STAY FOCUSED ON JESUS; BEWARE OF THE CROWD!

⏰Thursday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time 1 (27 May 2021 – Children’s Day)

📖Sir 42:15-25; Ps 33:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (R.v.6a); Mark 10:46-52

STAY FOCUSED ON JESUS; BEWARE OF THE CROWD!

Beloved in Christ, try always to be focused in life and in communion with God. That is actually what you need to succeed. Don’t form the habit of basing your life upon how people might react to your actions. The story of the blind man, Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52) passes that important message to us, and even more.

Remember our discussions of yesterday. The disciples were following Jesus, but obviously distracted by the quest for gains and positions of honour. They were really blind to the mission of Jesus, which is passion (see Mark 10:33-34). Mark introduces a physically blind man to expose their spiritual blindness, yet the spiritually-blind were trying to hush the physically-blind.

Could you not see that the crowd of disciples only knows the “Jesus of Nazareth” (Mark 10:47), a tribal man? But the so-called blind man knows “Jesus, Son of David” (Mark 10:48), the saviour. And he would not allow the spiritually blind crowd to stop him from meeting that saviour.

Fellow pilgrim, your problems might be so much, maybe more terrible than the blindness of Bartimaeus. Don’t allow the crowd to compound your problems by removing your gaze from Jesus in order to seek solutions elsewhere. “Jesu bu ebe ano!” Jesus is the ultimate! And he has power to do all things; all that he does is good (see Sirach 42:15-25).

After the healing of that blind man, Bartimaeus, Jesus gave him the freedom to go away freely on ‘his’ way. But he chose to follow Jesus, who is the Way (cf. Mark 10:52; John 14:6). Do you follow your own way or that of the crowd, or that of Jesus? I encourage to follow Jesus and be saved.

If you are ready, join Bartimaeus to throw off the cloak of your old life and rise up (cf. Mark 10:50) and join in making this faith declaration:
I have decided to follow Jesus (3x)
No turning back (2x).

As you do so, ensure that you show good example to children around you and lead them to also stay focused on Jesus in order to be saved.

Have a miraculous day filled with foresights and progress. Peace be with you.