Word to the Wise
Monday, November 20, 2023 - Monday in the 33th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Macc 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-63 and Luke 18:35-43]"What do you want me to do for you?" He replied, "Lord, please let me see." Jesus told him, "Have sight; your faith has saved you." He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God. When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God. [Luke]
The blind man at Jericho had to shout to make himself heard over the noise of the crowd around Jesus. The crowd tried to stifle him, "but he kept calling out all the more, 'Son of David, have pity on me!" His persistence, like that of the widow who nagged the judge in Saturday's gospel scripture, pays off. Actually, it is his faith that pays off, as Jesus tells him. Faith that is persistent can be powerful.
What can be missed in this is the role of the crowd. One wonders if, in a more contemporary setting, it could be the church itself that can get in the way. Those who are "blind" or impeded in some way may be calling out and the church, caught up in its own world, either tries to silence or ignore them. Pope Francis has referred to the church as a hospital for the sick and wounded. Jesus had to order the crowd to bring the blind man over. The dialogue between Jesus and the blind man might be one we can all repeat: "What do you want me to do for you? " "Lord, please let me see."
It is a matter both for the collective church and for each of us individually. Some of the controversy surrounding the recent Synod on Synodality has focused on worries that church teaching about "certain people" might CHANGE! We might be trying to stifle the blind beggar in our zeal to follow Jesus or in being a "self-referential" church. Do we really want to get in the way of God's mercy? The blind man received his sight and followed Jesus. Maybe we should pray for the same "sight." AMEN