October 28, 2018 — Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
JER 31:7-9; PS 126:1-6; HEB 5:1-6; MK 10:46-52
As Christian stewards we are called to devote a regular portion of our time to God in prayer. Perhaps we find it intimidating to find the right words when approaching our perfect and all-holy God.
Today’s Gospel shows us we don’t really need to have our “act together” before we can spend time with Him in prayer. In this passage from Mark, we see that Bartimaeus received a powerful answer to prayer at a very low point in his life. There, he sat, begging at the side of the road in a very undignified manner. His posture wasn’t exactly reverent, and his prayer wasn’t eloquent, just a desperate, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.”
But it was a sincere cry from his heart. And Jesus, though surrounded by a sizable crowd, heard it, and called for Bartimaeus to come to Him. Folks from the crowd called to Bartimaeus, “Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.” And right there on the spot, Bartimaeus experienced a profound moment of personal encounter with our Lord and the healing of his vision he desired.
How simple it is to encounter Jesus! All we must do is reach out to Him in prayer and we can be assured that He will hear us and call us to Himself. So let’s all take courage this week knowing that Jesus is calling us right now to spend time with Him just as we are, in all our weakness and brokenness. Tell Him, the great High Priest, what your needs are and then, like Bartimaeus, follow Him, and keep on keeping on in this stewardship way of life. It’s a life with the ultimate happy ending.
