How Badly?

“On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say, ‘Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.’ And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, ‘Son of David, have pity on me.’”

Mark 10:47-48

While blind Bartimaeus was begging by the side of the road, Jesus began to pass by. Upon hearing that it was Jesus passing by he did all he could to get close to Him. The more he called out to Jesus the more those around him told him to be quiet and go away. Perhaps they didn’t want to miss the chance of seeing Jesus themselves and so they pushed Bartimaeus down. How often do we do that in today’s world? Put out and quiet the voice of the poor and disadvantaged so that ours may be heard and answered?

We do not need to compete to see who can scream the loudest so that God can hear us. God hears both the quiet and the loud, those who scream and those who whisper. We do not need to feel that somehow if we do not make ourselves known publicly that our prayers will not be heard. But we do need to make ourselves and our prayers known to God.

How badly do we want to encounter Christ? How badly do we want to be touched and healed by God? Badly enough to be put down by the world and cast aside by others? Our relationship with Jesus is everything. Without that we have nothing. It may sound radical and crazy, but it is the truth. If our relationship with God is not at the top of our priority list, all the other things on that list will not come to be. It is God who gives to us all that we need and even all that we desire in life. So, if we do not know Him and do not have a relationship with Him, what will life even look like?

Blind Bartimaeus knew that if he got the chance to encounter Christ his life would change drastically and so he risked his well-being and his life and pushed himself into the crowd. He could have been trampled upon or even dragged away violently by some angry mob wanting to get ahead. Yet he knew that a life having encountered Christ was worth the risk because he could either live out the remainder of his life blind and unseen by others, or he could encounter Christ and be seen by God out of which life will never be the same. Initially, Bartimaeus did not even ask to see again. He simply said “have pity on me.” When Jesus calls to him and asks him what he wants Him to do for him, he said “Master I want to see,” and Jesus tells him that his faith has saved him. Bartimaeus was blind no more. It was out of that encounter that Bartimaeus was able able to ask and receive. It is the case with us too. Do we strive to encounter Christ?

As Christians we strive to live out our baptismal call to bring Christ to others while encountering Christ in the other. How are we doing? How seriously do we take that call? How badly do we want to be known and seen by Christ? He’s waiting to encounter you. Take a chance and go to the side of the road amidst the crowd and cry out to God. Go into the noisy chamber of our hearts that are filled with worries and anxieties and weighed down by our insecurities and weaknesses because Jesus is waiting for you there. Call out to Him, and do not be afraid.

True Wisdom

“While claiming to be wise, they became fools
and exchanged the glory of the immortal God
for the likeness of an image of mortal man
or of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes.”

Romans 1:22-23

What really happened at the Garden of Eden? Did sin and death enter into the world simply because of a fruit? No fruit could have forced Adam and Eve to disobey God and sin. The fruit, whatever it may be, is good because God created it be pleasing to look at and satisfying to consume. The fruit did not cause sin and death. So, sin and death did not enter into the world merely because a fruit was eaten, instead because the heart of Adam and Eve turned away. The serpent told Eve that if she ate of the fruit of that tree her eyes would be open and that she would be like God, and that God did not want that. Well, we know that is a lie. God fashioned human beings in His image and likeness, so of course they are like God, but the serpent tempted them and projected a lie onto God, and sadly human believed that lie.

St. Paul tells us that some of the people, “while claiming to be wise” they instead became fools. They are fools because and “wisdom” outside of God is not real. All wisdom is found in God. Hence to be apart from God does not make one wise, but rather foolish. Why would anyone want to seek life in a place of death or seek knowledge in a realm that lacks truth? Yet, we find ourselves doing just that.

Brothers and sisters, we can never do it alone. We can not expect us to put our ambitions and ego first and expect to receive the blessings of God — not because God doesn’t give them to us, but because when we put anything else before God we have chosen to reject God’s grace and blessings. To be wise then is to be open to God. To be wise is to seek the Lord. To be wise then is to bear witness to God’s love and mercy. Let us today seek wisdom and truth in the One who is Wisdom and Truth and Life — God, who has become man for us so that we might have life.

Attachments and Necessities

What are the things you need most in life? What are the things you want most in life and out of life? Do any of those things keep us from growing closer to God? We are introduced to the “Rich Young Man” in the Gospel who asks Jesus what he must do to “inherit eternal life.” Jesus reminds the young man of the Commandments and the young man proudly tells Jesus that he has been observing them ever since he was little. Then Jesus tells him that he lacks one thing and to go and sell what he has and give it to the poor, for then he will have treasure in heaven. After this, Jesus tells the young man to follow Him. However, the rich young man went away sad for he has many possessions.

It is not enough to follow all the “rules.” The relationship that we share with God is not legalistic; it is an intimate relationship bound by love. It is love that should move us to do something, not simply because it is the “rule” to do so. For the rich young man to follow all the commandments was not enough. His words might be right. His actions might also be right. But, where was his heart? Was his heart in it? Was he more concerned about "inheriting eternal life” or having a relationship with God? Of course now we can see that you cannot have the one without the other, but sometimes we lose sight of that. All that we do and say must be rooted in our relationship with God, rooted in love.

What are the attachments in our lives that keep us from following Christ? (Objects, money, our own way of doing things, etc.) Will we go away sad like the rich young man or will we at least try to sell our possession and follow Christ? One might ask, why can’t we keep our possessions and also follow Christ? The issue here is not really about having material things. It is perfectly fine to have nice things, but do those things keep us from God? Is our focus more on making money so I can buy the latest gadget or is our focus more on my relationship with Christ, knowing that all that I have and am able to do and enjoy is a gift from a God, a gift that stems from having that relationship? At the end of that day, it is not what we have that will get us into heaven. Only Jesus can get us into heaven. Do we know Him?

May we reflect on our relationships today — with God, with others, and even with our possessions. How are they ordered? Where does God stand? May our attachments to worldly possessions and ideas not keep us from seeing what is most important — our relationship with God, that which gives us life.