BY THE ROADSIDE.

THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME. YEAR B
October 29, 2006.
(First reading: Jeremiah 31:7-9) (Second reading: Hebrews 5:1-6)
(Gospel: Mark 10:46-52)

BY THE ROADSIDE.

"Jesus, Son of David, have compassion on me" (Mark 10:47)

By the roadside there is a man who knows what he needs and what he wants, a blind beggar who, on this particular day, will have his needs and his wants met; he will receive a gift from the Lord Jesus.

Today we may want to be by the roadside, like Bartimaeus, the blind beggar. The Lord Jesus will pass by this road, the road of our life and will find us there.

Today we are all invited to be by the roadside, the poor and the rich, the strong and the weak, for the Lord will pass in front of us all. We will all have the opportunity to come in touch with our own needs and our desires, with what ails us; we will have the opportunity to meet our needs and to be free from our ailments.

Like the blind beggar of the gospel, we first, must know what our needs are so that we may be able to present them to Jesus:
- The poor and the weak most likely will present their needs in this fashion: "Jesus, Son of David", I cannot find employment, I am unable to feed my family, I cannot provide for the medical needs of my sick child, I have been evicted from my apartment, I have been arrested as an illegal alien and separated from my family, "Jesus, Son of David, have compassion on me!"

- The rich and the strong ought to present their needs in this fashion: "Jesus, Son of David", allow me to use my wealth for the benefit of all my fellow human beings who lack the means to meet their needs; allow me to use my power (economic or political) to bring about equality, justice and peace among all human beings; do not let me be blinded by the greed for material wealth and abusive power; do not let me deprive my fellow human beings of their means of subsistence; do not let me lie to my fellow human being so that I may cover up injustice and oppression; "Jesus, son of David, have compassion on me!"

Once we know fully what our needs are, then we can cry out to Jesus, as he passes in front of us: "Jesus, Son of David, have compassion on me" (Mark 10: 47).

The world makes it difficult for us to cry out to Jesus.
Just like in the gospel, many people in the crowd rebuked the blind beggar "telling him to be silent" (Mark 10:48), the world also wants us to be silent. Our world does not want us to cry out to Jesus.

There 2 ways the world uses to try to keep us silent:
- By repressing those who advocate for the well being of all humankind, social justice, peace, equality among all.

- By "sugar-coating the pill" that is, by preventing us from knowing the reality of our world. Our world tries to rebuke us by saying to us: "Be silent, there is no reason to complain about anything; everything is fine with you and with the world".

But we know better, we know that our world is not fine, that we, personally and collectively, are needy and troubled. For instance:
- The world tells us that we live in a "well-organized" society, but we suffer increasingly high levels of drug addiction among all segments of our population, crime, suicide, disintegration of the family, etc.

- The world tells us that there is equality among human beings, but we suffer tremendous inequalities in income, deep-rooted discrimination against foreigners and undocumented workers.

- The world tells us that there is respect for life, but we suffer abortion, prohibitive health care costs.

- The world tells us that we are ruled by peace-loving leaders, but we initiate wars of aggression and occupation, and make no efforts to prevent or resolve them through negotiation.

- The world tells us that there is respect for the truth, but we suffer a systematic influx of half-truths from the Media.

By the roadside with the blind beggar.
This Sunday we can do what Bartimaeus did by the roadside:
- Today let us cry out to the Lord Jesus who is passing in front of us, for we know that we need him and no one will be able to make us stop from crying out to him.

- Today let us have faith that Jesus will respond to us. Jesus will call us, Jesus will stop and say: "call him over" (Mark 10:49), so that we may present our needs to him.

- Like the blind man, who "threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus" (Mark 10:50), we, too, must throw aside anything that prevents us from springing out with joy and coming to Jesus.

- Today let us receive Jesus' gift, so that we may be able to see with the eyes of the Lord, to see our fellow human being the same way Jesus sees us, to receive the gift of peace, justice and mutual respect.

- Today let us have the courage to follow Jesus along the way, by bringing to all human beings the peace, justice, respect, understanding that we have received from him.

All this we can do if we place ourselves BY THE ROADSIDE when Jesus passes in front of us.