Reflection for Sunday – October 27, 2024

Cathy KampSunday Readings Homilies

Readings: Jeremiah 31: 7-9; Hebrews 5: 1-6; Mark 10: 46-52 
Preacher: Cathy Kamp

When I moved to Rochester from Long Island close to 30 years ago, I was astounded at how common it is here to run into people you know and how friendly people are. In the congested New Your City area, bumping into someone you know is quite unusual. In fact, I rode the Long Island Rail Road for 10 years, often the same train at the same time with the same people without anyone acknowledging each other. In the days when people read paper newspapers, people hid behind the folds of The New York Times or the Wall Street Journal. City commuters can master the art of avoiding eye contact and personal interaction. This might be the antithesis of the Jesus Method of one-on-one encounter.

I have never lost my wonder at how delightful it is in the Rochester area to joyfully encounter people you know in restaurants, while shopping, and, of course, at Church. There are times, though, when like the crowd around Bartimaeus in this Sunday’s Gospel from Mark, you just want to go about your business and get on with it. A trip to Wegmans can be an amazing opportunity for providing pastoral care and evangelization, unless you were planning on a quick in and out. This happened to me recently as I was doing some shopping for an OCIA (Order of Cristian Initiation of Adults) team dinner meeting. After running into a few people I knew, I was ready to put on some blinders and get my shopping done.

Just as I started to pick up the pace, I noticed a woman approaching me in the aisle. I didn’t recognize her, so I thought maybe she wanted help finding something. Then she reached out to touch my arm, while saying my name. She said that I wouldn’t know her but that she regularly attends Mass at St. Joseph’s. She said she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to say, “Thank you for doing a beautiful job.” I asked her name. She introduced herself and then said she didn’t want to keep me and continued on her way.

Helen is her name. Helen was Bartimaeus for me that day. She reminded me that it takes courage and faith and persistence to see Jesus in the ordinary things of everyday life. How quick we are to forget that the only thing that matters is encountering Jesus in each and every person, whether at Church, or the grocery store, or even the Long Island Rail Road!

Is there someone in your day-to-day life who might be calling out in their own way to encounter Jesus? It’s important for us to think about who we are for others who might be seeking Christ. Are we part of the crowd that ignores or pushes aside those who don’t already belong? What would it take to hear Jesus inviting even the outsiders? What would your role be in recognizing the seeds of faith planted in them, and to encourage them to develop a relationship with God?

This time of year always seems especially fruitful in bringing seekers to the next step in becoming Catholic, in the OCIA. People who may have been starting and stopping, dipping a toe in here and there, seem to start planting roots and developing relationships with others in the Church. It is so encouraging, not just for those who also are seeking Christ but for those who are firmly engaged with their faith and the Catholic Church. As catechumens are dismissed from the Mass after the homily to more deeply listen to the Word of God, aren’t we all reminded of our own baptismal call to live in imitation of Jesus every day, to always have our eyes open to the possibility of encounter with one of God’s children?

May we all see and embrace the opportunities to encounter others and express our gratitude to each other. Thank you, Bartimaeus; thank you, Helen.

Cathy Kamp
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