28 October 2018
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”
The blind man listened, and what sweet words he heart:“What do you want me to do for you?”We might read today’s Gospel and marvel, thinking, “If only Jesus would call me, and ask me what I wanted Him to do for me.”
Brother! Sister! Do you not hear Him? Do you not call out to Him? “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me!” How often we let our own doubt, our own impatience, rebuke us, telling us to be silent! But we must be like Bartimeus and keep “…calling out all the more.” And notice that the blind man listened: he didn’t just call out. When Jesus called, he heard, and he went to Jesus. How do we learn to hear the Lord calling us?
Mother Theresa offers us this wisdom: ““In the silence of the heart God speaks. If you face God in prayer and silence, God will speak to you. Then you will know that you are nothing. It is only when you realize your nothingness, your emptiness, that God can fill you with Himself. Souls of prayer are souls of great silence.” This reminds us of Elijah’s encounter with God on the mountain:
“Then the LORD said: Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will pass by. There was a strong and violent wind rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD—but the LORD was not in the wind; after the wind, an earthquake—but the LORD was not in the earthquake; after the earthquake, fire—but the LORD was not in the fire; after the fire, a light silent sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went out…” (1 Kings 19:12-13)
This interior silence, this recognition not only of our own emptiness but our utter dependence upon God, is so vital because without it, how can God answer our prayer? In other words, if there is not an emptiness, what is there for Him to fill? Prayer is not only the act of speaking to God, but also listening and receptivity. The blind man had a need, yes, but Jesus did not merely give him sight, but also revealed Himself.
Do we have the faith to be silent, to be interiorly vulnerable before the quiet voice of the Lord? He will answer; He is, after all, the Word of God. How could He remain silent? In your Baptism He has called you to Communion: would He ignore you? Of course not! Bartimeus succeeds because of his faith, because of his persistence and trust in Jesus. He trusted and allowed Jesus to answer his prayer however He chose to do so. “Go your way,” Jesus says to him, “your faith has saved you.”