Patrick Comerford
We are in the Kingdom Season, the time between All Saints and Advent, and this week began with the Second Sunday before Advent. The calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today remembers Elizabeth of Hungary (1231), Princess of Thuringia, Philanthropist. She is the patroness of Secular Franciscans and of the many congregations of women and men following the Franciscan Third Order Regular Rule.
This visit to Kuching comes to an end today, and later this morning we fly to Singapore, beginning the long journey back to England and Stony Stratford.
But, before we leave, I am taking some quiet time in these early hours of the morning to give thanks, and for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:
1, today’s Gospel reading;
2, a short reflection;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
Luke 18: 35-43 (NRSVA):
35 As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.’ 38 Then he shouted, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ 39 Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ 40 Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, 41 ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ He said, ‘Lord, let me see again.’ 42 Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.’ 43 Immediately he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, praised God.
Today’s reflection:
The story of a blind man or blind men at the gate of Jericho is told in all three Synoptic Gospels (see: Matthew 20: 29-34, Mark 10: 46-52 and Luke 18: 35-43).
In Saint Matthew’s account, there are two, unnamed blind men sitting by the roadside outside Jericho. In Saint Luke’s version, the blind man is sitting by the roadside begging as Christ approaches Jericho. In all three accounts, the location of Jericho is important. It claims to be the oldest inhabited and the oldest walled city in the world.
The Battle of Jericho is the first battle in the conquest of Canaan in the Book of Joshua. The walls of Jericho fall after Joshua’s Israelite army marches around the city blowing their trumpets (Joshua 6: 1-27).
In later times, Jericho was a private estate of Alexander the Great and then a garden city in the royal estates of the Hasmoneans, the priestly ruling dynasty. Mark Anthony gave Jericho to Cleopatra as a gift, but Herod leased it back again and the Herodians had their winter palace here, with their winter gardens.
By the time of Christ, Jericho is an important commercial city, a crossroads, the winter resort for Jerusalem’s aristocracy and the ruling priestly class. Which explains why, in the parable of the Good Samaritan earlier in this Gospel, a priest and a Levite were regular passers-by on the road from Jericho to Jerusalem (Luke 10: 30-37).
In Saint Luke’s Gospel too, Jericho is the home of Zacchaeus, the repentant tax collector, as we hear in the Gospel reading at the Eucharist tomorrow (Luke 19: 1-10).
Christ and his disciples are now near the end of their journey from Caesarea Philippi in the north to Jerusalem: Jericho is about 25 km from Jerusalem. On their journey, the disciples have misunderstood the message of Jesus and have been blind to who he truly is. But in this Gospel reading, it is a blind man who sees who Christ truly is.
The blind man cries out to ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ This cry is one of the Biblical foundations of the Jesus Prayer, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.’
Until now, the disciples have been blind to who Jesus truly is. It takes a blind man to see the truth, and he calls Jesus is ‘Son of David,’ King of the Jews, and the Messiah. In other places, Christ orders silence on the matter, but not here. His time is approaching.
The blind man gives up all he has, leaves everything behind to follow Christ.
The question Christ now puts to the blind man – ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ (verse 41) – is the same question Jesus also puts to James and John when they seek status in the kingdom: ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ (Mark 10: 36). James and John asked to be seated at his right hand and his left hand, symbolising power and prestige (see Mark 10: 37). But this blind man is humble in his reply: ‘Lord, let me see again’ (Luke 18: 41).
Christ tells him simply that his faith ‘Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.’ He is not only cured immediately, but he follows Jesus on the way (verse 43).
Today’s Prayers (Monday 18 November 2024):
The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church’, the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘Coming Together for Climate Justice’. This theme was introduced yesterday with Reflections by Linet Musasa, HIV Stigma and Discrimination Officer, Anglican Council of Zimbabwe.
Today is the World Day for the Prevention of and Healing from Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Violence, and the USPG Prayer Diary today (Monday 18 November 2024) invites us to pray:
Lord, we know you love all children, and we pray for protection over them. Please keep them safe and ensure they have freedom and innocence in their childhoods to grow and flourish in your love.
The Collect:
Lord God,
who taught Elizabeth of Hungary
to recognize and reverence Christ in the poor of this world:
by her example
strengthen us to love and serve the afflicted and the needy
and so to honour your Son, the servant king,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Post-Communion Prayer:
Faithful God,
who called Elizabeth of Hungary to serve you
and gave her joy in walking the path of holiness:
by this eucharist
in which you renew within us the vision of your glory,
strengthen us all to follow the way of perfection
until we come to see you face to face;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yesterday’s Reflection
Continued Tomorrow
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
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