THE POWER OF RESILIENT PERSISTENCE

READINGS: THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

The gospel of this 30th Sunday in Ordinary times, Year B (Mark 10:46-52) tells of the story of a blind man, named Bartimaeus, who, although was physically blind, could see what the crowd, who had eyes, could not see; that Jesus of Nazareth was truly the Messiah. It was this depth of insight that empowered him to act, with resolute conviction, by calling out to Jesus for help. Unfortunately, the crowd discouraged him, bullied him, and tried to shut him up, but he would have none of it. He was not going to allow them to intimidate him out of his goal. This was about his faith in Jesus, and nothing was going to stop him from getting the most out of it.

My friends, we should never let people talk or intimidate us out of our faith and beliefs, let alone out of our goals in life. Many of our young people have fallen into this trap, and it is so sad. We should never allow environmental intimidation or detraction, other people’s innuendoes, or, for that matter, personal deprecation derail us from our determined goals. We should always believe that there is a spirit in us that is greater than our opposition.

Success in life does not come easily. It requires a consistent, persistent, and unyielding resilience. If Bartimaeus had shouted once without success and decided to save his breath, leave Jesus alone, and allowed the crowd to coward him out of his mission, he would have lost out. The crowd presented enough inhibition to discourage him, but he was not demoralized, distracted, nor distressed by it. Rather, he remained persistent and unyielding, and his steadfastness paid off. Christ will never turn down a man who craves for his attention. That is why Scripture encourages us to be persistent in our prayers and in our goals. Half measures do not produce good results.

Isn’t it amazing how quickly people rally around success? When Jesus stopped and said, “Call him”, the same people who were shouting down on him turned around and urged him; “Cheer up! Get on your feet! He’s calling you”. My friends, the best way to repay a detractor and a dream-undertaker is to become a success. It doesn’t matter what the people around us are saying, thinking, or feeling, we need to go for our goals with a determined will. Look at the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:25-34) and Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). It was their determination and courage that got them what they wanted.

It is important to notice that once Bartimaeus turned to Jesus, he broke off from his past by throwing away the garment he was wearing as a blind man, ran to Jesus, got healed, and became a follower. When we say yes to Jesus, we should never look back again. Scripture says: “Now that you have become a new creation, put away the old self and put on the new self, born in the image of Christ Jesus”. Commitment to God, to our goals, and aspirations must be total, because lukewarmness is a recipe for disaster. As Scripture says, God has no tolerance for those who are lukewarm (Ref Revelation 3:15-16).

In life, while people may try to cut off our path to Jesus and our path to success, they cannot cut off our hope in God, our hunger for Jesus, and our grave for success. Deep and committed faith and a resolute resilience is what it takes to make all the difference in life. May God grant us such faith, and a determined will, in the pursuit of our goals, and in our relationship with Him, Amen!