Monsignor Enrique Díaz Díaz shares with the readers of Exaudi his reflection on the Gospel of this Sunday, October 27, 2024, entitled: “They come to me crying, but I will comfort them.”
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Jeremiah 31, 7-9: “They come to me crying, but I will comfort them”
Psalm 125: “You have done great things for us, Lord”
Hebrews 5, 1-6: “You are an eternal priest, like Melchizedek”
Saint Mark 10, 46-52: “Master, that I may see”
I have been sent some photographs and videos of some visually impaired friends who, overcoming thousands of obstacles, walk, sing, laugh and give life to those around them. With a cane in their hand that barely gives them a little security, but with a great faith that drives them to face a world that opposes them and isolates them. Yes, they have more light than those who have good eyes, but spiritual blindness and selfishness in their hearts.
The proverb says that if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit. The story offered by this Sunday’s passage seems to contradict it. A blind man becomes an example and guide for those who have light. What’s more, he overcomes the opposition of those who, looking, have a soul in darkness and prevent him from approaching Jesus. Sitting on the side of the road, without illusion, without effort, without risk, but also without hope, he spends the hours and waits only for the leftovers and indifference of those who pass by. Sitting on the side of the road, like many brothers who have lost their way and who cannot keep up with the dizzying pace of a society that consumes and consumes, that snatches and destroys, and that leaves its trail of poverty and misery “on the side of the road.” Not on the road because they would hinder the mad race of a consumerist and selfish world that strives for its own maintenance, without looking at the disasters that are left around it. Thus, “on the side of the road” they are left forgotten. But Bartimaeus, one of the few people who has a name in the Gospel of Mark, when he “feels” Jesus passing by, does not want to be forgotten and is willing to take the risk, to walk in the midst of his darkness in search of the light. He begins with a heart-rending cry: “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!” A cry, a prayer and a ray of hope that begin to give birth in his heart to the hope that will get him back on his feet.
If the first impediment that poor Bartimaeus had was to “stay” seated and he managed to overcome it by breaking out of inertia, passivity and conformism, the second seems more serious: the opposition of others who do not want him to speak and who scold him to keep quiet. Why do they force him to keep quiet? Why did he bother the Master or because he bothered them? Who benefited from the silence of that blind man? Today, there are difficult and painful situations that many would prefer to remain ignored. Let us not talk about hunger, poverty, pain… because it makes us seem like a less prosperous country, because “the world has the right to be happy”, because investments would go away, because they do not like poverty to be manifested, because… a thousand reasons are put forward and, however, none are valid. There is pain and injustice crying out to the Lord every day louder: “Son of David, have mercy on me!” There are pains, blindness, and forgetfulness that call for the presence of the Lord and ask for compassion. Despite being on the “side of the road,” the brothers continue to cry out for a place at the banquet of life, a place with dignity and justice.
For Jesus there are no forgotten people, for Him all are present, He cannot pass by or ignore those who are on the side of the road, so He orders them to call Him. And only then do the words of encouragement appear: “Take courage! Get up, for He is calling you.” The simple word of Jesus already inspires hope. But the blind man still has a long way to go: he has to get up, which he does with a leap (thinking of his darkness will be like throwing himself into the void), and he does so with enthusiasm, but he must also put aside his cloak, his only protection, and thus, uncovered, approach Jesus. Great lesson for us. Throw ourselves into the void with only the weapon of faith. Strip ourselves of the cloak that protects us: economic, cultural, ideological, political power; worry, anxiety, our pretensions and human aims, the desire to possess… everything fits into a cloak that we must strip ourselves of. And so the blind man, stripped bare, listens attentively to Jesus’ words: “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus’ total willingness to give him light and life makes him respond: “Master, that I may see.” We should make the same request, that we may see beyond our limitations, that we may look beyond our pessimism, that we may look with a joyful spirit, full of hope and full of brotherhood. May Jesus enlighten our eyes and our steps to begin new paths.
Christ, who does everything, seems to do nothing. He affirms that his faith has saved him. Thus, the one who seemed blind has found greater light within him and has begun to follow Christ, because “he began to follow him on the road.” The one who was sitting, blind and a beggar, has been transformed into a disciple thanks to the faith that Christ has given him in response to his plea. The one who felt incapable of taking a step, now becomes a walker of faith. Christian faith and following Jesus always go together, just as on the road eyes and feet always go together. Faith without following would be empty, and following, without faith, would be blind. But this passage teaches us that both are possible only for those who invoke God’s mercy, throw away the cloak that protects them and embrace divine goodness: the poor who pray obtain eyes to see and feet to achieve liberation from God.
What are the difficulties that have left us sitting on the side of the road? What efforts are we making to take the leap of faith? Are there cloaks that prevent us from following Jesus? How do we follow Jesus on his path?
Lord, increase in us faith, hope and charity, so that leaving behind our fears, cloaks and bonds, we may follow Jesus on the path of the Kingdom. Amen.
