The restoration of sight

The end of October brings change to North America. The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today highlight the changes for people and individuals as they respond to the Divine call to see the world around them in the light of their relationship with God. Commentators Friar Jude Winkler and Larry Gillick SJ note that the passage from the prophet Jeremiah has a very different tone from the negative condemnation of Israel in most of the book. The will of God is to restore the relationship with the remnant of Israel and reverse the separation which has occurred as a consequence of earlier decisions to abandon the leadership of God in their lives. The Letter to the Hebrews shows us the traditional role of the priest as one called by God to serve by making the Presence living among us visible to people through actions which witness forgiveness, compassion and love of the Father for His children. The author establishes Jesus calling to be high priest who is the Son of God. The messianic mission of Jesus is revealed to blind Bartimaeus as he is called to seek further change from Jesus in physical and, as Friar Jude points out, spiritual healing. The person of Bartimaeus is recognized by Jesus according to Larry Gillick, as he is addressed with the personal pronoun, you, instead of being known by his external appearance of the blind man. October ends with many in costume moving through darkened streets on All Hallowed’s Eve. The appearance we present in costume may be who we think we are or who we think we would like to be. The first day of November, the Feast of All Saints, invites us to change which allows God to reveal how He sees us as He invites us to restoration of our sight of His Presence among us.