1 Mc 1: 10-15. 41-43. 54-57. 62-6,
Ps 119: 53. 61. 134. 150. 155. 158,
Lk 18:35-43
“Your faith has made you well,” says Jesus to the blind beggar. There are numerous instances in the Gospels, where Jesus praises people for their faith. How does the faith of the blind beggar in today’s Gospel story show itself? He had not made any explicit profession of his faith. He merely said, “Have mercy on me.” That was a very important request, which struck a chord with Jesus. “Have mercy on me!” It was his way of acknowledging a big truth about him. It meant, ‘I am found wanting;’ ‘there is a lack in me; ‘I fall short of expectations, mine as well as everyone’s.’
Jesus would ask all of us today - rich and poor, elite and ordinary, educated and illiterate, healthy and sick – ‘Who among you do not have to beg?’ The truth is, all of us should be begging for mercy. Mathew, the rich tax collector, sitting behind the bags full of money, kept muttering in his heart, ‘Lord have mercy, for I am indeed poor;’ Zachaeus, who had many at the beck of his call, kept whispering his grief, ‘Lord have mercy for I am indeed lonely.’
An acknowledgement that even with all my money, influence, and circle of friends, ‘I do not measure up,’ ‘I am found wanting’ is the first step to faith which sets the context for God to work wonders in us.
Fr. George Kulangra CMI
