https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102724.cfm
I want to See!
Ellie signed on to teach for a year in Bolivia.
She enjoyed the work, the country, and the people- especially one young man, Oscar, who was intelligent, good-hearted, and handsome.
That year, she and Oscar fell in love.
Eventually, he came to the United States, and they married at her parish church in Boston.
Oscar had held an important job in Bolivia, but his hard-earned credentials didn’t transfer to the United States.
His grasp of English could have been better.
The only job he could find was as a banquet waiter at a local hotel.
Guests called him – “Boy.”
They whistled or clapped at him to get his attention and felt free to boss him around.
But mostly, they ignored him; they didn’t see him.
He would come home from work sullen, and Ellie felt excruciating pain that people treated this proud man as nothing.
The world did not see Oscar, but Ellie saw him.
Today, Jesus tells the apostles, “In a little while, the world will no longer see me, but you will see me.”
Like the people of Jericho, the world passes Jesus by on the street and ignores him.
They whistle to get his attention and call him “Boy” because they don’t see him in Oscar.
I was thinking that maybe in our frustrations the people who inspect our homes for one reason of another can become our Oscar.
It cannot be like this for us, my friends.
The people changed when Jesus called Bartimaeus.
For Bartimaeus could not see people. People could not see Bartimaeus until Jesus saw Him.
With you, I need to listen with my heart to see Jesus in the grieving, the abandoned, the homeless, the migrant, the persecuted and the Oscars.
Jesus’ ministry of love continues through his body, the Church.
That is, you and me.
How do we see Jesus like Bartimaeus?
We look past all the stuff and see the person in front of us.
That is when God starts working to everyone’s benefit, including ours.
Gospel Challenge:
Let us pause for a moment, pray for each other, and look beyond the busboy’s appearance to see Christ in each other, whatever His disguise.
Fr. Rick Pilger, IC
