Seeing with New Eyes
- Fr Raphael Ma, CR
- Mark 10: 46 - 52
A Resurrectionist Vocation Minute for October 27, 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Seeing with new eyes.
In today’s Gospel, we have the miraculous healing of Bartimaeus, a beggar who was blind, sitting by the roadside outside Jericho. When Jesus asks him “What do you want me to do for you?” Bartimaeus says: “My teacher, let me see again.”
It is a small detail, but Bartimaeus’ request tells us he was not always blind, but at some point in his life, he had been able to see.
Yet merely being sighted – as important as that is – is no guarantee to really “seeing” what is going on. How many times in our lives have we not “seen” what was really going on – in our actions, in the course of events, in our relationships with others – even though we could “see” just fine?
Jesus’ restoration of Bartimaeus’ sight was not merely a healing of his physical sight, but of his spiritual sight: “Go; your faith has made you well.” It’s very possible that having lost his sight, Bartimaeus may also have lost his faith in God, or that he mattered to God. But in his meeting with Jesus, Bartimaeus’ faith has come alive again, and he was able to see again, and perhaps to believe again.
Faith in the revelation of God through Jesus Christ is not an alternative to human reasoning. Faith allows us to see and appreciate things as they really are, things beyond the scope of – but certainly not contrary to – human reasoning.
What and in whom we choose to believe directly impacts the way we live our lives. How would you see your life differently if you had gone blind, and then had your sight and faith restored by Jesus? Would it change the way you follow Jesus at all? What’s stopping you from living that way now?
“For the Resurrectionist, the apostolate represents a call through Christ to lead an apostolic life imbued with a deep and lasting faith, “without which it is impossible to please God” (Heb 11: 6). Faith is the necessary condition for effective apostolic activity. The religious are to pray for this faith along with the apostles: “Lord, increase our faith” (Lk 17: 5). This faith will permeate the religious' entire life, mobilizing his efforts in the apostolate.”