Seeing and believing: Following Jesus

		Living the Scriptures  with St. Paul University  Catholic Center  Annie Vorhes

As you read these words, give thanks for the gift of your sight. It is often easier for us to dwell on our needs and deficits than to be grateful for the many blessings we have already received from God.

Nonetheless, being thankful does not mean that we must deny the suffering we face because of our limitations or that our desires will never stretch beyond the reach of our present realities.

Consider the blind beggar Bartimaeus. He has heard about Jesus and the healing and transformation that others have known in his presence.

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Sunday, Oct. 29, 2006) Jer 31:7-9 Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6 Heb 5:1-6 Mk 10:46-52

Bartimaeus longs for such an encounter so that he might be free of his blindness. Although he cannot see, he uses his hearing to learn that Jesus is approaching and his voice to cry out for help.

It is striking that Jesus asks Bartimaeus, "What do you want me to do for you?" Is it not obvious that this blind person would want to be free of his blindness? If we reflect on our own experience, however, we will discover that this is not necessarily the case.

In order to be free of what limits us, we first need to know what we most need to be freed from. Recognizing and naming what is at stake, we then need to be open to the possibility that being free from what constrains our life may entail disturbing disruptions to familiar ways of being. If we bypass this process, we will not be able to recognize the healing from our limitations for the gift it is.

This is what makes Bartimaeus' declaration so profound. Imagine what it would have meant for him to say to Jesus, "Master, I want to see." He may never have known what it is to see in the physical sense. Yet from the shadowy, indistinct "vision" of faith, Bartimaeus asks for the unknown.

Jesus commends his faith, his openness to radical change in his life, and says to him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you."

The now-seeing Bartimaeus, however, finds that going his own way is now impossible. His way and Jesus' way have become the same, and, in gratitude and hope and faith, it is this way that Bartimaeus will now follow.

Although we can see to read these words, we could still benefit from clearer vision about the limitations and "blind spots" in our lives. We need to "see" our sins and prejudices more clearly and to own at least our reactions to the burdens we would not have chosen and cannot control.

	Reflection questions • What are your "blind spots?" • What do you want Jesus to do for you?

We need to recognize when fear, selfishness, or pride is binding us in patterns of behavior that limit our lives. As we come to see our weaknesses more fully, we realize that we cannot change on our own, and so we cry out, "Jesus, have pity on me," or, as we say at Mass, "Lord, have mercy," knowing that, through God's grace, change is possible. Lord, help us to see.

Annie Vorhes graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2001. After serving as a liturgy intern at St. Paul's University Catholic Center (2002-2004), she is now pursuing a degree in liturgical studies at the University of Notre Dame.

St. Paul's Web site is www.stpaulscc.org

Faith Alive!

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