30 October 2024 -- 30th Sunday ‘B
Jer 31:7-9; Heb 5:1-6; Mark 10:46-52
Homily
Today's first reading is made up of three verses from chapter 31 of Jeremiah which, together with chapter 30, make up what is known as the ‘ Book of the Consolation of Israel ’, in which the whole message of the prophet culminates. The people are called to shout for joy, not because of a liberation or anything else they have just obtained, but because the Lord will bring them back, gather them and guide them. In Jeremiah's text, all these verbs are in the future tense. And who will benefit from this fatherly care of God, who is ‘a father to Israel’? - It will be the blind, the lame, pregnant women and women who have just given birth, these last two categories representing the pain of exile and the joy of returning to the promised land. The scene where, at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, he tells John the Baptist's disciples to go and tell their master what they have seen: “the lame walk, the blind see, the deaf hear...” makes the link between this prophecy and the scene in today's Gospel, which takes place at the gates of Jericho.
Jericho was an important city that the Galileans had to pass through on their way up to Jerusalem through the Jordan Valley. In the Old Testament, this city of palms in the middle of the desert of Judah was the gateway to the Promised Land. Jesus passed through a few times but never stopped there. The Gospels do not mention that he preached or performed any miracles there. In today's Gospel, as Jesus makes his final ascent towards Jerusalem, where he will be put to death, he passes through Jericho once more, and on the way out of the city he passes a blind beggar, who is told that it is Jesus of Nazareth who is passing by, and who begins to cry out: ‘Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me’.
While those accompanying Jesus wanted to silence the sick man, Jesus stopped. This word is important. While Jesus is constantly on the move to announce the good news, and especially as he resolutely climbs towards Jerusalem, the only thing that can stop him in his tracks is the sight of human misery and an appeal for mercy. Jesus calls out to this blind man who cries out to him, and asks him the same question he asked James and John in last Sunday's Gospel: ‘What do you want me to do for you? The evangelist seems to want to draw a comparison here between the disciples who have been called to follow Jesus and who are still greedy for power and glory (’ grant that we may sit, one at your right hand and the other at your left, in your glory “) and this poor blind beggar who wants nothing more than to ” see ’, and who, as soon as he regains his sight, will start following Jesus on the road that leads him to Jerusalem and the Cross, even though Jesus has told him to go away: ‘ Go, your faith has saved you ’.
This story of healing does not have the usual characteristics of ‘miracles’ or ‘signs’ performed by Jesus. Rather, the whole story emphasizes faith as the basis for following Jesus. As soon as he is brought before Jesus, the blind man no longer calls him ‘ son of David “, but gives him the title of ” teacher “, with the same touch of intimacy as Mary Magdalene on the morning of the resurrection: ” rabbouni ’.
Many times, either in our private moments of prayer or in the liturgy, we have prayed the same prayer as this blind man: ‘Son of God, have mercy on me’, perhaps with the same sense of distance that the use of this messianic title seems to imply. Each time, Jesus stopped and spoke to us. Our prayer then became more intimate and we were able, like Bartimaeus and like Mary of Magdala, to call him more intimately Rabboni, ‘my teacher’. All that remains is for us to have the courage to follow him to the end on the path he has laid out for us and on which he continues to guide us.
Armand Veilleux