Fr. Vincent Nguyen’s Homily 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B

Around the year 1.000 BC, King David defeated his enemies and became king of the whole kingdom of Israel. But the kingdom did not last long. In 931 BC, after the death of King Solomon, the kingdom was divided into two: the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah.

In 722 BC, the northern kingdom of Israel was defeated by the Assyrians. In 605, the southern kingdom of Judah was conquered by the Babylonians. The entire people of Israel, the chosen people, was exiled. They lost everything: their land, their properties, their freedom, and their dignity. They were no longer free people. They became slaves in foreign lands.

That is the historical background for today’s first reading from the book of Jeremiah. Prophet Jeremiah witnessed the darkest period of his people: his kingdom was defeated, his people were exiled. Jeremiah himself was exiled into Egypt. In the midst of these sufferings, he received an optimistic message from the LORD: “Behold, I will bring them back from the land of the north; I will gather them from the ends of the world...” And the LORD explained why He would bring them back: “For I am a father to Israel, Ephraim is my first-born.” God depicts Himself as a Father who is searching for His wandering children. Time and again, God’s children exile themselves by their own sins: the sin of pride, the sin of disobedience, the sin of worshiping false gods. But with his fatherly love and mercy, God never gives up on us. He leaves no stone unturned until he finds us. Indeed the whole Bible can be summarized into one story: the story of the Father looking for his lost children. And the Father’s ultimate act is to send His Only-begotten Son into the world to find us, to die for our sins, and to bring us home safe and sound.

In today’s Gospel, Saint Mark recounts the miracle of Jesus healing a blind man. The blind man approaches Jesus saying: “Master, I want to see.” Indeed, each one of us should come to Jesus with the same request: “Jesus, I want to see.” Think of sin as spiritual blindness. When we commit a sin, we choose to walk in darkness. We no longer see clearly because sin blocks our sight. By sinning, we become spiritually blind. Because of this spiritual blindness, we get lost into the land of slavery and death. We need to come to the Lord asking Him to heal us. By returning to the Lord, we choose to walk in His light.

And Jesus told the blind man: “‘Go your way; your faith has saved you.’ Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.” By his faith in Christ, the blind man was saved. His eyes were open. The first person he saw was Christ Himself. And he chose to follow Christ in the way of salvation. He became a disciple, following the One who came to look for him and bring him home.
Let us remember that God our Father is always searching for us, willing to forgive our sins, and waiting for us to return home. Do not let sins turn us away from Him and lead us into exile and slavery. Let us always come to Jesus, who came to bring us home, telling Him: “Master, I want to see.”

“Master, I want to see”