Homily For Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B, 27th October, 2024

Readings: Jer. 31:7-9; Ps. 126; Heb.5:1-6; Mark 10:46-52

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LORD, THAT I MAY SEE!

Nature has made us know that one of the most important organs of the human body is the eyes. The Eye is the organ of sight, it is the most important organ for locating and observing the world around us because the eyes help us to see and observe things. It’s a complex organ that takes in information and sends it to the brain to process and create a command for the whole body.

To understand the importance and safety of this organ, the eye has three layers: the outer layer is fibrous and protective, the middle layer is vascular, and the eyeball is surrounded by a layer of orbital fat for its safety. This is because any eye-related symptoms can be a clue to issues affecting the whole body. Now we can understand the difficult situation of Bartimaeus and the intervention of Jesus in our Gospel passage today

There is no doubt that Jesus has deep compassion for human difficulty and suffering, which springs from the love of God the Father and constitutes the basis of the Church’s liberating activities. This, of course, manifests in different ways in the scriptures and the life of the Church.

Hence, we can see how Jesus manifested his compassion for human suffering in the story of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar who gave us a complete lesson about faith, expressed with total simplicity in front of Christ Jesus. He had faith enough to cry out to Jesus as he passed by, even when he was scolded by the people close to him. His need for Jesus was so great that he cried all the louder: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!

Then Jesus asked him a very important question: “What do you want me to do for you?” So even though his need was obvious, Jesus wanted him to mention it. In the same way today, Jesus is asking us: my child what do you want me to do for you? Why not like this blind beggar and tell Jesus what you need? Even though he knows your needs, you still need to present them before him. This blind man needed his eyesight restored, so he said aloud to Jesus, “Lord, that I may see!” And Jesus said: ‘Go your way; your faith has saved you.’

Here, we will understand the importance of our physical and spiritual sight. Here we understand the need to ask the Lord to open our eyes so that we can see. Most of us are physically and spiritually blind we need to say: Lord, that I may see! Many ugly situations in our lives, family, society and country require us to ask the Lord to open our eyes so that we can see.

Are you struggling with difficult situations? Are you confused? Are jobless? Are you looking for a life partner? Are you about to start up something? Are you sick? Are you under bondage or addicted to drugs and sinful attitudes? Is your life falling apart because of your old age or past mistakes? Tell the Lord to open your eyes so that you can see the foresight and insight of life like Bartimaeus.

Today, we see in Bartimaeus, a man whose faith led him to put off his former identity as a blind beggar and cry in hope for restoration. Bartimaeus’s faith involves knowing, believing, proclamation, prayer, personal encounter, liberation and following Jesus. More so, Jesus, in this healing, reveals his compassion towards human sufferings and wants us to imitate Bartimaeus’s faith in our struggles and challenges of life.

Little wonder we heard the Lord through prophet Jeremiah in our first reading today saying: Shout with joy for Jacob! Hail the chief of nations! Proclaim! Praise! Shout: ‘The Lord has saved his people, the remnant of Israel!’ See, I will bring them back from the land of the North and gather them from the far ends of the earth; all of them: the blind and the lame, women with children, women in labour: a great company returning home.

They had left in tears; I will comfort them as I lead them back; I will guide them to streams of water by a smooth path where they will not stumble. Yes, the Lord cares and loves his people. He wishes to gather us together from where we are scattered, humiliated and lost in the world in order to share in his heavenly kingdom which our Lord Jesus came to establish in the hearts of humanity.

Thus, in our second reading, we heard that our Lord Jesus Christ is the saviour of all humanity and the High Priest of all, appointed to act for men in their relations with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins, and so he can sympathize with those who are ignorant or uncertain.

Here, we see the power and mandate of Christ to all towards the missionary activities of the redemption of humanity. So, from the Priestly function of Christ, we all share in the Priestly missionary mandate of Christ which requires sacrifice of all we have: our time, talents, resources and even our lives. Therefore, what obstacles are stopping us from being part of these missionary activities and achieving our goals in life?

Dear friends, what is that obstacle in your life that distracts and limits you from achieving your goals and passion? What is the one thing you need in your life? Have we ever felt helpless? Do we feel the need for Jesus’ help in some part of our lives? Do we know people who are helpless and in need of some help? How strong is our compassion towards them? Let us look at them for a moment and imagine Jesus looking at them. How does he see them? Why not, in faith, present our needs before Jesus, who is willing and ready to help us?

Friends, our country is going through a difficult time due to bad leaders who have put us in a helpless situation. Like Bartimaeus, we need to cry out to God for help. But, what do you really want the Lord to do for you? What is that one thing we need in this country? Let us present it before the Lord today just like Bartimaeus.

So, like Jesus, each one of us is called today to reach out to people around us who are really in need of our assistance. This includes our family members, our neighbours, our colleagues and others who we encounter in life. The truth is that you may be the only person who can bring the healing and compassion of Jesus into their lives today.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we celebrate the Eucharist today, help us to overcome the obstacles in our lives. May we experience once again your compassionate love and grant our hearts desire according to your Holy will, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Sunday to you all.