The Lord Has Done Great Things for Us: Reflections on the Readings for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Deliverance.  “Proclaim your praise and say: The LORD has delivered his people.” One of the definitions my online dictionary (dictionary.com) has for “deliverance” is “salvation.” And one of the synonyms is “emancipation.” Jesus came to deliver us from our sins, for salvation, to free us (emancipate us) from sin. We read in the excerpt from Jeremiah that the Lord has brought his people back. The direct reference is to bringing the people back from the Babylonian exile. God allowed Israel to be exiled because of their sinful ways. This is what Jesus does – He brings us back from our exile. We have been exiled by our sins. “The dungeon in which we ourselves imprison ourselves is our selves. … We forge the chains of our own bondage. We use our freedom to destroy our freedom. We need a savior.” (Dr. Peter Kreeft, Food for the Soul, Cycle C). Through Jeremiah the Lord says, “I will gather them from the ends of the world, with the blind and the lame in their midst, ... I will lead them to brooks of water, on a level road, so that none shall stumble.” This is another pointer to the Messiah. The Messiah will gather people to Himself from the ends of the earth. Think of Jesus commissioning the disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age.’” (Mt 28:18-20) Jesus commanded the disciples (and by extension us) to bring the world to Him through baptism.

The responsorial Psalm reflects the return of the captives from exile. It is one of the great things the Lord has done, not only for Israel, but also for us. Sadly, too many today are caught up in themselves and lives of personal pleasure and dissipation that they cannot see the gift of salvation God has given them. And even if they do, many refuse the gift. For a gift to be effective it must not only be offered but it also must be accepted. Acceptance of the gift of deliverance filled God’s chosen people with joy. There has been an increase in depression and suicides over recent years. Obviously, these people are not very happy. In contrast, many studies today show that those who are religiously affiliated (around the world) are happier and more engaged in life (and with others). This is what the responsorial psalm is telling us. When we acknowledge God and the great things He has done for us it is reflected in our lives, the way we live, and our outlook on life in general. When we turn to the Lord, we will “come back rejoicing.”

The Letter to the Hebrews continues the discussion on priesthood and, in particular, the priesthood of Jesus. The priest is part of this task of bringing people back to God by making “sin offerings for himself as well as for the people.” It is a calling from God. Similarly, Jesus was called by God to become a priest for His people. This is why the letter quotes the Father, “You are my son: this day I have begotten you.” But it adds another significant distinction, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” We often think of the offering of bread and wine when we hear Melchizedek’s name as that reflects our offering at mass, but the real importance is that Melchizedek was both a priest and a king, just like Jesus. The bible talks about many priests and many kings but only talks about both being the same in Melchizedek and Jesus. And note the phrase “priest forever” as Jesus is our great high priest forever in heaven. He is present on the altar when the human priest acts in persona Christi, to make our offerings and sacrifices to the Father.

In the story of Bartimaeus we again see the calling of someone to Jesus, in this case a blind man as mentioned in the first reading. At first they tried to silence this man who, though blind, recognized Jesus as the “Son of David.” Jesus then called him so that He might determine what the man needed. I am reminded of the story in John chapter 9 of the man born blind wherein Jesus explains that the reason for the blindness was “so that the works of God might be made visible through him.” (John 9:3). Here God’s works would be made visible not only to the disciples, but also to the crowd that was following them. Of note is that Bartimaeus, having been healed, then followed Jesus.

Bartimaeus is representing us. We are blind and need to be healed. Some of us are like the pharisees in John chapter 9 in that we think we see (and even claim sight) but cannot see Jesus: “Then Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.’Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, ‘Surely we are not also blind, are we?’Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.’”

Like Bartimaeus we are called to Jesus and to the Cross, to be delivered as noted in the first reading. The Cross is Jesus’s calling card. It was the reason He came. He explained that to Nicodemus early in John’s gospel: “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15) We need to open our eyes and get rid of our blindness. Only then will we see the great things God has done for us and be filled with joy.