IN OUR SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS, WE NEED THE LIGHT OF FAITH TO BE TRUE CHRIST’S DISCIPLES

There was a story about two storekeepers who were bitter rivals. Their stores were across the street from each other. They would spend each day sitting in the doorway, keeping track of each other’s business. If one got a customer, he would smile in triumph at his rival.

One night an angel appeared to one of them in a dream and said “God has sent me to teach you a lesson. He will give you anything you ask for but on a condition that whatever you get, your competitor across the street will get twice as much. If you like to be wealthy, the man across the street will be twice as rich”. The man frowned for a moment and said, “All right, my request is, strike me in one eye, so that the man across the street would be blind in both eyes”.

It is obvious that while the man in this story was praying to become blind, Bartimaeus in today’s gospel was crying out to Jesus to be healed of his blindness. We can deduce three major lessons from today’s readings; The poor blind beggar was a man of great faith. He was persistent in his quest to be heard by Jesus. Even when the crowed wanted to hush him into silence he cried all the more.

Persistent in prayer is the key cf (Lk 18:1). His faith in the ability of Jesus to heal him helped him navigate through the hurdles of the crowed to gain the ears of Jesus. When Jesus heard the young man he commanded them to bring Bartimaeus to him and all of a sudden those who were hushing him into silence as a nuisance turned around to help him on his feet to meet Jesus. It teaches us that when we break even in our persistence for a course, even the obstacles on our way will turn to be stepping stones.

The people of Israel in the first reading cf (Jer 31:7-9) had faith in God’s saving power. The consoling words of the prophet strengthened them to keep faith in God. We too, need to keep faith in God in spite of the challenging situations we found ourselves as a nation. Let us keep faith alive like Bartimaeus with a firm hope that God will hear our cries for a better society and true God fearing leaders.

Secondly, Bartimaeus knew what he wanted and was direct about it. When he was asked what he wanted to be done to him he simply said “Master that I may see”. His journey from blindness to sight symbolizes the journey from unbelief to faith, which is a journey from darkness to light. St. Paul once told his converts at Ephesus ; “Once you were in darkness but now you have seen a great light in the Lord” cf (Eph 5:8).

There is a prevailing blindness in our society today and most painfully among baptized Christians who now choose retrogressively back to neo-paganism and a new wave of revolution that tend to elevate man above God. Nietzsche called it “Uber mensch”. In the villages, Christians are now embracing that which their forefathers left behind when they saw the light of Christ. This manifestly implies a conscious blindness of our generation to the light of faith.

It is now most painful that masquerades now grow violent to the level that innocent people lose their lives and properties to them and it looks normal. Nigeria as a nation is in great danger across all sectors of what makes a nation: great because the political climate is toxic and the judicial institution has become “god” in dispensing justice at the altar of favoritism and pecuniary inducements which has left us with square pegs in round holes to man our common wealth. We all need the divine light of morality and objective actions in our different field of endeavors.

Thirdly, Bartimaeus was a man of gratitude. As soon as he received his sight he followed Christ in gratitude to what God has done for him. God has blessed us with many gifts. He heals our wounds, He strengthens us when we are weak. How do we show gratitude to God for his greatness to us? Let us learn from Bartimaeus on how not just to be a believer but more of Christ’s disciple in thanksgiving for his grace in our lives.
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