READINGS AT MASS
Jer. 31:7-9
Psalm 126
Heb 5:1-6
Mark 10:46-52
Theme: THE ONLOOKING CROWD
Dear friends in Christ, N'wokafu YESU KRISTO...
Our Responsorial Psalm for today (Psalm 126) is an ancient song about the return of the remnants (the few surviving exiles) of Judah. The psalmist gives us the very background of today's First Reading (Jer. 31:7-9).
God hears the cry of the people and brings them back home to Zion. The whole event was just unbelievable. It was like a dream. But the most interesting thing about Psalm 126 is the fact that it was the onlookers (the onlooking Pagan nations) who declared (proclaimed and confirmed), “that the Lord has done great things for them”.
On the stage of this drama, the scene was the faith of the people of Israel and their God, and the onlookers were the pagan nations. The people of Israel accepted their sin, ignored their captors and detractors, and cried to God. And in the presence of their detractors and from their hands, God delivered them.
Likewise, in the scene of today's Gospel, we have the character of Bartimaeus, a blind beggar who has nothing except his faith, and Jesus, the son of David together with the onlooking detractors (a large crowd) who tried to silence him. But Bartimaeus' faith will not be stifled. In the presence of the crowd, and above and over them, he cries aloud to Jesus. And in the presence of them (the crowd) Jesus stopped for him.
Beloved, in the drama of our faith relationship with God, the crowd are only onlooking detractors that must be ignored and overlooked, they are an obstacle to overcome. The drama, the main event is between you and God. When we ignore the onlooking crowd in our lives and in our act of worship and call upon the Lord in faith, we shall have the very crowd (detractors) stopping and parting to make way for us when the Lord stops for us. They will be the first to say, “Take courage, arise, He is calling you”, and they will be the first to declare, "The Lord has done great things for them".
PRAYER
Lord Jesus Christ, As I sit by the road and wait, may I not be deterred or silenced by the crowd that seeks to silence my cry of faith. Amen.
May God bless you.
-Rev. Fr. Kenneth Debre
Sunday, October 27, 2024.
Holy Rosary Parish, Hohoe.
