30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

"What do you want me to do for you?" (Mk 10:46-52)

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd...

The book of Joshua relates how Yahweh delivered Jericho into the hands of Israel.

And to Joshua the LORD said, "I have delivered Jericho and its king into your power. Have all the soldiers circle the city, marching once around it. Do this for six days, with seven priests carrying ram's horns ahead of the ark. On the seventh day march around the city seven times, and have the priests blow the horns. When they give a long blast on the ram's horns and you hear that signal, all the people shall shout aloud. The wall of the city will collapse, and they will be able to make a frontal attack."

"Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."

By calling Jesus, son of David, Bartimaeus was publicly proclaiming his faith in Jesus as the Messiah. For the Messiah was expected to be from David's line. And in fact, Joseph was from David's line. Hence, when Augustus Caesar ordered a census of the Roman empire Joseph had to go to Bethlehem which was the city of David.

And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.

Bartimaeus was making a commotion. His behavior was almost scandalous. It was understandable that the told him to keep quiet.

But he kept calling out all the more, "Son of David, have pity on me."

Bartimaeus could not let the opportunity pass. It might never come back.

He threw aside his cloak.

The cloak was spread on the ground. Alms were thrown on the cloak. By throwing aside the cloak, it seems as if Bartimaeus was setting aside his life as a beggar in order to follow another way of life.

Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?"

This behavior of Jesus was perplexing to me. Why would he ask Bartimaeus that question? Was the answer not obvious? Surely Bartimaeus would not answer: "I want a house." A commentator offers this explanation: Jesus was giving him the chance to profess his faith publicly. By answering: "Master, I want to see", Bartimaeus was telling everyone that he believed Jesus had the power to give him his sight.

In the same way when we pray, we do not inform God. He already knows what we are going to ask for. When we pray we are expressing our faith in the power and goodness of God.

Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you." Immediately he received his sight.

We need faith if God is able to give us the good things he wants to give us.

And followed him on the way.

Bartimaeus threw aside his cloak because he no longer had need of it. He was not going to go begging anymore. From now on he was going to be a follower of Jesus.

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

For the Son of Man did not come to be served. (Mk 10:35-45)

No pain. No gain.

“Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” If James and John wish to share in the glory of Jesus, they have to share in his sufferings. In fact, Jesus himself only achieved the glory of the Resurrec-tion and the glory of sitting at the right hand of the Father by taking the way of the Cross.

His followers can not expect to go to heaven through another way. Jesus warns us: "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.”
It is not easy to enter heaven. It demands self-discipline, self-denial and sacri-fice. Atty. Tony Bernardo used to be the customs commissioner. In a meeting with his mentors and alumni, he earnestly asked for prayers. He said that even before he sat down at the commissioner’s chair, he was already receiving thick envelopes, in other words, bribes. It is not easy to be honest and upright in this world.

Blood is Thicker Than Water.

Is it a coincidence that James and John, the two disciples who asked for special places in the Kingdom were brothers? Perhaps they had the interest of the family in mind when they made the request.

Filipinos are bound to the family by strong ties. Parents will kill themselves working for the family. Older siblings will make all sorts of sacrifices to help send their younger siblings to school. The Filipino will always find refuge and help from the family.

This devotion and loyalty, however, is both the strength and weakness of the Filipino society. For the Filipino, charity begins and ends at home. There is no felt obligation toward the community, the society and the country. When the financial crisis hit Asia, the Thais sold their gold to help stabilize the value of the Baht. You did not find Filipinos doing anything similar, except for some students of St. Scholas-tica in Manila bringing dollars to the bank. Another example will illustrate the point. Filipinos will clean their yard but will not do anything to clean the street on which they live. They leave it to government workers.
If our country is to improve, the Filipino will have to learn to make “malasakit” not only for the family but also for the community and the country.

Servant-leadership.

Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

After EDSA 1 my brother and sisters just like the rest of the country were hope-ful and optimistic. They felt that a new day was dawning, that things will be different. But like others, they too felt betrayed and disillusioned. They have left the country to find a better life in Australia, the US and Europe.

Why have we been left behind by Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Taiwan? One reason is that we as a people have not learned to go beyond the family and make ‘malasakit’ for the community and the country. But another impor-tant reason is too much politics. I truly feel that our political leaders have put their political interests above the interests of the country. Our leaders have not learned to be servant-leaders.

What can we do about it? I propose two courses of action. One is a short-term course of action and the other is a long-term one.

The first is this: Elect servant-leaders in next year’s elections. If we fail to do that, we deserve to remain poor and underdeveloped.

The second is this: Parents and teachers, teach your children and your students to learn to make ‘malasakit’ for their community and their country. Rizal said that youth is the hope of the Fatherland. He is right. But I think I am also right when I say that you parents and teachers are the hope of the Fatherland because it is you who mould the youth and therefore, determine what kind of people will run the country tomorrow.

Advisory

Typhoon Milenyo struck our place two weeks ago. It was a Thursday. Would you believe it? Electricity was restored a week later. Our neighbors do not yet have electricity. And that's two weeks after Milenyo. They might be connected to another grid.

Our DSL connection is still down. That is why I have not been able to post anything yet. When it is restored, I promise to share with you my Sunday Reflections.