Fortunately, most of us have never had to deal with the danger of a fire. At the same time, we are glad to know that if a fire broke out, the fire department is only a phone call away to help us. The key is that we only need to call them when we have an emergency. Our readings today remind us that we need to have a different relationship with God.
The Gospel is the story of Bartimaeus. We don’t know much about him, other than who his father was and that he was blind. We also know that he knew Jesus of Nazareth and had faith in Jesus. When he heard Jesus was approaching, Bartimaeus knew
Jesus could help him and so he cried out. Despite people telling him to be quiet, he only cried louder.
When Jesus encounters Bartimaeus, notice what Jesus says to him. Jesus doesn’t take credit for healing him. Jesus doesn’t say, “I’m going to heal you." Instead, He says “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Bartimaeus only cried out because he knew the Jesus of Nazareth was approaching him. When Bartimaeus encountered Jesus that day, he already had faith in Jesus and believed in Him
We can’t treat Jesus like a fireman and only call on Him when we have an emergency. Bartimaeus shows us that in the Gospel today. He was healed because of his faith in Jesus. It doesn’t matter if Bartimaeus knew he was going to meet Jesus that day or not. His faith in Jesus was real, and he was ready when he met Jesus, whether it was planned or not.
Faith is not something we can turn on and off like a light. Bartimaeus had faith in Jesus before he saw
Jesus that day. But faith alone was not enough. He had to put that faith into action. He had to take action and call out to Jesus, despite the objections of the crowd. We need to remember that sometimes living a life of faith may not be popular with people around us.
However, the Gospel shows us that when we live our faith, Jesus will be there for us, regardless of what the people around us think. Bartimaeus had faith in Jesus before he met him that day, and he put that faith into action. He had a fire for Jesus burning on the inside, and no one was going to put that fire out!
Blessings,
Deacon Randy
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