Following The Way

Homily for Thursday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

The Book of Sirach presents us with a hymn in which God’s creative genius and his redemptive power are both praised in very lavish language. This hymn bears a close resemblance to Psalm 77 but uses even more lavish language than the psalmist. His poetry holds up all of the universe and tells us that all of God’s creatures differ from one another, and yet none of them was made in vain. In other words, all of God’s creatures serve a definite purpose in the universe and give glory to God through their very being. Jesus Ben Sira is writing to the young men of his community in the hopes that they will adhere closely to God’s commandments and with all of creation give God glory through their existence.

While describing all of creation, the author also realizes that human language does not contain the words to adequately describe and praise God’s creative genius. “Yet even God’s holy ones must fail in recounting the wonders of the Lord.” Despite the fact that Ben Sira realizes the in adequacy of his tongue to sing God’s praises, he seems to understand that his effort is all that God requires. In response to this beautiful passage, the Church asks us to use verses from Psalm 33. “Give thanks to the Lord on the harp;… Pluck the strings skillfully, with shouts of gladness.”

In the Gospel we meet a man who is reduced to begging on the roadside because he is blind. His blindness cuts him off from the beauty of God’s created universe. Jesus’s fame has preceded him. When Bartimaeus realizes that Jesus is passing by, he calls out to him. First, he calls out to Jesus as the “son of David.” In doing so, he recognizes Jesus as the Messiah. However, when Jesus stops and asks what Bartimaeus wants, he refers to Jesus as “Master.” By this title, he recognizes Jesus as a teacher or rabbi. When Jesus restores his sight, we are told that he followed him on the way.

This phrase takes on extra meaning when we realize that Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem where he will die. This is his final journey. By following Jesus, Bartimaeus reveals that in addition to sight, he has been given the gift of faith. Mark includes a phrase that had come to mean following Jesus; namely, “The Way.” Before the first followers were called Christians, they had been called those who walked “The Way.” We are not told what happens to this man when Jesus reaches Jerusalem. The story is left open-ended. In so doing, Mark makes it possible for us to place ourselves in this story, taking the place of the man who had been healed. It helps us to ask ourselves whether or not we have followed Jesus even to Jerusalem.

In our daily celebration of the Eucharist, we remember all that Jesus has done for us through his death and resurrection. We celebrate today the feast of St. Justin, martyr. Justin’s distinctive contribution to Christian theology is his conception of a divine plan in history, a process of salvation structured by God, wherein the various historical epochs have been integrated into an organic unity directed toward a supernatural end; the Old Testament and Greek philosophy met to form the single stream of Christianity. He gave his life for the faith at the age of sixty-five, one of many martyrs who died during the Roman persecution. Like the blind man of the Gospel, Justin was a convert to the faith after having spent a life as a Greek philosopher. Like all of God’s creation, Justin gives glory to God through his existence. May we ever follow this example.