Monday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 497

Terrible affliction was upon Israel.

Short, ominous sentences like that from 2 Maccabees appear in various places in the Bible:

• Then a new king, who knew nothing of Joseph, rose to power in Egypt. (Exodus 1:8)  
• Then each went to his own house. (John 7:53) 
• It was night. John 13:30

They are sharp reminders that our “spirituality” is founded in reality; it remembers real history and records human suffering. It is not a theoretical Lalaland of wishful thinking and ought-to-bes. There is no manufactured history of ideal ancestors; even the heroes are severely flawed characters. 

I find that helpful as we ponder death, judgment, heaven and hell during this penultimate month of the year.

The healing of a blind man in today’s gospel celebrates the vision the Lord gives to us. We have eyes for following Jesus. Our legs and feet are meant to walk in his Way. We have ears to hear the Good News and mouths to proclaim God’s praises.

This is not supposed to be an easy road. Jesus marches resolutely toward Jerusalem despite the fearfulness of his companions, the warnings of strangers and threats from his enemies. He knows as we all know that life must end in death. Is there any reason it should not? He insists that we take up our crosses daily and go with him if we pretend to be his disciples. 

We can always wish that we lived in a different world where Democrats and Republicans like and admire one another, where energy is cheap and clean, where food is plentiful and medical care adequate. 

If we lived in such a place we would not need God. We would not even know God. There would be no merciful healings nor invitations to follow in his steps.

This world as we know it is better than any ideal world because Jesus chose to save it.