Author: Joseph Wehbe

Like marathon runners, we can finally begin to glimpse the finish line of our Lenten journey. What has your experience of the Great Lent been like this year? What has your heart seen or what has it failed to see? Have the eyes of your heart longed to see Jesus? Did you stumble along the way? Were there times when you were blinded by the darkness of your shortcomings? Well, you are not alone! The blindness I am referring to here is spiritual blindness, the inability to see with the eyes of faith.

This sight is the focus of the Gospel that falls on the Sixth and last Sunday of the Great Lent in the Maronite Divine Liturgy; The Sunday of the Blind. Bartimaeus, a blind man, who was sitting on the side of the road in Jericho, desperately needed to see again. The name Bartimaeus in Greek and Aramaic means the son of he who is highly prized or honourable. This is our story! We are the sons and daughters of the One who is highly prized and honourable who are spiritually blind. We are the ones in desperate need to see the face of Jesus.

When he heard that Jesus was walking by, and was about to leave that town, Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus to try and get His attention amid the noise of the crowd. Does that sound familiar to you? Is that you crying out to Jesus when the noise of the world, distractions and temptations seem to override the solace of your heart?

The lyrics of the Entrance Hymn of Divine Offering provides us with a sincere and honest prayer that Bartimaeus says to the Lord, that we can also pray when we find ourselves overwhelmed by spiritual blindness:

Son of David, pity me!

I believe you are the Lord,

who can give sight to my eyes.

Since you let me hear your voice,

let me also see your face.

Give me light that I may see.

The Old Testament passage, from the prophet Isaiah that is read after the Psalm of the readings, is God’s response to us:

“I will lead the blind by a road they do not know, by paths they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I will do, and I will not forsake them.”

(Isaiah 42:16 NRSV)

This dialogue is the beauty of our relationship with God! God knows we need Him and in response He has compassion for us. It is our weakness that God transforms into our strength. This is the Good News! God does not want us to feel sorry for ourselves, He just wants us to be honest with Him. For it is then, and only then, that we are truly able to experience the joy of being healed by Jesus. This is the message of God to us. Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said “because we do not pray enough, we see only the human part. We don’t see the divine…”

The season of Great Lent for the Maronite Church started with a wedding; a celebration filled with joy. This Sunday of the Healing of the Blind Man is also a celebration filled with joy for we are children of the light. Sons and daughters of the One who is to be highly honoured, adored, worshipped and praise. He desire is to guide us, to know our struggles and to heal us from our spiritual blindness. Why? Because He loves us!

We may be able to begin to see the end of the finish line, yet it is also the beginning of a new way of life. Great Lent leads into the arrival of the greatest wedding feast one can ever have the privilege of being invited to. God is personally inviting you to this wedding feast as his special guest, his plus one. So, what will your RSVP be to this invitation. Stay tuned for next week’s article that will provide you with the wedding invitation and hopefully you will have your RSVP ready to give to Jesus. Trust me, you won’t want to miss out on what God has install for you! Who wouldn’t say yes to a middle eastern wedding?

Joseph is a lay Chaplain at Catholic Care Western Sydney and Blue Mountains, Volunteer Assistant Chaplain at Westmead Hospital and is currently undertaking a Graduate Certificate in Missionary Leadership in 2024 at the Arete Centre for Missionary Leadership. He is also Choir Leader and assists with adult faith formation at St Raymond’s Maronite Parish in Sydney.