Reflections on Sirach 42:15-25 / Mark 10:46-52
by Frank Savadera, SJ
Oh how we value silence
and stillness at particular periods of the day.
We love silence so much that we ring the bell 5 minutes before a quiet
period so everyone will be very EXCITED to anticipate the silence. Five minutes before the quiet period … we
already begin silencing ourselves … we begin dropping whatever it is the preoccupies
us … we begin moving back to our sacred places … because we are just so
THRILLED and EAGER to be quiet. And also
we say … there is GRAND SILENCE in the evening.
We seek to be by ourselves, to be quiet … again to be still. Why so?
Why do we wish to do so? What
happens to you and me in the stillness?
In the quiet?
Isn’t it that in the silence, we get to
hear and notice a lot of things? What we
hear and see may be the most pleasant of things … a bird chirping, the breeze of
the air, the smell of our cook’s flavorful cooking.
Can we hear and notice a lot of noise as
well … the noise of my distracting seatmate,
someone snoring while praying, or someone flushing the toilet (?) or perhaps the screeching voice of our neighbors’ karaoke singing. Noise … are
they really noise? Or can they speak to
us as well about ourselves? Can they
speak to us about things even beyond ourselves? Things that we ordinarily do
not get to hear or dare not hear?
Friends, the Book of Sirach today tells
us that the GLORY OF THE LORD FILLS ALL
HIS WORKS. How can we even get to
notice that? The GLORY OF THE LORD FILLS
ALL HIS WORKS. Even to the spark and
fleeting vision … Sirach’s says … God’s works are just so beautiful! Can one ever see enough of the SPLENDOR of
God’s works? Friends, I think this is
what we would wish to be more sensitive to … in the silence … recognizing that
indeed the GLORY OF THE LORD FILLS ALL
HIS WORK.
And more … not only does the Glory of
the Lord fill His works … Sirach also tells us … that AT GOD’S VERY WORD … ALL THINGS ARE BROUGHT INTO BEING. In the stillness … in the quiet …
we are asked to experience as well the overwhelming presence of this God who by
His very word … brings all things into being.
There is this all-knowing … all powerful God … Sirach says who plumbs
the depths and penetrates our hearts; our innermost being he understands. He makes known the past and the future … No
understanding does he lack; no single
thing escapes him. AT GOD’S VERY WORD …
ALL THINGS ARE BROUGHT INTO BEING. I
think … this is what we would wish to HEAR … in the SILENCE … for
ourselves. I want to hear GOD’s WORD for
me. Does His word BRING into being my
sense of who I am? What God wishes me to pursue in my life? Can we actually hear God speaking his word to us … and
telling us where he wishes us to be …. and NOT simply what we wish for ourselves. We have to hear it … isn’t it? AT GOD’S VERY WORD … ALL THINGS ARE BROUGHT INTO
BEING … yes … even great changes in the way we look at ourselves and the world around us.
I
think this is precisely the experience of the blind man Bartimeus in our Gospel today. He was sitting by the roadside for the
longest time … and can only see darkness.
He had heard of a miracle worker coming to Jericho for the first time …
and perhaps the only time. Can you
imagine how thrilled he was? Can you
imagine how excited he was? He was even
fighting his way … pushing his way …. shouting at the top of his voice … to get
near this powerful presence of Jesus.
What do you want me to do for you … Jesus asked him? “Master, I want to see.” And at the word of Jesus … ‘Go your way; your faith has saved you” …
he was able to see.
Friends
in the silent and quiet moments of our prayer … we beg that we SEE and
NOTICE how the GLORY OF THE LORD FILLS
ALL THINGS AROUND US … ALL HIS WORKS AND DEEDS.
In the silence … in the quiet … may we hear as well GOD’S POWERFUL WORDS
that BRINGS FORTH TO BEING everything …
our sense of ourselves … and our sense of where the Spirit is leading us.
