Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Gospel: Mark 11: 11-26

Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple area.
He looked around at everything and, since it was already late,
went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

The next day as they were leaving Bethany he was hungry.
Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf,
he went over to see if he could find anything on it.
When he reached it he found nothing but leaves;
it was not the time for figs.
And he said to it in reply, “May no one ever eat of your fruit again!”
And his disciples heard it.

They came to Jerusalem,
and on entering the temple area
he began to drive out those selling and buying there.
He overturned the tables of the money changers
and the seats of those who were selling doves.
He did not permit anyone to carry anything through the temple area.
Then he taught them saying, “Is it not written:

My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples?
But you have made it a den of thieves.”

The chief priests and the scribes came to hear of it
and were seeking a way to put him to death,
yet they feared him
because the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching.
When evening came, they went out of the city.

Early in the morning, as they were walking along,
they saw the fig tree withered to its roots.
Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look!
The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”
Jesus said to them in reply, “Have faith in God.
Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain,
‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’
and does not doubt in his heart
but believes that what he says will happen,
it shall be done for him.
Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer,
believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours.
When you stand to pray,
forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance,
so that your heavenly Father may in turn
forgive you your transgressions.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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One of the most significant moments in Christ’s ministry just unfolded. The Lord entered the Temple, turned over the tables of the moneychangers, chased them out with a whip, and cried out in anger, “Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!”

This was undoubtedly the straw that broke the camel’s back, pushing the religious leaders over the edge. Their fantasies of killing Jesus will now shift into action.

Both before and after the cleansing of the Temple, Mark tells us the story of a fig tree. At first, this tree may seem insignificant. However, upon closer look, it becomes a parable of divine judgment.

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In the Old Testament, fig trees were associated with peace and prosperity. One might represent a prosperous individual or a faithful nation. A withering fig tree, on the other hand, was a sign of lifelessness and judgment.

Prior to entering the Temple, the Lord approaches this tree covered with leaves, presuming it was also bearing fruit. But after finding it deceptively fruitless, he curses it, saying, “May no one ever eat of your fruit again!” 

Later, the disciples find it had withered and died. 

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So, what does this fig tree represent?

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Promise without fulfillment.

The leaves on the tree implied it was also fruitful, but the Lord finds it deceptively bare. Thus, it represents any individual who “appears” religious, but does not bear the fruit of charity.

It may also represent the religious leaders, who were gifted with the Law, the prophets, multiple covenants, and countless promises that God would visit his people. Yet, when he came, Jesus found them faithless and hard of heart. 

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May we who know Jesus, not only talk the talk, but also walk the walk, bearing good fruit for Him today.

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Image credits: (1) LinkedIn (2) So We Speak (3) Online Fig Trees

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Gospel: Mark 10:46-52

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,
Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,
sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say,
“Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” 
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called the blind man, saying to him,
“Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.”
Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.”
Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Space and Sight was a book written in the 1960’s, documenting a group of individuals who underwent cataract surgery. All of the patients were blind from birth. Suddenly, after a successful surgery, they were able to see!

While their first moments of sight must’ve been overwhelming, some of the patients longer-term reactions were surprising. 

Many fell into depression. The world became abruptly complex, not only filled with shapes and color, but also with visible forms of suffering. One girl even locked herself inside her room for two weeks, refusing to open her eyes. 

Ironically, these patients were faced with the same question after their surgery as they were before: Do you want to see?

Perhaps they learned the hard way that sight comes with responsibility; once we see something, we cannot “unsee” it.

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In today’s Gospel, a blind man named Bartimaeus approaches Jesus desperate to see. And so it happens. 

Mark does not tell us how Bartimaeus reacts to the light – or to seeing the face of the one who healed him – only that Bartimaeus follows Jesus “on the way,” meaning up to Jerusalem, where the Lord will be crucified. 

Some of the first things that Bartimaeus will see are the faces of the bloodthirsty crowd; the Lord beaten, bloodied, and nailed to a tree; Jesus laid inside a tomb; and, perhaps, raised from the dead.

Bartimaeus cannot “unsee” these things. His sight comes with responsibility. The fact that he is the only person healed in Mark’s Gospel who is mentioned by name implies that he was known within the early Christian community.

Does Bartimaeus become an apostle to the blind? Does he teach others how to “see” Christ through eyes of faith?

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We don’t know. Perhaps Mark leaves that for us to ponder as we all are, in a sense, Bartimaeus.

Each of us bears responsibility for what we “see” – Christ in the Eucharist; Christ in our neighbor; Christ in the poor, the vulnerable, and the suffering in this world; Christ within ourselves.

May we never pull the covers over our eyes; rather, may our sight be a blessing for others today.

In the words of Bartimaeus, “Master, I want to see.”

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Image credits: (1) The Gift of Sight, Inspirational Thoughts from Everyday Life, The (2) Embracing Brokenness Ministries (3) Everydayspirit.net

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1 Peter 1:18-25

Beloved:
Realize that you were ransomed from your futile conduct,
handed on by your ancestors,
not with perishable things like silver or gold
but with the precious Blood of Christ
as of a spotless unblemished Lamb.
He was known before the foundation of the world
but revealed in the final time for you,
who through him believe in God
who raised him from the dead and gave him glory,
so that your faith and hope are in God.

Since you have purified yourselves
by obedience to the truth for sincere brotherly love,
love one another intensely from a pure heart.
You have been born anew,
not from perishable but from imperishable seed,
through the living and abiding word of God, for:

“All flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like the flower of the field;
the grass withers,
and the flower wilts;
but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
This is the word that has been proclaimed to you.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Saint Augustine is, perhaps, the most influential thinker the Catholic Church has ever known. Over five million of his words, either written or preached, have been preserved for nearly two-thousand years, providing a lasting foundation for Catholic theology.

Prior to his conversion, Augustine was a pagan who freely indulged in the whims of his flesh. But, eventually, his desire for the Truth led him to Christianity. 

Afraid that following Jesus would cause him to miss out on life, Augustine hesitated. Much like the rich young man in the Gospels, he was afraid that Jesus couldn’t satisfy him.

As he later wrote in his memoir, Confessions, “My sins plucked at the garment of my flesh and whispered, ‘Are you going to dismiss us? From this moment we shall never be with you again.”

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Augustine found himself at a crossroad in life – to choose either a life of indulgence or a life of grace. 

It’s a decision that Christians must make in every age. 

As Saint Peter says in our first reading, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field; the grass withers, and the flower wilts; but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

At the heart of Peter’s letter is the call for Christians to see through the temptations of life, choosing a life of grace instead. In a word, to be “holy,” meaning different.

Just as the Temple was “holy” because it was different from other buildings, or the Sabbath was “holy” because it was different from other days, so Christians are called to live lives that are different from non-believers, whose desires are often rooted in this world.

How is my life different because of faith?

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May the Lord give us the grace to choose Him today. Doing always leads to life in abundance.

Saints Peter and Augustine, pray for us.

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Image credits: (1) New Life House (2) Saint Augustine, Philippe de Champaigne (3) The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry