Fighting for what's important

Mk 10:46-52
         Fighting for what's important

         As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,

Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,

sat by the roadside begging.

On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,

he began to cry out and say,

"Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."

And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.

But he kept calling out all the more,

"Son of David, have pity on me."

Jesus stopped and said, "Call him."

So they called the blind man, saying to him,

"Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you."

He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.

Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?"

The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see."

Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you."

Immediately he received his sight

and followed him on the way.

          I've been watching this delightfully funny show called The New Normal, a story about a gay couple starting a family. Between the writing, the characters, the sexual tension, the ability to put forth both sides of an issue, I am just loving it. 

          The last episode I watched involved spirituality. Again, delightfully funny. But here's the nugget that I got this week that reminds me of this Gospel reading. One of the men in this couple is what we would call a lapsed Catholic. He returns to the local Catholic church which gives him comfort. In so doing he meets the local parish Priest. This is almost always the best place to start as the local guys are the guys in the trenches, living the faith. The likelihood of getting some warm fuzzy feeling or help from the local Catholic newspaper or media sound byte would be nil. This Priest is warm, welcoming, perhaps a bit challenging to our gay protagonist but the Priest has a series of lines that ring so very true.

            The gay community (and indeed all of humanity?) have issues of one sort or another. Here I am speaking of issues like, civil rights, world hunger, freedom. The Priest notes that the gay community is incredibly vocal and well organized in seeking their rights, in conveying that we are just like everyone else that wants to live a happy, fulfilled ife. Again, isn't this true of everyone? Just , perhaps a bit more so for those of us that have been marginalized.

          Here's the clincher for me - why do we not put as much energy into our faith? Why do we abandon our faith just because the act of loving as Jesus taught us, the faith that we find great comfort in has been highjacked by some farty old men in red hats? Why give up on our faith so easily?

       Why are we not like Bartimaeus the blind man who continues to seek out a personal one to one meeting with Jesus even when he is rebuked by the crowds?

        At a time when whole hordes of people are abandoning their faith over one misguided issue of the church or another, why should we simply give up? It is our faith and the faith of our fathers. It is not our adherence to some funky laws or rules that these old men have created and claim it's authenticity on specious translations, circular logic and 'tradition' that makes us holy or gives us self worth. Jesus said that your faith has saved you. Jesus lived to show we are all children of God, all worthy from the getgo and loved equally by our heavenly father.

         If I may paraphrase a line from a great man I have the pleasure and honor of knowing, 

Don't mind the "hats", all they they do is deal in accommodation and happy horse shit".  Fight for your faith.