. However, if we stick with the image and contemplate what just happened, then we’ll find an important lesson for every disciple.
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While seated, Bartimaeus would’ve had his legs crossed, creating a canopy between his knees, which people could’ve tossed coins into. When he stands and casts off his cloak – and any coins resting on – Bartimaeus literally leaves everything he owns behind.
Having nothing more than his faith, he approaches the Lord, expressing his need.
Because of hisfaith, Bartimaeus is healed… then he follows Jesus up to Jerusalem where, with his freshly healed eyes, he would see the Lord crucified.
The fact that Mark mentions Bartimaeus by name not only means that he was known in the early Christian community; by being part of it, Bartimaeus would have also received everything he left behind that day – food, clothing, financial support.
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So, what does Bartimaeus teach us?
In Jesus words, “Seek first the kingdom of God and everything else will be given to you.”
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Image credits: (1) Cove Presbyterian Church (2) Medium (3) YouTube Above Inspiration, 15:46
Jesus told his disciples this parable: “A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one– to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. Likewise, the one who received two made another two. But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money.
“After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’ His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor who lived in Germany during World War Two. Abhorred by the Nazis’ vicious rule, Bonhoeffer became an outspoken critic of Hitler, a decision that would cost him his life.
Before his execution in 1945, just weeks before the liberation of Berlin, Bonhoeffer wrote in his diary, “The sin of respectable people – of good, ordinary people like us – is running from responsibility.”
It would’ve been much easier for Bonhoeffer to take his voice – his “talent” – and bury it in the sand. But Bonhoeffer wouldn’t run from his responsibility; this was the work that God had given him to do – to stand up and speak out.
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In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives a parable about a master who entrusted his servants with 1, 2, and 5 talents each. A “talent” was the equivalent of 15 years’ worth of wages for an ordinary person, or 80 pounds of silver!
Even the person entrusted with one talent was given much.
To the Master’s delight, two of his servants double his investment while he was away. Meanwhile, the third runs from his responsibility and, out of fear, buries his talent in the sand.
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The Apostles would’ve understood this parable in a very particular way.
What mattered was not how many “talents” they were given, but whether or not they accepted the responsibility of sharing the Gospel with the world, each in their own way.
For example, James was the first Apostle to be martyred for the Christian faith. His path was different from Saint Paul, who became the greatest missionary of his age, and who helped to write half of the New Testament.
Paul was here on earth for years – decades – longer than James and, for that reason, might’ve been given more “talents.” But each did what God gave them to do.
And each now shares in their master’s joy.
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All of these years later, what might this parable mean for us?
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We need Apostles like James and Paul, popes like Peter and Francis, and prophets like Bonhoeffer.
But, ultimately, the mission of the Church moves forward through ordinary people like us, and the woman in our first reading – a wife and mother.
The sacred author could’ve chosen anyone to embody a person pleasing to God – a priest, a prophet, a king – but he chose her.
She was a woman whose duties rarely extended beyond her home. Yet her goodness helped preserve her community, including her husband, her children, her servants, her neighbors, and the poor.
As it’s written, “She brings her husband good, not evil. She reaches out her hands to the poor… Her children rise and praise her… Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting, but the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”
This was a woman who’d been given a certain number of “talents” – whether 1, 2, or 5 – and she used them well, building up her family gesture by gesture. In doing the small things with great love, she became pleasing to God.
And like the priests and prophets who’d gone before her, she, too, shares her master’s joy.
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Perhaps this is something for us to contemplate this week. What are my God-given responsibilities?
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Perhaps you’re a son or daughter, a student, a parent, a spouse, a colleague, or a minister of the Gospel. Whatever responsibilities you’ve been given, embrace them with the same spirit as the humble mother, the worthy wife in our first reading.
It’s the same Spirit who filled the Apostles James and Paul, and the 20th century prophet, Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
On this weekend of my third anniversary as pastor of this parish, I’m all too aware of my own God-given responsibilities.
Whether I’ve been given 1, 2, or 5 talents, I intend to use them all. In particular, I hope to energize the way we worship God together and to increase the effectiveness of how we hand on our faith to the next generation.
These are two responsibilities that we all share – worship and handing on the faith – each in our own way. As our vision statement reminds us, we are, “All generations journeying together with Jesus to satisfy our hungry hearts. Come and see!”
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And when the Lord does come, may he find us watchful and waiting, building up the kingdom each in our own way – as mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers doing ordinary things with extraordinary love.
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Image credits: (1) QuoteFancy (2) AZ Quotes (3) Medium
Jesus said to his disciples: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man; they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all. So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, someone who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house must not go down to get them, and likewise one in the field must not return to what was left behind. Remember the wife of Lot. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it. I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. And there will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken, the other left.” They said to him in reply, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there also the vultures will gather.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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We can feel the tension in today’s Gospel – the fire and brimstone type of preaching we usually hear from Jesus in the Advent season.
And, of course, Advent is near.
During the season of Advent, we often focus on the coming of the Christ-child at Christmas. But we are also supposed to look ahead, to prepare ourselves for the second coming of Jesus.
As the Lord reminds us today, using Noah’s Ark as an example, you and I will know neither the day nor the hour of his coming.
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Noah started building his ark while it was still bright and sunny outside. Once the darkness fell and the floods came, those who were saved were the ones already inside the boat. They prepared for the flood, even when it was nowhere in sight.
Similarly, we should prepare to meet the Lord now, even if we’re not planning on leaving this earth for a while. The truth is, we’re all one diagnosis, one unexpected turn, one phone call away from the flood waters.
Still, the temptation is to push our readiness off until tomorrow. “I’ll pray about the ‘Great Encounter’ tomorrow.” … “I’ll give up my favorite vice tomorrow.” … “I’ll work on improving my relationship with Jesus tomorrow.”
Such an attitude takes God for granted.
“You will know neither the day nor the hour,” the Lord says.
So why not begin preparing today?
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Image credits: (1) Banknote World (2) The Conversation (3) Adobe Stock
