The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

October 27, 2024 – Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Mark 10: 46-52

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Before commenting on today’s gospel about Jesus curing a blind person named Bartimaeus, I want to share a favorite memory of mine of a papal visit to America by St. John Paul II. It was 1987 and the city visited was San Antonio. I was present there because I was asked to address a meeting discussing the role of the family in the social ministry of the church. But the event I recall most was an interview I saw on television with an elderly Hispanic grandmother that took place soon after the pope’s popemobile passed by her on the side of the road.

The interviewed asked her why she had stood in the hot Texas sun for hours just to catch a brief glimpse of the pope riding by. He suggested that she would see more of the pope on television at home and likely be more comfortable too. She immediately responded that she knew that, but she was not there to see the pope, but, using her own words, “I must be here so that the pope can see me!”

Now for the gospel story of the man who also stood along a road close to where Jesus was passing by. He shouted out, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.” Jesus heard him and called him to come closer. He asked what Bartimaeus wanted. (As if Jesus didn’t already know.) His answer was predictable. Being without sight, he wanted to see. And sight was immediately received. Jesus gained a new follower that day. Smiles all around.

For me this is a gospel narrative that supports prayer that involves asking God at times for a favor or a special blessing or relief from some burden or help in a difficult situation. But not because such prayer is something that God needs, or even wants. Rather, it’s for the person making the request. It shows an attitude of dependence, an implication that God is in charge, and that God can and does (not always, of course) help us. Or perhaps God does help but not exactly as we might hope.

After all, God knows and loves each of us. God sees us and knows our needs all the time. But it’s good for us to express our own sense of dependency as Bartimaeus did. Sometimes it is hard to ask for help. We may want to believe that we can always take care of ourselves. We want to imagine ourselves as fully self-sufficient and don’t need others because that may indicate weakness on our part. But asking for help may be a statement of real insight and strength that we are at times really in need of help. And that’s okay.

David M. Thomas, PhD