In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah tells us about the tender heart of our Lord. Our Lord has a particular care for people who are marginalised, vulnerable and oppressed. He looks after us and our concerns matter to Him. We matter to Him, our identity matters. If we repent and turn to Him, He will accept us as a loving father for we are His children and we belong to Him. So let us rejoice always in the Lord for his steadfast love never ceases.
In the second reading, we know that every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. Jesus is our great High Priest. Every high priest is chosen from men to stand between people and God. The high priest offers sacrifices for sins and also deals gently with sinners because he understands their weakness.
A high priest is called by God, not appointed by self through pride and ambition. Jesus was appointed by God to be our High Priest. He offered up prayers and petitions on our behalf, and became our perfect sacrifice to give eternal salvation to all who trust in Him. Jesus is our great High Priest. He is the one to whom every high priest in the history of Israel pointed. Jesus makes intercession for us, forever pleading His own blood as the means of our forgiveness. Jesus is both the High Priest who brings gifts to God, and the sacrifice that is offered to Him. Now no other sacrifice is needed because Jesus has paid for every sin of every sinner.
The Gospel explains that a relationship with Jesus allows us to have the courage to believe in times of need and in times of fulfilment. Bartimaeus is a blind man seeking to be able to see again. He confides in Jesus to make it happen. He shows his faith by stepping up and calling for Jesus to heal him. He shows courage despite the hostile crowd to approach and ask for something so unthinkable. In this passage, we learn about the importance of having the courage to focus on Jesus. Asking for help in a time of need requires humility. In this passage, Bartimaeus could have stayed quiet and could have just let the presence of Jesus escape him. Jesus, at the end of the passage, lets him know that his faith restored his sight. It’s important to cling on to and to act on your faith. Doing so does not make you weak and does not make you seem selfish.
