We continue to make progress toward our combined goal of $5.2 million to meet both the diocesan target for Stewardship for Saints and Scholars and the construction of new classrooms. As of about a month ago, every dollar pledged will go toward our St. Martha initiative to construct new classrooms and remodel the parish hall. To date, we have raised approximately $3 million in pledges. We still have a ways to go, so please consider pledging over five years and getting those pledge cards turned in. If you do not have a pledge card, please stop in the parish office to pick one up or print one from the .pdf linked here, or found in our email and website.
Fall Fundraiser
Simultaneously, we are in the middle of our annual appeal as we gear up for the Fall Fundraiser. I know that we are asking a lot, but, as of this week, we are on par with where we were at this time last year in raising funds. Please consider a gift to the Fall Fundraiser and make sure to purchase tickets to the auction and party on November 16! It is sure to be a great time! We are also in need of a few volunteers the night of to help sell beverage tickets, click here to sign up.
Gospel Reflection
In the Gospel today, we hear the story of Bartimaeus. Though blind, Bartimaeus saw more clearly than anyone - even most of us! The healing of Bartimaeus is the last healing that occurs in Mark’s Gospel before Jesus enters Jerusalem and is arrested, sentenced, and crucified. As we read today, Jesus is traveling from Jericho to Jerusalem to accomplish His salvific mission. On this road awaits Bartimaeus who clearly sees who Jesus is. He sees with the eyes of faith not with the eyes of sight. There are three takeaways from this Gospel that are worth pondering:
Bartimaeus’s first request is for mercy. His blindness wasn’t caused by his personal sinfulness or moral sinfulness. It was caused by some abnormality (a result of fallen human nature). For anyone else, for any of us for that matter, the first request would probably have been to see. However, Bartimaeus’s first request is for mercy. He knows himself. He knows himself as a sinner before God. He could clearly see that Jesus, as the God-man, had the power and authority to forgive his sinfulness.
Bartimaeus isn’t afraid of rebuke. How many of us are afraid of what others think of us? How many of us are afraid to proclaim Christ? How many of us are afraid, in the face of rebuke and hostility, to stand up for Christ and our belief in Him? The crowds rebuked Bartimaeus but he shouted all the louder, “Son of David, have pity on me!”
Jesus calls out to Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus is the one calling out to Jesus, shouting as loudly as he can. Everyone is telling him to be quiet, that he doesn’t matter, that he is embarrassing them. The crowd is large and boisterous. Bartimaeus could have been easily passed by, missed, or overlooked. Yet, Jesus stops and calls out to him. How often do we feel overlooked? How often do we feel as though we don’t matter? How often does the world or life seem dark, empty, or noisy? Yet, in the midst of all of that, Jesus is calling out to each one of us just as He called out to Bartimaeus. Jesus wants to give us what the world cannot offer - healing, salvation, life.
In some ways Bartimaeus is like each of us - poor, sinful, and even (spiritually) blind. In some ways, however, Bartimaeus is who we all long to be - someone who dares to hope in Jesus with an excitement that will let nothing stop him from encountering the Lord. As we pray today, let us learn to be like Bartimaeus - calling on the Lord for mercy, calling on the Lord in the midst of a world and culture that wishes we be silent, all the while listening for and hearing the voice of the Lord calling to us.