Tomorrow's Gospel Reading prep

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I was just looking over the Gospel reading for tomorrow, and I was wanting to meditate a little on it tonight. I have rounded up some comments from the Church Fathers to give me some insight into the passage. Here is something to meditate on.

Mark 10: **46 - 52 ****46 And they came to Jericho; and as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great multitude, Bartimae’us, a blind beggar, the son of Timae’us, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; rise, he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his mantle he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Master, let me receive my sight.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way. **

ORIGEN;the garment of the blind man means the veil of blindness and poverty, with which he was surrounded, which he cast away and came to Jesus;

BEDE; Could He who was able to restore sight be ignorant of what the blind man wanted? His reason then for asking is that prayer may be made to Him; He puts the question, to stir up the blind man’s heart to pray.

ORIGEN; He gives him health, not on his saying, Son of David, but when he said Rabboni.

PSEUDO-JEROME;we rise by penitence, we are stripped of our old garment by baptism

BEDE; Therefore let us also imitate him, let us not seek for riches, earthly goods, or honors from the Lord, but for that Light, which we alone with the Angels can see, the way to which is faith; wherefore also Christ answers to the blind man, Your faith has saved you. But he sees and follows who works what his understanding tells him is good; for he follows Jesus, who understands and executes what is good, who imitates Him, who had no wish to prosper in this world, and bore reproach and derision. And because we have fallen from inward joy, by delight in the things of the body, He shows us what bitter feelings the return thither will cost us.
 
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One of the blindness related incidents in O.T that is sort of ’ memorable ’ is when king Zedekia is caught ’ near Jericho ’ and blinded by the enemy Chaldeans … blinding the enemy as a cruel punishmnet seem prevalent among pagan / barbaric cultures … ( who also bring in the even more devastating spiritual blindness …of God’s ways …)

Emperor Shah Jahan , who had built the Taj Mahal in memory of his wife, was also treated same by his son …

The mention of Bar-Timaus ( son of Timaus ) …could it be an allure to some ancestral bondage …

In one of the retreats , remember the priest mentioning that right after recieving our Lord in The Eucharist, is a good time , to plead for breakage of ancestral bondages and curses !

He even brought up the amazing history of the troubles in the Bermuda triangle - ship wrecks and such …and how after a Holy Mass celebrated there , aboard a ship, on behalf of the countless sick and ’ unfit’ slaves that used tobe thrown overboard there, such bizzrae incidents stopped !

That prayer 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me, a sinner '… is a common prayer , I believe , by those of Byzantine ties …a good prayer , to say also on behalf of those who need to be saying it but not yet seeing enough to say so…such as somone whom we need to forgive, someone who need to repent …🙂
 
One of the blindness related incidents in O.T that is sort of ’ memorable ’ is when king Zedekia is caught ’ near Jericho ’ and blinded by the enemy Chaldeans … blinding the enemy as a cruel punishmnet seem prevalent among pagan / barbaric cultures … ( who also bring in the even more devastating spiritual blindness …of God’s ways …)
Wow! I had forgotten about that incident and the apparent allusion to it in today’s Gospel.

Zedekiah, of course, was the last sitting king of Judah, of the house of David. What does blind Bartimaeus call Jesus at the gates of Jericho? “Son of David” — a kingly, messianic title!

For those interested, the sad story of Zedekiah is told of in 2 Kings 24:18 —25:7.
 
[Zedekiah, of course, was the last sitting king of Judah, of the house of David. What does blind Bartimaeus call Jesus at the gates of Jericho? “Son of David” — a kingly, messianic title!

For those interested, the sad story of Zedekiah is told of in 2 Kings 24:18 —25:7.
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Thanks Fidelis - for that clarification of the importance of king Zedekia …

So, that robe that Bar-Timaus had thrown aside , was probably also symbolic of the earthly kingships - of vying for power , to rule and control , that need to be thrown off , to meet The King - on His Way, to pay the price , to reclaim The Kingdom for His children , a kingdom where , the rule is - ’ what you did to the least of these , you did it unto Me ! ’
 
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