A place for everyone

This past week, municipal elections were held throughout Ontario.  In some cases, the people that will sit in council chambers did not change, but there are some who will no longer be there, and there are some new faces that will now take their places.  As with every such change, there will be a period of adjustment but the work of creating and sustaining communities must go on.

Communities can be defined in various ways: some people belong to the same families, some attend the same schools, some are employed by the same company and some pray according to the same faith tradition.  In each of these cases  ... and many more, individuals seek the experience of community.  This is not something new.  The creation accounts in the Book of Genesis speak of a community being formed when God created Adam and Eve.  The prophet Jeremiah tells us that God brought his people from the land of the north ... from the furthest parts of the earth ... Led by the Lord they walked by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they did not stumble (Jer 31:8-9).

Even in the time of Jesus, we see evidence of God’s work as he led His people to encounter one another and taught them how to walk together along the paths of life.  The gospel passage we have heard today speaks of the encounter that Jesus had with Bartimaeus, a blind beggar who was sitting by the roadside (cf Mk 10:46).  It’s interesting to note that at the beginning of the story, Bartimaeus is all alone.  The other people who are there try to stop him from calling out to Jesus, as though he is a bother, but he is persistent, and Jesus chooses him to provide the example by which we all should live.  Imagine their surprise when Jesus instructed them to bring this blind beggar to him.  Perhaps he had supporters in the crowd, or maybe there was a sudden change of heart among those who had previously tried to silence him.  In any case, voices of encouragement began to be heard: Take heart, get up, he is calling you (Mk 10:49).

In our time too, each of us tries day by day to make our way through life.  We sometimes encounter many turns in the road, but we do not make this journey alone.  At times, it might seem as though we are on our own, especially when people try to exclude us with words and gestures of judgment, but like Bartimaeus, we must be persistent in our prayer, knowing that Jesus always hears the cries of those who need his help.

When they had brought him to Jesus, Bartimaeus was finally able to make his plea: My teacher, let me see again (Mk 10:51).  How many in our world are still crying out to Jesus, pleading for his help?  Among them, we can count those who are suffering from physical ailments, but there are also others like refugees who have been displaced.  Closer to home, there are many of our brothers and sisters who are newcomers even in this land, and there are those – like our indigenous neighbours – who live right next door to us and yet seem so distant from us.

Bartimaeus provides us all with an example of faith and perseverance that longs to hear the words of Jesus in response: Go, your faith has made you well (Mk 10:52).  With these words, Jesus assured a blind beggar that there was a place for him in his heart.  Jesus knows that each of us also has a similar cry, a need to be part of the community.  Oh, how we long to hear such words of consolation spoken to us as well.