Bartimaeus cannot see. He cannot see the beauty of the sunrise nor its setting. He cannot see that the flowers are a light lilac and the olives a deep green. He cannot see the faces of his loved ones. He can bask in the warmth of the sun. He can smell the flowers and taste the olives. He can hear the voice of his beloved. He lives with gratitude for these gifts. He lives with hope that he will one day receive the gift of sight. He acts on that hope when the healer, Jesus, is passing by and cries out, “Jesus, have compassion on me.” “What do you want me to do for you?” “I want to see.” Jesus heals the man, “Immediately he received his sight.”
So many cannot see; in so many ways. We know of brothers and sisters in Honduras who cannot see the world’s beauty because they spend their days in sweatshops. They cannot see the fruitfulness of their land because they’ve been starved off it by U.S. backed mining and industrial agriculture corporations. They cannot see the face of their beloved because she was murdered by the nation’s U.S. trained soldiers as she organized land rights activists. They live with gratitude for the gifts they have. They live with hope they will one day see the beauty of a new life. They act on that hope risking their survival to join a caravan reaching out for healing from people who call themselves Christian in a whole country that also does and they cry out, “Have compassion on me.” But some do not show that compassion. Some cannot see. They look for criminals and cannot see parents with children. They look for users and cannot see asylum seekers. They look for foreign invaders and cannot see brothers and sisters in Christ. They fail to respond to the cry, “Have compassion on me” with Jesus’ compassionate heart and healing power. Is their failure due to fear – of what, survival? That was never Jesus’ concern. Yet, using the title Christian, they act on their fear and champion competition against and even domination over others that diminishes compassion. Compassion is being moved by another’s suffering, to lovingly help alleviate it and it is basic to our human nature. Professor Dacher Keltner appreciates humanity’s capacity for compassion. He is the author of Born to Be Good and The Power Paradox and helps produce the Greater Good Magazine. Keltner gives consideration to Charles Darwin, who did not originate the dictum “survival of the fittest” but Darwin did analyze it and adopt it with racist reasoning. Keltner informs us that later, Darwin more fully analyzed and adopted cooperation as humanity’s greatest survival trait. It is apparent some self-titled Christians show themselves followers of the old survivalist Darwin rather than the cooperative Jesus. The self-titled Christians learn from racists who champion competition against and domination over species judged less fit. They reject Christ-like compassion to people ignorantly believing it thwarts their own survival; as a nation, as whites. We who are peacemakers can hope, with Prof. Keltner, in a more mature Darwin and thus in a more compassionate humanity.
Many people are offering a compassionate heart and a healing response to those crying out in our time. They include Pueblo Sin Fronteras/People Without Borders who are assisting persons in the southern caravan. Also Desert Angels, American Friends Service Committee, and Annunciation House. We can contribute to and join these humanitarian groups. We can contribute that same compassionate heart and healing response to those in need in our area. For example, we can contribute these qualities to white supremacists who are self-titled Christians yet don’t listen to others’ cries, don’t respond with a compassionate heart, and don’t heal. An irony of our time is that in their heartlessness are crying out, seeking compassion, and we can respond with healing. Their healing can begin with our invitation to have come and see their brothers and sisters at the border.
Prayer: Spirit, we relinquish fears of survival and extend gifts of compassion.
Question: Who are the people in my life calling out for compassion and healing?
October 28, 2018 Gospel Mark 10:46-52 Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time