Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time

First Reading

Jeremiah 31,7-9

For Yahweh says this: Shout with joy for Jacob! Hail the chief of nations! Proclaim! Praise! Shout, 'Yahweh has saved his people, the remnant of Israel!' Watch, I shall bring them back from the land of the north and gather them in from the far ends of the earth. With them, the blind and the lame, women with child, women in labour, all together: a mighty throng will return here! In tears they will return, in prayer I shall lead them. I shall guide them to streams of water, by a smooth path where they will not stumble. For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born son.

Second Reading

Hebrews 5,1-6

Every high priest is taken from among human beings and is appointed to act on their behalf in relationships with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins; he can sympathise with those who are ignorant or who have gone astray, because he too is subject to the limitations of weakness. That is why he has to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. No one takes this honour on himself; it needs a call from God, as in Aaron's case. And so it was not Christ who gave himself the glory of becoming high priest, but the one who said to him: You are my Son, today I have fathered you, and in another text: You are a priest for ever, of the order of Melchizedek.

Reading of the Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Mark 10, 46-52

They reached Jericho; and as he left Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus -- that is, the son of Timaeus -- a blind beggar, was sitting at the side of the road. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and cry out, 'Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me.' And many of them scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he only shouted all the louder, 'Son of David, have pity on me.' Jesus stopped and said, 'Call him here.' So they called the blind man over. 'Courage,' they said, 'get up; he is calling you.' So throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and went to Jesus. Then Jesus spoke, 'What do you want me to do for you?' The blind man said to him, 'Rabbuni, let me see again.' Jesus said to him, 'Go; your faith has saved you.' And at once his sight returned and he followed him along the road.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Homily

A prayer made with faith always opens the heart to a different way of living. But we only really understand this when we are aware of our weakness and therefore of our need of help. Bartimaeus, who begged at the gate of Jericho, had understood this. Just like all the other blind people, he too is dressed in weakness. At that time, the blind could do nothing else but beg, adding to their blindness a total dependence on others. In the Gospels, the blind are the image of poverty and weakness. Like Lazarus and many other poor people both near and far from us, Bartimaeus, lies at the gates of life waiting for some kind of comfort. Hearing that Jesus is passing by he begins to cry out: "Son of David, have mercy on me!" His invocation is very poor. His cry is his only way to overcome the darkness and distance that he is not even able to measure. His cry, however, did not please the crowd, so much so that all tried to silence him. His cry was inconvenient; he risked even disturbing the happy encounter between Jesus and the crowd of the city. The crowd's attitude, though apparently reasonable, was totally pitiless; not only did they yell at him, but they really tried to silence him. This blind man had nothing to do with the life of that city. He was permitted to beg, but without disturbing the peace of the city's rhythm and pace.
Jesus' presence, however, makes him overcome every fear. Bartimaeus feels that this encounter could change his life completely. And with a voice even stronger than before, he cries out: "Son of David, have mercy on me!" It is the prayer of the weak, of the poor who, day and night, without end because their needs remain unmet, turn to the Lord. As soon as he hears that Jesus wants to see him, Bartimaeus throws off his cloak and runs toward him. He throws aside the cloak that covered him for so many years. He jumped up to his feet and ran to Jesus. He ran even though he did not see; in truth, "he saw" much more profoundly than the crowd. He heard Jesus' voice and ran toward that voice. It was a voice different from the vulgar words of the crowd that wanted to silence him. Bartimaeus followed that voice and encountered the Lord. This also happens to whoever listens to the Word of God and puts it into practice. Jesus asked him: "What do you want me to do for you?" Just as he had done when he prayed with simplicity, Bartimaeus said to him: "My teacher, let me see again!" Bartimaeus recognized the light without seeing it. For this reason, he regained his sight immediately. "Go; your faith has made you well," Jesus said to him.