LIFELINES
The last lifeline is "Ask the Audience." The audience
has a device they can push, which allows them to pick what they think is the
correct answer. Then the computer tallies up their responses and puts the
results on a graph, showing the answer with the highest percentage. This is the
one lifeline you would want to save for the right moment to help keep you in
the game. The audience is 90% right. Then the person in the hot seat makes the
final decision.
Many of us need to ask for help in making decisions in our
lives, whether they are about God, family, work, money, or even play. When we
need to make a decision, big or small, we often seek advice from others. We may
need to use our lifelines and sometimes, we may need to think when would be the
right time to use them so that we can get the right answer.
In today's Gospel, we hear about a blind man whose name is
Bartimaeus. He had to make some decisions in his life. He had to respond to
Jesus and he had to choose his lifelines carefully. I am sure many times in
Bartimaeus' life he thought about when would be the right time to use his
lifelines. Just like us, he did not want to waste or abuse them, but he did want
the correct answer. Some of his thoughts may have been, "I do not want to
be too persistent, so as to make my friends upset or they will not want to help
me." Or perhaps he thought he should use his lifelines sparingly. He may have even asked, "Is this the
right moment? Do I really need to use it now?"
Bartimaeus knew when Jesus called that this was the right moment
- this was the time to use his ultimate LifeLine and to go for it! He knew he
needed to call upon Jesus. When Baritmaeus heard that Jesus was calling him,
his response was like that of a catechumen coming in faith! He threw off his
cloak and cast off his old ways, for he truly believed that Jesus was the Son
of God.
It strikes me that of all things, faith must be the most obvious
characteristic of a blind person. Anyone who is blind depends almost totally on
the word of another person. When people become self-sufficient and determine
that they don't need anyone else in their lives, they tend to lose faith - lose
their lifelines. Faith is the quality which Jesus praises today in the person
of Bartimaeus. But Bartimaeus had more than just ordinary faith. He had
persistent faith, the kind that simply won't let any obstacle stand in the way.
Not even Jesus' disciples could hush him away!
I have heard so many people tell me how hard it is to have
faith. They say, "If only like Moses, I could see Him in a burning bush
then I would believe." Or, "If only I could hear His voice as Moses
did when God proclaimed the Commandments on Mt. Sinai, I would believe."
Let's think back over our own lives and ponder where we've seen God's beauty.
Maybe we've seen the Face of God in a bush bursting with leaves, or flowers
when the dead of winter gives rise to the promise of spring, or heard the Voice
of God in the cry of a child and in the soaring beauty of a musical overture.
He is there in our presence just as He said He would be. "I am with you
always, until the end of the age" (Mt 28:20).
There is room to wonder as to who was really blind, the beggar
or the disciples. Certainly not the beggar, he used the lifeline, for he saw
something in Jesus that the disciples could not see at the time - they were
blind because they failed to see Jesus' compassion. One should remember that
Bartimaeus not only had faith, but he had persistent faith. It was the same
kind of faith as the woman suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years. It is
through her faith that she approaches Jesus, touches the tassel on His cloak
and is healed. The blindness of Bartimaeus would have continued for the rest of
his life had two people not refused to accept the disciples' efforts to control
the crowd, Bartimaeus and Jesus. The clearest vision of that day was found in
these two.
Even though they are helpful in a game show, we do not need
"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" to give us lifelines guiding us to
make the right decision to ask God for help! Mark's Gospel gives us a message
of insight to have faith in Jesus, the Messiah, Who suffered, died and rose
from the dead for our salvation. He gave us the Church to give us the True
lifeline we need, to guide us on our journey of faith and to have life in Jesus
Christ. Today is "Priesthood Sunday," let us pray for our priests and
recall how much we need them!