Homily – 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time

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Homily – 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time

When we hear God leading the people of Israel back home, we think of God’s forgiveness and generosity: and we assume that all were guilty of turning away from God in the past.

But, I’m sure many of the people sent into exile were ordinary, good, people. Does it happen today? Being sent into Exile? Yes! I can’t help but think of the victims of child abuse.

How many have had their innocence destroyed; their normal development interrupted; their ability to love themselves destroyed; how many have lived with shame and fear for too long?

And what happens? They feel isolated; depressed; lonely; angry; some lose hope = exile.
They are the blind and lame mentioned in the First Reading: the wounded.
“‘The Lord has saved his people, the remnant of Israel!’ … all of them: the blind and the lame,”

I gently asked the female guard at our residence if this had happened to her?
She said, “no” and continued by saying: “but it happens Father.
People are told to give ‘favours’ to the employer or else you will lose your job.”

So, what do we do? How do we sign up for the return journey? “They had left in tears, I will comfort them as I lead them back; I will guide them to streams of water…” Through Jesus.

But, where do we find Jesus Christ? Didn’t He die and have a Resurrection 2000 years ago?
Yes, but… but… He left the Church and the Church is you and I with Christ as our Head.

The Gospel guides us and challenges us. How many times have we heard about something fantastic that we missed out on because we didn’t hear about it, or we heard too late?
eg. Buy a plot of land at so-and-so, because the prices will jump next year. Or,
For a limited time only, you can get 10 books for $1… but you hear about too late.

The Gospel relates the story of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar: listen as the plot unfolds:
Bartimaeus hears the Saviour, calls out to His Saviour, refuses to shut-up until the Saviour hears him. Then Bartimaeus throws off his cloak, speaks his problem and receives healing.

For a wounded person in exile – exile from belonging, from loving – it is through any one of us that our Saviour, their saviour, wishes to work. But, first, what if we are the wounded one in exile… what do we do? Are we really aware that we are wounded? Do we want healing?

Do we recognise the pain we cause to others because we are in pain?
Sadly, some people don’t think/know that they are wounded.
The six steps of Bartimaeus are necessary for us to learn how to find healing in our own lives.

In order to hear Jesus, Bartimaeus was “looking for” and desiring help: he recognised his pain; he makes the first step to ask for help. Then, as now, all over the world people try to cover up “problems”: to silence the person. But Bartimaeus persisted until he was heard.

Next, Bartimaeus threw off the cloak of secrecy, he shared his problem and Jesus healed him.
I want to gently challenge those in “exile”: if you think like a Victim, it is difficult for people to help. But, if you think like Bartimaeus, think like a winner, you will find healing.

There are so many good people in the Church who want to help. And, closer to home, even our parents can be transformed into healers: with a friend, we can confront them with the truth.
But we must remember, sometimes our parents are also wounded and are in exile.

That’s why our Baptism into the Church helps us to find other avenues for healing.

Finally, this Gospel reveals three types of characters: those looking for healing (Bartimaeus),
those trying to avoid listening to people in trouble (the crowd), and the Saviour (Jesus).

What are you? Which am I? Even if we are the one in exile, the blind one, we can still be the Saviour for another person. And in helping to heal others, God can gently lead us out of exile.

How many of us carry a shame caused by the sin of others? Let’s have courage and ask God to lead us home, to take away our blindness. Remember: God made you, and you are good!

I leave you with an interesting reflection on why we are slow to exit our exile: https://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/what-happens-ask-help-dlngi/

THE END — READINGS & GOSPEL REFLECTION NOTES ARE AT THE END OF THIS DOCUMENT.

THE END + Related Illustrations

Define the Problem: Thousands of years ago a young Chinese emperor called upon his family’s most trusted advisor. “Oh, learned counsellor,” said the emperor, “you have advised my father and grandfather. What is the single most important advice you can give me to rule my country?” And Confucius replied, “The first thing you must do is to define the problem.”

Many unhappy people cannot put their finger on what is really causing their distress. Many unfulfilled people cannot even tell you what it would take to satisfy them. Many of us have no clear idea or conception what our real needs, our real desires, and our real priorities are. And because we have never defined the problem or clarified our goals, we spend a lifetime anxiously wandering with very little to show for the pilgrimage.

King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com

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One day five blind men decided to find out what an elephant “looked” like. Led to one, each man grabbed hold of whatever section of the animal he could, certain that what he had grabbed was the whole of the elephant itself.

The one holding onto the trunk thought for certain that the elephant must indeed be the shape of a wiggly snake and said so, but the one who had found an ear countered, insisting that the elephant’s size was that of a palm leaf. With a firm grip on one of the elephant’s legs, the third announced that the animal was actually like a tree trunk. “No,” stated another, while patting the elephant’s side, “this beast is truly the size of a wall.”

Then the fifth, being the loudest and most impatient of the group, clasped the animal’s tail and yelled, “Oh, my brothers, you are not only blind but crazy, for the elephant is the shape of a rope”

– (an ancient Hindu parable illustrating humanity’s many attempts to define God)

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Joke/Story — Blind Beggar

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: “I am blind, please help.” There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, “Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?”

The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.” What he had written was: “Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it.” Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?

Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the story: Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.

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He knew what his problem was. But how many of us know what our problem really is? Do we think: ‘if I had what someone else has,’ or ‘if only that pain didn’t happen.’ The reality is that everyone has problems or regrets.

THE PARABLE OF THE SPIDER AND THE CATERPILLAR

A caterpillar climbed up a tree and met a spider, and they started talking. “Why did you climb all the way up here?” asked the spider. “My world was so limited down there. I wanted to see what I was missing,” replied the caterpillar. “And now all you want to do is go back down?”

“Yes, I do.” The spider said, “I was just there yesterday. All I have to do is float down on my web.” “That’s why life is so unfair,” said the caterpillar. “Some of us have so much more than others. It took me so long to get up here.

Then I was disappointed. When I was down there I had choices to make. I could go where I wanted and eat so many things. Up here in this tree, there is nowhere to go and these leaves all taste the same.”

“Well, go back down,” said the spider. “No, it took so long to climb up here. My life cycle is nearly over. The life of a caterpillar is so short. I would never make it back down in time to enjoy life again,” said the caterpillar.

The story goes on and the spider reminds the caterpillar that he should look within himself:
the beauty/gifts that he already has to enjoy life and eventually he became a beautiful butterfly.

And so it is with many of us. We always want more but never sure exactly what “more” is. But we know more is never enough.

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As I move around the parish, I see young men and ladies, in our schools, who are struggling with disappointment, frustration and anger with their parents. Recently I assisted a young person struggling with addiction to pornography. Until now, he has been fighting it directly. But after sharing the loneliness in his life, lack of a mother, a difficult father, and sexual abuse at a young age, I saw the real problem. After a long talk, he was able to recognise God’s love for him, and his need for love and encouragement. The blindness was lifted: pornography wasn’t the enemy, it was a lack of love.

Introduction

Starting comments

In the 1^ST Reading,

600 yr’s before Christ, the prophet Jeremiah was often persecuted for trying to warn people that their sinful ways would lead to exile; and that God would later save them.

In the 2^ND Reading,

The letter to the Hebrews addresses a Christian community about their weariness with the demands of the Christian life and a growing indifference to their Baptismal calling.

In the GOSPEL today…

PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL

Start: Conscious of Jesus Christ’s humanity, and his understanding of our struggles,
we confidently ask God for the needs of our community and ourselves…

End: We make our prayers through this same Christ Our Lord.

FINAL BLESSING

Joke – Two Therapists

Two psychotherapists pass each other in the hallway.

The first says to the second, “Hello!”

The second smiles back nervously and half nods his head. When he is comfortably out of hearing distance, he mumbles, “God, I wonder what *that* was all about?”

Gospel Notes—30^th Sun OT—B—28-Oct-2018. The Daily Study Bible (W Barclay ’75)

A MIRACLE BY THE WAYSIDE – Mark 10:46-52

For Jesus the end of the road was not far away. Jericho was about 15 miles from Jerusalem. The main road ran right through Jericho. Jesus was on his way to the Passover. When a distinguished Rabbi or teacher was on such a journey it was the custom that he was surrounded by a crowd of people, disciples and learners, who listened to him as he discoursed while he walked. That was one of the commonest ways of teaching.

It was the law that every male Jew over twelve years of age who lived within 15 miles of Jerusalem must attend the Passover. It was clearly impossible that such a law should be fulfilled and that everyone should go. Those who were unable to go were in the habit of lining the streets of towns and villages through which groups of Passover pilgrims must pass to bid them godspeed on their way. So then the streets of Jericho would be lined with people, and there would be even more than usual, for there would be many eager and curious to catch a glimpse of this audacious young Galilaean who had pitted himself against the assembled might of orthodoxy.

Jericho had one special characteristic. There were attached to the Temple over 20,000 priests and as many levites. Obviously they could not all serve at the one time. They were therefore divided into twenty-six courses (shifts) which served in rotation. Very many of these priests and levites resided in Jericho when they were not on actual temple duty. There must have been many of them in the crowd that day. At the Passover all were on duty, because all were needed. It was one of the rare occasions when all did serve. But many would not have started yet. They would be doubly eager to see this rebel who was about to invade Jerusalem. There would be many cold and bleak and hostile eyes in the crowd that day, because it was clear that if Jesus was right, the whole Temple worship was one vast irrelevancy.

At the northern gate sat a beggar, Bartimaeus by name. He heard the tramp of feet. He asked what was happening and who was passing. He was told that it was Jesus. There and then he set up an uproar to attract Jesus’ attention to him. To those listening to Jesus’ teaching as he walked the uproar was an offence. They tried to silence Bartimaeus, but no one was going to take from him his chance to escape from his world of darkness, and he cried with such violence and importunity that the procession stopped, and he was brought to Jesus.

This is a most illuminating story. (i) There is the sheer persistence of Bartimaeus. He was utterly determined to meet the one person whom he longed to confront with his trouble. It was a desperate desire, and it is that desperate desire that gets things done. (ii) His response to the call of Jesus was immediate and eager, so eager that he cast off his hindering cloak to run to Jesus the more quickly. Many a man hears the call of Jesus, but says in effect, “Wait until I have done this,” or “Wait until I have finished that.” Bartimaeus came like a shot when Jesus called. Sometimes we have a wave of longing to abandon some habit, to purify life of some wrong thing, to give ourselves more completely to Jesus. So very often we do not act on it on the moment–and the chance is gone, perhaps never to come back. (iii) He knew precisely what he wanted–his sight. Too often our admiration for Jesus is a vague attraction. When we go to the doctor we want him to deal with some definite situation. When we go to the dentist we do not ask him to extract any tooth, but the one that is diseased. It should be so with us and Jesus. And that involves the one thing that so few people wish to face–self-examination. When we go to Jesus, if we are as desperately definite as Bartimaeus, things will happen. (iv) Bartimaeus had a quite inadequate conception of Jesus. Son of David he insisted on calling him. Now that was a Messianic title, but it has in it all the thought of a conquering Messiah, a king of David’s line who would lead Israel to national greatness. That was a very inadequate idea of Jesus. But, in spite of that, Bartimaeus had faith, and faith made up a hundredfold for the inadequacy of his theology. The demand is not that we should fully understand Jesus. The demand is for faith. Christianity begins with a personal reaction to Jesus, a reaction of love, feeling that here is the one person who can meet our need. (v) In the end there is a precious touch. Bartimaeus may have been a beggar by the wayside but he was a man of gratitude. Having received his sight, he followed Jesus. He did not selfishly go on his way when his need was met. He began with need, went on to gratitude, and finished with loyalty–and that is a perfect summary of the stages of discipleship.

Questions

Is physical blindness the only way that one does not have sight?
Do you sometimes choose to be blind?
How can your spiritual blindness be cured? Can others help cure this blindness?
How can you be blind to seeing Jesus in your life?
Might others stand in your way at times when you look for Jesus? Why?
How is your prayer like the pleading of the blind man in this gospel passage?
Do you believe that Jesus actively calls you to live a good life?
How and where do you hear this call? Is this call ever repeated in your life?
When Jesus calls you to a life of service, how do you respond?
Do you sometimes fail to hear his call?

Gospel Action

Make a list of the people who reflect the presence of Jesus in your life, & those who have challenged to your faith. Is Jesus was present in the second list? Look closer!

THE SEARCH FOR AN INDUBITABLE TRUTH — Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI (1-10-2018) www.ronrolheiser.com

In a book, 12 Rules for Life – An Antidote to Chaos, that’s justifiably making waves in many circles today, Jordan Peterson shares about his own journey towards truth and meaning. Here’s that story:

At one point in his life, while still young and finding his own path, he reached a stage where he felt agnostic, not just about the shallow Christianity he’d been raised on, but also about most everything else in terms of truth and trust. What really can we believe in? What’s ultimately to be trusted?

Too humble to compare himself to one of the great minds in history, Rene Descartes, who, five hundred years ago, struggled with a similar agnosticism, Peterson nonetheless could not help but employ Descartes’ approach in trying to find a truth that you could not doubt. So, like Descartes, he set off in search off an “indubitable” (Descartes’ term), that is, to find a premise that absolutely cannot be doubted. Descartes, as we know, found his “indubitable” in his famous dictum: I think, therefore, I am! Nobody can be deceived in believing that since even to be deceived would be indisputable proof that you exist. The philosophy that Descartes then built upon the indubitable premise is left for history to judge. But history doesn’t dispute the truth of his dictum.

So Peterson sets out with the same essential question: What single thing cannot be doubted? Is there something so evidently true that nobody can doubt it? For Peterson, it’s not the fact that we think which is indisputable, it’s the fact that we, all of us, suffer. That’s his indubitable truth, suffering is real. That cannot be doubted: “Nihilists cannot undermine it with skepticism. Totalitarians cannot banish it. Cynics cannot escape its reality.” Suffering is real beyond all doubt.

Moreover, in Peterson’s understanding, the worst kind of suffering isn’t that which is inflicted upon us by the innate contingencies of our being and our mortality, nor by the sometimes blind brutality of nature. The worst kind of suffering is the kind that one person inflicts upon another, the kind that one part of humankind inflicts upon another part, the kind we see in the atrocities of the 20th century – Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, and countless others responsible for the torture, rape, suffering, and death of millions.

From this indubitable premise he submits something else that too cannot be disputed: This kind of suffering isn’t just real, it’s also wrong! We can all agree that this kind of suffering is not good and that there is something that is (beyond dispute) not good. And if there’s something that is not good, then there’s something that is good. His logic: “If the worst sin is the torment of others, merely for the sake of the suffering produced – then the good is whatever is diametrically opposed to that.”

What flows from this is clear: The good is whatever stops such things from happening. If this is true, and it is, then it is also clear as to what is good, and what is a good way of living: If the most terrible forms of suffering are produced by egotism, selfishness, untruthfulness, arrogance, greed, lust for power, willful cruelty, and insensitivity to others, then we are evidently called to the opposite: selflessness, altruism, humility, truth-telling, tenderness, and sacrificing for others.

Not incidentally, Peterson affirms all of this inside a chapter within which he highlights the importance of sacrifice, of delaying private gratification for a greater good long-range. His insight here parallels those of Rene Girard and other anthropologists who point out that the only way of stopping unconscious sacrifice to blind gods (which is what happened in the atrocities of Hitler and what happens in our own bitter slandering of others) is through self-sacrifice. Only when we accept at the cost of personal suffering our own contingencies, sin, and mortality will we stop projecting these on to others so to make them suffer in order to feel better about ourselves.

Peterson writes as an agnostic or perhaps, more accurately, as an honest analyst, an observer of humanity, who for purposes of this book prefers to keep his faith private. Fair enough. Probably wise too. No reason to impute motives. It’s where he lands that’s important, and where he lands is on very solid ground. It’s where Jesus lands in the Sermon on the Mount, it’s where the Christian churches land when they’re at their best, it’s where the great religions of the world land when they’re at their best, and it’s where humanity lands when it’s at its best.

The medieval mystic, Theresa of Avila, wrote with great depth and challenge. Her treatise on the spiritual life is now a classic and forms part of the very canon of Christian spiritual writings. In the end, she submits that during our generative years the most important question we need to challenge ourselves with is: How can I be more helpful? Jordan Peterson, with a logic and language that can be understood by everyone today, offers the same challenge.

First Reading: Jeremiah 31:7-9 — A reading from the prophet Jeremiah

I shall lead them back in mercy – both the blind and the lame.

The Lord says this: Shout with joy for Jacob!
Hail the chief of nations! Proclaim! Praise! Shout!
‘The Lord has saved his people, the remnant of Israel!’
See, I will bring them back from the land of the North
and gather them from the far ends of earth; all of them: the blind and the lame,
women with child, women in labour: a great company returning here.
They had left in tears, I will comfort them as I lead them back;
I will guide them to streams of water, by a smooth path where they will not stumble.
For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born son.

Psalm: Ps 125

The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage,
it seemed like a dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
on our lips there were songs. R.

The heathens themselves said: ‘What marvels
the Lord worked for them!’
What marvels the Lord worked for us!
Indeed we were glad. R.

Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage
as streams in dry land.
Those who are sowing in tears
will sing when they reap. R.

They go out, they go out, full of tears,
carrying seed for the sowing:
they come back, they come back, full of song,
carrying their sheaves. R.

Second Reading: Hebrews 5:1-6 — A reading from the letter to the Hebrews

You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek.

Every high priest has been taken out of mankind and is appointed to act for men in their relations with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins; and so he can sympathise with those who are ignorant or uncertain because he too lives in the limitations of weakness. That is why he has to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. No one takes this honour on himself, but each one is called by God, as Aaron was. Nor did Christ give himself the glory of becoming high priest, but he had it from the one who said to him: You are my son, today I have become your father, and in another text: You are a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and for ever.

Gospel Acclamation: cf 2 Timothy 1:10

Alleluia, alleluia! Our Saviour Jesus Christ has done away with death, and brought us life through his gospel. Alleluia!

Gospel: Mark 10:46-52 — A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

Master, grant that I may see.

As Jesus left Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus (that is, the son of Timaeus), a blind beggar, was sitting at the side of the road. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and to say, ‘Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me.’ And many of them scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he only shouted all the louder, ‘Son of David, have pity on me.’ Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him here.’ So they called the blind man. ‘Courage,’ they said ‘get up; he is calling you.’ So throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and went to Jesus. Then Jesus spoke, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ ‘Rabbuni,’ the blind man said to him ‘Master, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has saved you.’ And immediately his sight returned and he followed him along the road.

WhatsApp Format
*Homily—30th Sun O/Time*
Year B — 28-Oct-2018
_Jeremiah 31:7-9;_
_Hebrews 5:1-6;_
_Mark 10:46-52_

When we hear God leading the people of Israel back home, we think of God’s forgiveness and generosity: and we assume that all were guilty of turning away from God in the past. But, I’m sure many of the people sent into exile were ordinary, good, people. Does it happen today? Being sent into Exile? Yes!

I can’t help but think of the victims of child abuse. How many have had their innocence destroyed; their normal development interrupted; their ability to love themselves destroyed; how many have lived with shame and fear for too long? And what happens? They feel isolated; depressed; lonely; angry; some lose hope = *exile.* They are the blind and lame mentioned in the First Reading: *the wounded.* _“‘The Lord has saved his people, the remnant of Israel!’ … all of them: the blind and the lame,”_

There are many examples in adult life. In recent months, all over the world, we’ve seen “hash-tag” twitter groups spring up. Women whose bosses pressured them to do things they hated, to save their jobs; and some men being harassed by women in authority over them. I gently asked the female guard at our residence if this had happened to her? She said, _“no”_ and continued by saying: _“but it happens Father. People are told to give ‘favours’ to the employer or else you will lose your job.”_

Closer to home, how many people grow up in dis-functional homes? Sometimes we tolerate abuse thinking it’s “normal.” Not realising how our future relationships will be effected by it. As Fr Richard Rohr OFM, puts it: *if we don’t deal with our pain, we’ll pass it on to others.* So, what do we do? How do we sign up for the return journey? _“They had left in tears, I will comfort them as I lead them back; I will guide them to streams of water…”_

*Through Jesus.* But, where do we find Jesus Christ? Didn’t He die and have a Resurrection 2000 years ago? Yes, but… but… He left the Church and the Church is you and I with Christ as our Head. The Gospel guides us and challenges us. How many times have we heard about something fantastic that we missed out on because we didn’t hear about it, or we heard too late?
eg. _Buy a plot of land at so-and-so, because the prices will jump next year._ *Or,* _For a limited time only, you can get 10 books for $1…_ but you hear about it too late.

The Gospel relates the story of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar: listen as the plot unfolds: _Bartimaeus *hears* the Saviour, *calls out* to His Saviour, *refuses to shut-up* until the Saviour hears him. Then Bartimaeus *throws off* his cloak, *speaks* his problem and *receives* healing._

For a wounded person in exile – *exile from belonging, from loving* – it is through any one of us that our Saviour, their Saviour, wishes to work. But, first, what if we are the wounded one in exile… what do we do? Are we really aware that we are wounded? Do we want healing? Do we recognise the pain we cause to others because we are in pain? Sadly, some people don’t think/know that they are wounded. The six steps of Bartimaeus are necessary for us to learn how to find healing in our own lives.

In order to hear Jesus, Bartimaeus was “looking for” and desiring help: *he recognised his pain;* he makes the first step to ask for help. Then, as now, all over the world people try to cover up “problems”: _to silence the person._ But Bartimaeus persisted until he was heard. Next, Bartimaeus threw off the cloak of secrecy, *he shared his problem* and Jesus healed him. I want to gently challenge those in “exile”: if you think like a Victim, it is difficult for people to help. But, if you think like Bartimaeus, think like a winner, *you will find healing.*

There are so many good people in the Church who want to help. And, closer to home, _even our parents can be transformed into healers:_ with a friend, we can confront them with the truth. But we must remember, sometimes our parents are also wounded and are in exile. That’s why our Baptism into the Church helps us to find other avenues for healing.

Finally, this Gospel reveals three types of characters: those looking for healing (Bartimaeus), those trying to avoid listening to people in trouble (the crowd), and the Saviour (Jesus). What are you? Which am I? Even if we are the one in exile, the blind one, we can still be the Saviour for another person. _And in helping to heal others, God can gently lead us out of exile._

How many of us carry a shame caused by the sin of others? Let’s have courage and ask God to lead us home, to take away our blindness. Remember: *God made you, and you are good!*

I leave you with an interesting reflection on why we are slow to exit our exile: https://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/what-happens-ask-help-dlngi/

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