Tag: Faith

Believing is Seeing

Bartimaeus, the Blind Beggar, is sitting in his usual spot alongside the roadway when he hears that Jesus is walking by. Bartimaeus cries out, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” at which time some of the followers of Christ rebuke him, telling him to keep quiet so as not to bother Jesus. This doesn’t stop him: Bartimaeus again, loudly cries out, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” Jesus has Bartimaeus brought to him and asks what he wants. Bartimaeus responds, “Lord, please let me see.” In his mercy and compassion, Jesus gives him his sight, saying, “Your faith has saved you.” Bartimaeus received his sight and immediately began to follow Jesus, “giving glory to God.” (NAB, cf. LK 18:35-43) We can learn a few life principles from this interaction proclaimed in today’s Gospel.

(1) Bartimaeus knew what was keeping him from being united with the worshiping community. He was willing to recognize his needs and bring them to Jesus. We too, should reflect on our lives and admit our needs, “failures,” and shortcomings, and then bring them to Jesus.

(2) Bartimaeus didn’t let anyone or anything stand in his way. Oftentimes, we encounter obstacles to encountering Jesus. These obstacles come in many forms (e.g., certain personal relationships, insufficient desire or motivation to change, or lack of developed conscience to make good decisions). We must not be discouraged nor allow these to keep us from pursuing our Savior; rather, we must persist in calling out to him and trusting completely in his infinite love, mercy, and forgiveness.

(3) Bartimaeus didn’t base his faith on seeing. His faith was solidly rooted in hearing the words of Jesus and believing in the Gospel. Oftentimes, we are unable to see the workings of God in our lives, but by listening to God through reading the Holy Bible and hearing his Word proclaimed in his Church, by receiving the grace he offers in the Sacraments, and by believing his promises, teachings, and truths even in the midst of doubt, we establish and fortify our faith. We have all heard the saying, “Seeing is believing.” As Christians, perhaps we should rephrase it to, “Believing is seeing.” It is when we exercise our faith and believe, that we see the Hand of God at work. Our faith gives us sight.

Father, help me to acknowledge my needs and give me the courage I to overcome any obstacles that prevent me from bringing them to you. Strengthen my faith and belief so that I may see your hand at work in my life and follow you without reservation, for your glory. Amen.

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The Faith of a Leper

In Luke’s Gospel (17:11-19), Jesus encounters 10 lepers as he is about to enter a certain village. They cried out to him, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” In response, Jesus tells them to go show themselves to the priests, and they are healed of their leprosy on their way. It was the responsibility of the priests to ultimately judge whether one was cured from leprosy. Being declared cured was important because a leper was excluded from the community as a whole, and specifically forbidden from worshiping in the Temple. Simply put, lepers were unclean.

We are told that one of the cured lepers, the foreign Samaritan, never makes it to the priests. Instead, upon being cured, he returns to Jesus “to give thanks to God.” He glorified God and fell at the feet of Jesus to thank him. Jesus then declares that this one has been saved by his faith. We can presume that the other 9 lepers presented themselves to the priests, performed their ritual washings, and were reunited with the community.

What did this Samaritan leper experience that the others missed? Why did this leper seem to disobey Jesus’ command to present himself to the priests, but was then rewarded by being proclaimed saved by his faith? Perhaps he realized that the gift of being cured and reunited with the community was indeed a gift, but paled in comparison to the Giver. It’s easy to reverse the two. Perhaps he realized that while the Temple priests could certainly declare him physically clean and reunite him with the social community, only the One True High Priest could declare him spiritually clean and reunite him with the Creator himself.

Heavenly Father, give us the wisdom, insight, and faith of the Samaritan leper, so that we may choose you, the Giver, over the gift. May we recognize your Son as our High Priest, the one True Mediator who atoned for our sins so that we may be reunited with you in the eternal community of your Heavenly Kingdom. Amen.

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