Homily for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

One day, an unusually joyful Charlie Brown told Linus, “I feel good. I just got back from the grocery store. The owners, a husband and wife, both complimented me. They told me I was a very nice boy.” However, Linus replied, “In the sixth chapter of St. Luke, it is written, ‘Woe to you when all people speak well of you.’” Deflated, Charlie Brown put his head in his hands and said, “So much for feeling good!”

Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, didn’t have much luck either. When he heard that Jesus was passing by, he cried out to Him. Yet, people told him to be silent. In other stories, people brought their sick to Jesus for healing. Why did the crowd rebuke Bartimaeus?

Every event in Jesus’ life reveals both love and hate. Those who love are Jesus and those He saves, while those who hate are Satan and his followers. It is only through the heart that we can uncover the hidden struggle of love and hate occurring in this story and others in Jesus’ life.

As Jesus passed through Jericho for the last time on His way to Jerusalem, where He would be crucified, He saw people in danger and came to save them. In contrast, Satan saw a challenger and attempted to stop Him.

Three years earlier, Jesus revealed the depths of His heart in a synagogue at Nazareth when He quoted the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed.”

However, the people of Nazareth didn’t see Jesus as their Savior; they saw merely their neighbor, a simple carpenter. They took offense at His claims and admonitions. That day, Satan was also present. Urged by that dark spirit, the people rebuked Jesus and tried to throw Him off the cliffs at the edge of town. As a result, He left.

Three years later, with Passover approaching, thousands were traveling to Jerusalem. Blind Bartimaeus sat by the roadside, spreading his cloak to collect coins from passing pilgrims. This beggar was so looked down upon that even his name symbolized his condition: Bartimaeus means “son of the unclean.” Back then, blindness and other illnesses were often seen as the result of personal sin. Yet, Bartimaeus possessed a beautiful heart and saw a hidden truth.

When Jesus passed by, Bartimaeus heard His voice. Someone in the crowd told him it was Jesus of Nazareth. (After three years, all they saw was a Galilean passing through.) Bartimaeus, blind but with clear insight in his heart, cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!”

This declaration was too much for Satan. His heart was so blinded by hate that he wanted everyone to share in his darkness. The crowd became Satan’s voice by silencing Bartimaeus.

But Bartimaeus had heard the voice of the Savior and shouted even louder, “Son of David, have pity on me!” Jesus stopped and called to him. He gazed at the blind man and asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Master,” Bartimaeus replied, “I want to see.” Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately, Bartimaeus received his sight and began to follow Jesus along the way.

In earlier healing miracles, Jesus instructed those healed to remain silent. However, Bartimaeus followed Jesus from the wilderness into the Holy City, proclaiming, “Son of David!” Following his example, the crowd began to call Jesus by that title: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Bartimaeus must have felt devastated when, just a week later, he witnessed Jesus being crucified. Satan attempted to extinguish the Light of Christ with the darkness of death. Yet, the shadow of death could not extinguish the Light of Life, which triumphed with the Dawn of the Resurrection.

The world is full of distractions that can keep us from recognizing Jesus among us. May we have pure hearts and souls that clearly see and seek the healing presence of Jesus in our lives.