Gospel: Mark
10:46-52
As Jesus was
leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind
man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was
Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity
on me.” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
But he kept
calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.” Jesus stopped and
said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage;
get up, Jesus is calling you.” He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to
Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man
replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” Jesus told him, “Go your way;
your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him
on the way.
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Reflection:
What would
happen if you don’t give up on something that you want to have? Sooner or later
you will have what you want. What would happen if you have strong faith? You
will never lose hope no matter the difficulties and challenges that you face in
your life.
We have in the
gospel a blind man named Bartimaeus, because of his blindness there was no way
for him to go to Jesus to ask for His healing touch. Therefore, upon hearing
that Jesus was passing by he shouted his prayer to the Lord, “Jesus, son of
David have pity on me.”
He was
told to keep quite by those around him but he did not obey them he instead
shouted louder once again: “Son of David have pity on me.” His persistence
immediately bore fruit because Jesus heard him and the Lord subsequently called
him and after a short conversation with Jesus the blind man was able to regain
his sight and he became His follower.
The healing of
the blind man Bartimaeus shows us that there is hope even if we are in the
darkest episodes of our lives there is hope. What is important is we do not
give up no matter the difficulties so that we keep the fire of hope burning.
What if
Bartimaeus easily gave up? He could not have been healed by the Lord and he
could not have become a follower of the Lord. Our prayers can move mountains so
long as we never give up on our faith in the Lord.
Do you have a
prayer before the Lord? Don’t give up, continue to be persistent and continue
to have faith because the good Lord will soon hear you. – Marino J. Dasmarinas