The gospel for this Sunday is prescribed for the 14th Sunday of Luke chapter 18:35-43, which tells of the blind beggar Bartimaeus, who laying by the road near Jericho hears a commotion of people as they were passing bye. Bartimaeus asks what is happening to which the people say, Jesus of Nazareth is passing bye. He then cries out, “Jesus, Son of David have mercy on me!”, after which the people tell him to be quiet. He then cries out even louder: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus hearing his plea stops and asks that Bartimaeus be brought to him. He then asks Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind beggar answers Jesus saying, “that I may receive my sight.” Jesus then says, “receive your sight, your faith has made you well” – After which, he followed Jesus, glorifying God!
The Fathers of the Church in their writings point out that although physically blind, the eyes of his soul were illumined by God’s Grace because he had believed what he had heard from others about Jesus. The saints also lift up the blind beggar man Bartimaeus as an example of earnest and humble prayer. Each time we come to Christ in prayer, the Fathers teach us to come to Him as blind beggars and cry to Him, as Bartimaeus did, to receive new light day by day, glorifying God.
This gospel urges us to go to God in prayer and earnestly and persistently bring our physical and spiritual needs before Him. “Ask, He said, and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you”. (Matthew 7:7)
It may be true we do not always receive what we ask for, but we must leave room for God to act in our lives according to His perfect will for us. Nevertheless, we do receive, a physical or spiritual healing, an unexpected solution to a personal problem, a new opportunity for reconciliation with someone, a renewed strength to face a distressful situation or some other blessing that we need. For Jesus’ unfailing promise is that, “everyone who asks will receive, and anyone who seeks will find, and the door will be opened to him who knocks” (Matthew 7:8)
Let us always remember this promise as we go through life!
