Called to joy, service and restoration

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today call us to joy in our service and the restoration of our intimacy with God.

Seeing the way

The passage from the Book of Jeremiah describes the Second Exodus nature of the return to Jerusalem of the exiles in Assyria.

* [31:2–3] Jeremiah describes the exiles of the Northern Kingdom on their way home from the nations where the Assyrians had resettled them (722/721 B.C.). The favor they discover in the wilderness is the appearance of the Lord (v. 3) coming to guide them to Jerusalem. Implicit in these verses is the presentation of the people’s return from captivity as a second exodus, a unifying theme in Second Isaiah (chaps. 40–55).

The Letter to the Hebrews establishes the nature and uniqueness of Jesus role as High Priest in His Covenant.

* [5:1–10] The true humanity of Jesus (see note on Heb 2:5–18) makes him a more rather than a less effective high priest to the Christian community. In Old Testament tradition, the high priest was identified with the people, guilty of personal sin just as they were (Heb 5:1–3). Even so, the office was of divine appointment (Heb 5:4), as was also the case with the sinless Christ (Heb 5:5). For Heb 5:6, see note on Ps 110:4. Although Jesus was Son of God, he was destined as a human being to learn obedience by accepting the suffering he had to endure (Heb 5:8). Because of his perfection through this experience of human suffering, he is the cause of salvation for all (Heb 5:9), a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek (Heb 5:10; cf. Heb 5:6 and Heb 7:3).

In the Gospel from Mark, the blind Bartimaeus recognizes Jesus as Son of David and lives his faith following Him on the Way.

(Mark 10:52) Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.

Maureen McCann Waldron pauses to face her own daily blindness and wonders if she really wants to ask Jesus to see.  Do we want to be healed?

I see families in division, government policies that hurt the poor, refugees that beg an unwilling world for help and people betrayed by their own church.  If I see all this clearly, then what will I have to do? If I see where I can make a difference, what new challenges does that put in my life? Please, Jesus. Give me the courage to call out to you.  I feel Jesus standing in front of me, loving me and asking, “What do you want me to do for you?”
And then I know that I want Jesus to give me sight and take my hand and lead me. I have the words now: “Lord, I want to see.”

Don Schwager quotes “Your Word will enlighten and save me”, by Clement of Alexandria, 150-215 A.D.

"The commandment of the Lord shines clearly, enlightening the eyes. Receive Christ, receive power to see, receive your light, that you may plainly recognize both God and man. More delightful than gold and precious stones, more desirable than honey and the honeycomb is the Word that has enlightened us (Psalm 19:10). How could he not be desirable, who illumined minds buried in darkness, and endowed with clear vision 'the light-bearing eyes' of the soul? ... Sing his praises, then, Lord, and make known to me your Father, who is God. Your Word will save me, your song instruct me. I have gone astray in my search for God; but now that you light my path, Lord, I find God through you, and receive the Father from you, I become co-heir with you, since you were not ashamed to own me as your brother. Let us, then, shake off forgetfulness of truth, shake off the mist of ignorance and darkness that dims our eyes, and contemplate the true God, after first raising this song of praise to him: 'All hail, O light!' For upon us buried in darkness, imprisoned in the shadow of death, a heavenly light has shone, a light of a clarity surpassing the sun's, and of a sweetness exceeding any this earthly life can offer." (excerpt from EXHORTATION TO THE GREEKS 11.8)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 10:46-52 observes that the problem is, what the world offers can leave us restless, unfulfilled, always searching, always looking for the next best thing to make us happy. All too often, our desires for God’s peace and love become fleeting moments that get shouted down by the influence of the crowd.

Remember this as well: while the crowds of the world want to keep you from Jesus, there are also crowds of disciples who want to follow him. They can help you grow in your faith. Find people who pray together. Find a Bible study. Join people who serve the poor. Surround yourself with people who share your desire for Jesus. Join them as you follow Jesus “on the way” (Mark 10:52).

Friar Jude Winkler underlines some important details in accounts of Jeremiah and the Letter to the Hebrews. The blind Bartimaeus is the first, in Mark, to see Jesus as the Son of David who will be proclaimed king in Jerusalem. Friar Jude reminds us of the New Testament code of declaring”saved”, those who are healed both in body and soul.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, recalls Paul (1 Corinthians 13:13) in declaring the most powerful, most needed, and most essential teaching is always Love.

We must all overcome the illusion of separateness. It is the primary task of religion to communicate not worthiness but union, to reconnect people to their original identity “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). The Bible calls the state of separateness “sin.” God’s job description is to draw us back into primal and intimate relationship. “My dear people, we are already children of God; what we will be in the future has not yet been fully revealed, and all I do know is that we shall be like God” (1 John 3:2).

The response today to Psalm 126 is our declaration of thanksgiving for all that God has done for us in our journey of return to intimacy and clearer vision in our relationship with the Divine.

References

(n.d.). Jeremiah chapter 31 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved October 28, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/jeremiah/31
(n.d.). Hebrews chapter 5 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved October 28, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/hebrews/5
(n.d.). Mark, chapter 10 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved October 28, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/10
(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved October 28, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 28, 2018, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
(n.d.). Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Mass Readings and Catholic .... Retrieved October 28, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/
(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archives - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved October 28, 2018, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/