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This Gospel was written over 2,000 years ago and the world is still here so I am less convinced the readings were written to prepare us for the end times. However, many of the early Christians understood these readings as a sign pointing to the end of the world. One of the reasons why the Gospels were written so late, was because many people believed Jesus literally, and that the end of the world would take place in their lifetime.

I suspect these readings could be interpreted differently. I propose that Jesus is talking more about the trials and tribulations in our lives. Our faith in Jesus does not exempt us from struggles. Rather than seeing these as the end, Jesus invites us to see this is a time when God will show his saving power.

Could those struggles be actually helpful to our spiritual growth? Struggles encourage us to develop resilience and problem-solving skills. Struggles can lead to maturity and a perspective on life that leads to spiritual and psychological growth.

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The lesson in today’s Gospel is clear, do not get seduced by appearances! There is also a sub-theme of humility. Jesus is critical of the Scribes for their hypocritical behaviour. As Luke 12:48, states, "To whom much is given, much will be required." Jesus emphasized the idea of responsibility that comes with blessings and resources. The verse suggests that those who have been entrusted with more—whether it be talents, wealth, or knowledge—are held to a higher standard of accountability.
Jesus continues his teaching on looking beyond appearances when he is watching wealthy people putting in large sums of money into the temple treasury. On the level of appearances, the large donations would suggest that the rich deserve more while in reality it is the poor widow who gave all she had.

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In today’s Gospel Jesus is asked by a scribe, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answers his question directly. Jesus talked about loving God exclusively, with all your heart, mind and all your strength. Jesus did not leave anything out. Jesus does not stop there but teaches that we are to love our neighbor as our selves. Jesus would later go on to define his understanding of who is a neighbor in the parable of the Good Samaritan. It is not impossible to love people we admire or who love us or are similar to us. It is hard if not impossible to love those who have hurt us or have broken our trust. We must make a conscious choice to live by our own values rather than reacting to the behavior of others.

The Gospel really makes it clear that Jesus sees that loving God and loving others are intertwined. We cannot say that we love God and at the same time hate part of his creation. I would like to suggest six things that might help you become more loving.

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Bartimaeus was blind and so had to resort to begging to feed himself. As a beggar he had to compete with other beggars in order to survive. His life was undoubtedly harsh. We do not know if he had any support from his family.

Probably, he learned to be pushy to get what he needed. We can see his assertiveness in the Gospel reading. He is not going to be stopped by a bunch of people who didn’t like him, yelling and creating a scene.

Today’s healing addresses physical blindness. Metaphorically today’s healing also speaks to us about spiritual blindness. We can see it in the Pharisees. They were spiritually blind; unable to recognize the Messiah even as He stood before them in their midst. Often truth is too anxiety evoking so the person unconsciously chooses not to deal with it. Have you ever had the experience of getting an insight into a situation and realizing the answer was in front of you all the time?

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Jesus points out that following him is not going to be easy and there are no special concessions. Jesus is teaching his disciples and ultimately his followers about what following him is all about. This was an issue for the early Christians who were experiencing the persecutions who wondered why God allowed these terrible things to happen to His people. The Scriptural passage from Mark 4:35-41, Matthew 8:23-27, and Luke 8:22-25 which describes the disciple in a boat during the storm. The disciples in desperation, wake Jesus up and say to him “Do you not care”. According to scholars the early persecuted Christians struggled to understand why God appeared to have abandoned them during their time of need.

God does not always calm the storms in our lives. I wish I knew why. I do know that our faith can be a source of resilience and personal growth in the face of tragedy. There has been significant research on spirituality and religious belief that I would like to discuss with you.

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Today’s Gospel from Mark describe a man asking what must I do to inherit eternal life? I want to draw your attention to the question. I am struck by the fact that the man is focused solely on his own needs. While there is nothing wrong with that the question it does say much about his level of faith development. It is very self-focused. Jesus asks the expected questions, around how he has lived his faith in the past. Jesus realizes that his possessions have impacted the man’s ability to spiritually grow.

It is clear that Jesus encourages his followers to prioritize spiritual wealth over material possessions. The issue of impact of how compatible is spirituality and being wealthy has been around since the beginning of Christianity. As a priest I have often heard the expression that Christians need to solidarity with the poor. I never felt comfortable with that for several reasons.

When I was attending a conference, the presenter suggested that rather than attempting solidarity we should be using our wealth to help lift the poor out of poverty. This makes so much more sense to me.

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Many Christian denominations have interpreted this Scripture passage differently, but I want to draw your attention to the comment Jesus made, and I quote: “What God has joined together, no human being must separate.” This is a very important line. We assume that when someone has a wedding in a Church witnessed before a priest or minister that they are married.

I’ve made it clear to couples that they could be married in a Basilica, their officiant could be a bishop but if their consent is not there they are not married before God. Often people have to grow into their ability to give their consent to their marriage.

Today’s Gospel speaks about family issues and values. Families play an important part in our spiritual and faith development. Jesus teaches us that marriage is more than just a contract between a couple but a blessed union, something much bigger than ourselves.

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Being passionate about one’s faith is not being fanatical. Being passionate about one’s faith is being inspired, actively seeking deeper understanding and being committed to living the values in our faith life. The problem is that anyone’s faith can become complacent, left unchallenged our faith may ultimately becomes stale. In Matthew 5:13 Jesus states, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot”.
Passion in our faith requires trust in God. I wonder if people worry that if they become more spiritual or faith-based God will ask them to do something they do not want to do. There may be some truth to that. If we open our eyes more, we may see more injustices in the world, if we open our ears to listen, we might hear the harmful and disrespectful messages which confront us or we may become more attuned to the cries of the poor.