Un-Quiet Word for Today
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Introduction to the Liturgy of the Day
Today is World Mission Sunday, when we focus on the mission of the Church, we bring the Good News to the whole world. When we think of missionaries, we think of men and women who have dedicated their lives to bringing the gospel to people in Third World countries. But we are all missionaries, witnessing by our own lives to the good news we have come to know in the Lord. Let us recommit ourselves to that mission as we celebrate the Eucharist.
Introduction to the Liturgy of the Word
Whereas last Sunday the readings focused on the trials and sufferings of our Lord and the service to which we are all called, today’s readings celebrate the joy that our faith in God brings. Jeremiah tells how God will gather the Chosen People from the ends of the earth. Hebrews reminds us that God calls all who lead the church, and in fact sent the great high priest, Jesus Christ, into the world. In the Gospel, Jesus heals blind Bartimaeus, who leaves his former way of life behind to follow Jesus. May we be blessed with his courage.
Reflections
• The Israelites “departed in tears” (Jeremiah 31:9), but the LORD brought them back in joy. In the psalm, “they go forth weeping,” but “come back rejoicing” (Psalm 126:6). Blind Bartimaeus went to the roadside seeking pity but left sighted with Jesus. Into times of pain and suffering our transformative God brings hope and joy. But the latter can’t happen without the former.
• Two weeks ago we heard a rich man ask Jesus how he could inherit eternal life. Jesus told him that he must sell all he has and follow him. He declined. He walked away. Today we hear a blind man ask Jesus to give him the ability to see. A beggar, he has already thrown away his only possession: a cloak, which would have held all the coins he collected. Jesus tells him to go on his way, but instead he follows Jesus on the Way. Both men have faith in God and look to Jesus for help, but the prosperous man is unwilling to leave what he already has. His wealth weighs him down. The poor man immediately sacrifices what little he has to follow Jesus. His poverty had set him free.
• A contrast can be made with last Sunday’s Gospel as well. Jesus asks virtually the same question to Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) that he asked James and John (sons of Zebedee) a few verses before: “What do you wish/want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:36, 51). The apostles, not seeing what they were asking for, ask for glory, something Jesus is neither able nor willing to give; the blind man, seeing who Jesus truly is, asks to be made whole, exactly what Jesus can and will give. One last contrast: Bartimaeus’s physical sight was impaired, but his spiritual sight was clear. Even before Jesus cured him he threw away his cloak—essential for his occupation—and immediately after he was cured he followed Jesus on the way.
Question of the Week
What aspect of my life needs healing? What do I want Jesus to do for me?
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readings of the mass
LISTEN HERE to the Audio Recordings of the Readings of Sunday, October 24th, 2021, World Mission Sunday, Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
SELECT HERE for the Readings of Sunday, October 24th, 2021, World Mission Sunday, Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
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reflections
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world mission sunday
Pope Francis’ message for World Mission Sunday this year reflects on the theme:
“We cannot but speak about what we have seen and heard” (Acts of the Apostles 4:20).
He reminds us that, “as Christians, we cannot keep the Lord to ourselves,” as we “recall with gratitude all those men and women who by their testimony of life help us to renew our baptismal commitment to be generous and joyful apostles of the Gospel.”
READ MORE about World Mission Sunday
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“As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, ...sat by the roadside begging.”
Mark 10: 46
The Blind Man
The people around Bartimaeus can certainly give him money. They can give him food. They can give him clothing. However, there is something that these people can’t give to Bartimaeus. That something is spiritual in nature and it is something that can only be given by Christ Himself.
In the same manner, as Christians today, this world can certainly give something that we all need, at least at the physical level. But all of us have a deeper yearning, a yearning that can’t be filled by material possessions and wealth. This dark world has seen a great light in the appearance of Christ and yet, not all are willing to have their blindness removed.
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