Bartimaeus' eyes were thrust open and thus he was finally able to behold the Face of God. This story is reminiscent of the path towards illumination that the unbaptized of our RCIA class find them-self in the midst of. Very soon at the Easter Vigil they will be thrust into the waters of baptism and will rise forth from them with their eyes being cast open to behold the glory of God. For us our eyes were cast open through our baptism, but the reality of sin continues to plague us with the sole purpose of leaving our eyes closed to Christ and His saving works.
Through the Gospel of Saint Mark we are being invited to enter into a period of conversion where we leave behind that which blinds us and thus begin to see the face of Christ more and more. Following having his eyes cast open it was the Messiah who was the first that Bartimaeus was able to set his eyes upon. Are our eyes truly set entirely upon the Messiah or have we become blind to this reality? Maybe in the casualness of life we don't even realize that we have lost the sight of Christ. Bartimaeus knew that his sight was gone and yet it was through his faith that his eyes were finally cast open.
Christ never encounters a sinner and leaves them unchallenged to persevere in their sin. To Bartimaeus He commanded: "Go your way; your faith has saved you." Christ has come to claim each of us to be His sons and daughters through the waters of baptism. We were claimed not to grow blind and lose sight, but we were claimed in order that we could be sent forth to proclaim and see the glory of God. It is so easy to get distracted upon this path and to lose sight, but instead of giving into this temptation we must trust in the Sacraments of the Church to keep our eyes cast open instead of allowing them to fall asleep under the burden of years.
Through the vision of the Messiah that Bartimaeus received he was sent forth on the Way towards Everlasting Life. We too are invited to see this vision and to set out upon it. The Way that Christ sends us out upon is not a path which only concerns us and our needs alone, but this Way connects us to God, to our neighbor, and to the life of the Church. So often we get closed in upon our own needs and thus lose sight of the Community of Faith as we turn inwards upon ourself and our own needs.
We have chosen this Sunday to be Stewardship Sunday for our parish. Stewardship is a question of supporting the financial well being of our parish and it is a question of how we can better give of our time and talents to make the Kingdom of Heaven manifest to those around us. We cannot encounter Christ, like Bartimaeus, and become closed in upon ourself (like the apostles who rebuked him and commanded him to remain silent). Instead our encounter with Christ sends us forth from here with the mission to see Christ more clearly each day by putting sin to death. This encounter with Christ gives us a glimpse of the Church as being a Community of Faith to which we must serve through our time, talents, and treasure.
May our eyes truly be opened as the eyes of Bartimaeus were in order that we may see and proclaim the greater glory of God.
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