October 24 & 25, 2015+ JMJ +
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Impossible
Believe in the impossible. A teenage girl leading an army to victory: St. Joan of Arc. A rich young man gathering 10,000 men to live in prayer and poverty: St. Francis of Assisi. An orphaned college student who survived warfare only to overthrow his conquerors by peace and prayer: St. John Paul II.
Believe in the impossible. The people of Israel did. When they were made slaves in Babylon, their Temple destroyed, their nation crushed, it looked like they would pass into obscurity. They still believed and prayed, but all hope seemed lost. Then, 70 years later, Persia conquered Babylon and set them free. The impossible had happened. “When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,” they tell us in our psalm today, “we were like men dreaming.Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.” Even the other nations must say “The LORD has done great things for them.”
Believe in the impossible. The prophet Jeremiah did. Inspired by God, he told the people to believe that God would bring back “the remnant of Israel,” the northern tribes that had been wiped out by Assyria. These ten tribes did not return from Babylon. They had been taken captive earlier and mixed in with other races of slaves so that none could rise again. Many of them came to be called Samaritans.
It took much longer, but Jesus went to them, and they accepted his message. The apostles Peter and John Confirmed them, and they were brought back to God. From Antioch in Syria too, God “gathered them from the ends of the world,” and Christians still live there today, even in great suffering and persecution.
Believe in the impossible. Bartimaeus did. He believed that Jesus could restore his sight, and Jesus did. Bartimaeus is a lesson to all of us. Besides being a real person, he is also the model of our conversion. He shows us how we become a Christian.
He begins blind. We are born in spiritual blindness without the light of Jesus Christ. Without the truth of Jesus, we would believe all the silly theories and empty philosophies of the world: that only what we can see and touch is real, that I can decide for myself what is right and wrong, that I can hate that other person or that group of people because I don’t like them or agree with them. We begin blind.
Then Jesus approaches us. “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you,” says Jesus elsewhere. Jesus chose us. He called each of us to receive baptism, either as an adult or through our family. He asked us “What do you want me to do for you?” We or our family responded that we needed the gift of faith, the gift of forgiveness from sin and spiritual life.
Remember, even for those of us who received baptism years ago, our conversion is not over and done. It is ongoing. Christianity is not a “one and done” event. As Bartimaeus shows us, it is about constant conversion. It is about following Jesus always “on the way.” “The Way” was the first name for Christianity, and that name is appropriate. We must stay always on this way, as the Scriptures always remind us. We must choose each day to follow Christ. We must choose to believe in the impossible, because with God, all things are possible.
Follow the example of Bartimaeus. Observe what he does. He calls out. He gets up. He asks. We call out to Jesus in prayer, like he does. Our prayer can be simple. All he said was “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.” His prayer echoes down the centuries. The Divine Mercy prayer given to us by St. Faustina is the same: “For the sake of his sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.” If we don’t pray, we will not believe in the impossible. We will succumb to despair, like much of our modern world has.
Bartimaeus got up. We too “get up” when we do something for Jesus. Prayer is the foundation. It grounds our lives in love of God. Then we must show love for neighbor. We must practice works of mercy. Loving words to the unlovable and to strangers. Offers of help to those in need. Volunteering our time or efforts to listen, console, teach, and encourage.
Finally, Bartimaeus asked for what he needed: to see. That request should have been impossible. But he hoped. He had courage and he had faith. We ask like him when we too have hope in God’s almighty power, when we believe in the impossible.
This hope is real. God has proved it countless times in history. Bringing back Israel from exile. Bringing back the ten tribes into his Holy Catholic Church. Changing the face of the world through the lives of the saints. With God, all things are possible.
Believe in the impossible.
Rev. Eric Culler