DO WE STILL HEAR STORIES ABOUT JESUS?

Feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary

DO WE STILL  HEAR STORIES 

ABOUT JESUS?

by Frank D.B. Savadera, SJ

We begin our week by making a short reflection and deriving inspiration from the life of a saint, whose memorial we commemorate today.  St. Elizabeth of Hungary got married at a very young age of 14 years.  She was queen of Hungary … bore three children … and when her husband … the king died enroute to the Crusades … Elizabeth promised not to remarry and instead dedicated her life for the service of the sick and the poor.  She sold most of her properties … converted the palace into a hospital of sorts … auctioned off her wardrobe … and at the age of 24 years … she succumbed  to her death.  What a SHORT LIFE … wasn’t it?  We remember her primarily for her service to the Church … and realizing for ourselves that indeed to whom an abundance of blessing was given … much as well will be required.  

Now … for the readings.   The Gospel speaks about a blind man … crying out:  “Son of David, have pity on me.”  Imagine a blind man sitting by the roadside … he couldn’t see Jesus at all… but apparently listening intently to the goings on around him.  We know how the reputation of Jesus as a MIRACLE worker … by that time … already preceded him … and so this man … sitting by the roadside … may have long heard about this miracle worker.  Could Jesus be the one … who will allow me to see?

What fascinates me about this specific story is how listening to and hearing about God actually precede our coming to see him.  As well … there is something about being blind that allows one to be more sensitive to hearing.  Do you agree? Isn’t it that sometimes in prayer … when we close our eyes … we hear the many wonderful tunes of the world playing beautifully in our ears.  That depends of course on the things you choose to hear!  There are super bad things that I’d rather not listen to.

But then … think about wholesome listening stories.  Once … I taught a group of blind people … some still very young … to sing some of our Jesuit songs.  I started teaching them the melody … then the 2^nd voice … then the 3^rd voice … and to my big surprise … it was just so easy for them to pick up the tunes … haaaaay … even better than most of us or some of the brothers perhaps in my Jesuit community … I thought!  But then we ask … WHAT DO WE LISTEN TO?  Can you remember the topics of your conversation with a friend, a classmate or a fellow worker prior to this Mass?  Did any of those topic even referred at all to Jesus?  Ang hirap naman yata ‘nun. We would say … baka pagkamalan akong WEIRD!

But in the Gospel today … even before the narrative unfolded … we can think that people there in JERICHO were already talking about Jesus … and that blind man sitting by the road side was already listening most intently all the time.  The stories indeed fired him up. He must have been telling himself:  “Someday … this Jesus of Nazareth will visit Jericho and when that time comes … I’ll spring up from the gutter of the street and fight my way to meet him.”  And wasn’t that what exactly happened?   He knew whom he was meeting from the many stories which proliferated about Jesus!  He addressed Jesus … SON OF DAVID … a term he derived from the Old Testament promise of  Isaiah.  He knew whom he was meeting.  This is the Saviour … the Messiah.  “Even with my physical infirmity,” he must have said  … “I wouldn’t in my life allow this opportunity to pass me by.”  And the story went on  …  he was healed by the mighty presence of Jesus.

Friends, we are like this blind man sitting by the roadside.  We may think that what we are doing now is the GREATEST THING for me.  This is all and everything!  We can of course continue to deceive ourselves. In reality, however … we are but like the blind man whiling our time by the roadside … and hopefully being made constantly aware that it is the Lord that we are waiting for. While we’re at it … DO WE STILL  HEAR STORIES ABOUT JESUS?  Sometimes … I’m afraid that we don’t because no one would speak about God anymore.  I hope I’m wrong.  But the challenge for us now is to continue SPEAKING ABOUT GOD … hoping that much like the blind man … our lives will be invigorated with much Hope … we will be most excited to await the Lord who will eventually pass by … and our far greater stories of healing will unfold. 

And as for Queen Elizabeth of Hungary … we ask: Why would a QUEEN sell off her palace and other properties and give the proceeds to the poor.  What a fabulous yet strange story.  Yet TRUE!  And we can perhaps say … much like the blind man in our Gospel … she must have truly heard the Lord … she recognized the very transforming presence of Jesus.  She heard him …  and to others, she spoke the many stories of Jesus.  Your stories as well matter. Speak!  Who is the Son of David for you?  We stand by the roadside and eagerly await the coming of Christ our King!  AMEN.