Spirituality

A commentary on Mk 10, 46-52 (Sunday XXX O.T., October 25th 2015

On his way up to Jerusalem, Jesus arrived at Jerico, a town with a long history in Israel. In this town, Mark places an interesting dialogue, quite different in nature from de one He had with the sons of Zebedee that we read last Sunday.
While the sons of Zebedee put up the question of power and their ranking as followers of Jesus (showing how little they had understood), the son of Timeo, Bartimeo, stands before de “son of David” as he really is: a blind man who wishes to see, somebody who has lost the meaning and feels lost in life.
Let us not forget that, in Marks’s intention, the son of Timeo, as the sons of the Zebedee, real persons as they might be, are brought here, to this story, as personalities that represent all of us, disciples of any time, who search for la light that sometimes we confuse with the glimpses of money, power, prestige or any other blinkering reality.
Let us stop a bit on this story and the dialogue between Bartimeo and Jesus, bearing in mind that somehow we are also taking part in it:
1.- At the road side, out of the town. Bartimeo was seating at the road’s side, marginalized from social life, unable to be among the human community.
Do we know in our experience such people as Bartimeo, people marginalized, not taken into consideration, despised because of a physical defect or otherwise? Remember that in our Christian communities there should not be any one discriminated.
But it may happen that we are the marginalized ones; it may happen that ourselves suffer despise in our own family, in the working place…or we may experience problems that seem bigger than what we can cope with. In that case, we should remain in contemplation of this Bartimeo and try to follow his steps as “blind” disciples.
2.- He shouts: “Son of David, have mercy on mi”. What a marvellous prayer! We all are in need, in one or other moment in life, of mercy, understanding, forgiveness… Only a stupid and false pride can lead us to think that we do not need God’s and our neighbour’s mercy. Bartimeo is teaching us one of the best prayers ever: “Lord, have mercy on me, help me, since I alone cannot overcome my troubles”. It’s a prayer to say with humility but without feeling of shame or false vanity. Somebody has said that never a human being is greater than when he kneels down. The opposite is just lie or hypocrisy.
3.- “What do you want me to do for you? To see again”. Physical blindness is a drama, but many blind people show that it’s not the end of the world and that worse than physical blindness y the spiritual one, to which Mark refers in this story; the blindness of so many people unable to understand God’s love, closed up in their own world of self-content and “self-reference”. This is also a precious prayer: “Lord, let me see your light, so that I may understand your love”.
4.- Your faith has saved you. The Italian theologian Bruno Forte says: “ Following a suggestive medieval etymology, “to believe (“credere”) means to give your heart (“cor-dare”), to put your heart into the hands of Somebody else… To believe is to trust in Somebody, say “yes” to his call, to put our own life in His hands, so that He is the Unique and true Lord” (B. Forte, Piccola introduzione alla fede, San Paolo, 1992, p. 16).
This faith-communion with the Other One is always healing, because it helps a person to come out of herself, out of her self-centrality and stablish links with other persons; that link becomes a sign and a means to be in touch with Reality ns, in the end, with God, the Reality that is backing all other reality. That link makes us true to ourselves and to other, healing our loneliness and vulnerability.

As I celebrate the Eucharist today, I enter into communion with the Son of David and, as the blind man, I pray: Lord Jesus, have pity on me; make me see and understand your great love, that love that gives colour, truthfulness and sense to what I am an live.

Fr. Antonio Villarino
Roma

A comentary on Mk 10, 35-45 (XXIX Sunday O. T.; October 18th 2015)

With the help of Mark, we follow the steps of Jesus already approaching Jerusalem. On the way, as members of Jesus’s group of disciples, we take part in an interesting dialogue between Jesus, the sons of the Zebedee and their mother about power and service. On the other side, today we celebrate the International Day for Missions, which is giving us a special reading perspective: the missionary service that all disciples of Jesus are called to do in favour of humanity.
Let us reflect briefly on this story of the sons of the Zebedee and their mother:

– They want to occupy the most important places on the project of Jesus. And who doesn’t? We all wish to be considered as important, to be applauded, and to have authority… And on my view, that’s all right, that’s part of our nature and, surely, a certain ambition is positive for us and the community. What we have to do is to transform that need to be important into a positive energy that pushes us to do good and to do it well.

– They seem unconscious of what that really implies. On one side, they do not know well the project of Jesus, which consists in giving life to the poor an sinners; and on the other, they are not aware of the sacrifices that their wish is leading them to.

-Jesus takes the opportunity to make them progress in their discipleship. Starting from their request and sincerity, Jesus helps them to grow in their awareness and generosity. To be disciple is not to a matter of occupying the first or the last places. It’s a matter of being ready to “drink the chalice”, that is, to assume a service with all the consequences: good and bad, glad and not so glad. It may happen that people recognize your service, but it may happen the contrary and you have to be ready for it, as Jesus was.

-In any case, they and the other disciples learn that in Jesus’ kingdom authority is not power but service. The service of authority (necessary in the family or in the community) is not to be considered as a right to impose one’s views or privileges over the others, but a service to people who are equal to those in authority. Who should have the command over a city, a family, a community? The one who is ready to serve better.

All of us have authority in one or another way. So, once we red this Word as disciples, we are reminded that we are called to do it in Jesus’ style: being servers, not dictators. And this is precisely the missionary vocation of the Church: to serve Humanity with the Word of Truth and Actions of love, made concrete in actions of help to any one in need: charitable help, schools, health centres, brotherly communities… Celebrating the Eucharist, we pray to the Holy Spirit to enable us to be true disciples of Jesus by way of serving our spouses, our brothers and sisters, our neighbours, the members of our community, especially the most needed.
P. Antonio Villarino
Roma

A commentary on Mk 9, 30-37 (XXV Sunday O.T., September 20th 2015)

Mark, the gospel we continue to read every Sunday of Ordinary Time, presents Jesus as an itinerant prophet who walks from village to village and from town to town preaching to the crowds and performing liberating actions as signs of God’s love towards the poor, the sick and the sinners.
But, from time to time, Mark says that Jesus “did not wish people knew He was there”. In those times of public silence, Jesus would “instruct his disciples”, given them some teachings that many (even the intimate ones) were not able to understand.

In today’s Reading Jesus announces, for the second time, his “secret”, that is, “that the Son of Man is going to be given up in the hands of men, but on the third day He will rise”.

We have heard so many times these words that they no longer impress us, though we do not understand its meaning, as it happened with the apostles: They understood nothing till they passed through the experience of His death and resurrections.
In fact, Jesus is not a brilliant but superficial prophet. Rather, He confronts death and wins over it, thanks to His radical trust in the Father. This is His great Secret. And this is the secret of many of His best disciples, who are able to confront death trusting totally in God’s secure love.

I remember, for example, St. Maximilian Kolbe, who, during the Second World War, offered himself to be assassinated in place of a father with children; Or I remember St Daniel Comboni, who, at the age of fifty, destroyed by sicknesses and enormous difficulties, while he feels he is dying, he says: “I die, but the project (of Africa’s salvation) will not die. Very few really believed that at the time, but he was right.

It’s in this line of thought that we can read the second part of todays’ gospel: “If someone wants to be the first one, let him become the servant of all”. We have read this sentence also many times and we do not really believe in it. Also this is a secret that not many understand. We all wish to be important, to be considered as the best ones; we are afraid to be despised, not taken into consideration. We feel certain “anguish” and a need to be the first ones. But Jesus says that to reach the first place we have to accept to be the last one. In my own words, I understand Jesus message in this way: “Be calm, relax, look at this little child, be grateful, think first of the God’s Kingdom and of its Justice, give out with generosity… and you will receive plenty”. It seems to me that, deep in our heart, we all feel the truthfulness of Jesus’ teaching, but we do not trust enough.
Let ask the Lord, in the Eucharist, to open our hearts, so that we can understand his “secret” and be ready to be the last ones, the servants, ready even to die to ourselves trusting in God as Jesus, Kolbe, Comboni and many others did.
Fr. Antonio Villarino
Roma