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Shout for joy?
There is a wave of anxiety in the air as we approach the election and despite our best efforts joy is elusive.
If your candidate wins you will heave a sigh of relief, spend time celebrating and, given you are reading this, will most likely offer a prayer of thanksgiving.
On the other hand, if your candidate loses there will be a sense of grief, anger and panic as thoughts of what comes next flood your mind.
In today’s first reading there is a call to joy: “Shout with joy…proclaim your praise…”. The passage is full of hope and promise written with God as the speaker and throughout offers examples of God’s abundant and never-ending care including care for the “blind and the lame,” and “the mothers and those with child.” There is a sense of comfort: “I will console them and guide them…so none will stumble”.
What does this have to do with the collective anxiety that is swirling around us? It reminds us that regardless of the outcome of the upcoming election God will be beckoning and guiding us to the place we need to be for the good of all God's people. This is a constant, it does not change. There is joy in this realization. It can be a starting point for things not imagined. The election is not the end of the road and can be a dramatic new beginning.
In the gospel today, we read that Bartimaeus, a poor blind man, reached out to Jesus. He screamed to be heard above the crowd, and the crowd did their best to silence him. He ignored them and yelled even louder ( I imagine) to be heard by Jesus, and he prevailed. Jesus took notice of him and, because of his faith, restored his sight.
Initially the crowd wanted Bartimaeus to stay in the shadows and be quiet. They didn’t want him to upset things. However, something was burning inside of him and he had to attract the attention of Jesus. It took courage for him to keep trying. The last line of the passage tells us that after Jesus restored sight to Bartimaeus he followed Jesus, a change from his life as a poor blind man living on the streets.
Bartimaeus might be the role model we need right now. He did not give up. He bucked the crowd trying to shut him up. He let his faith lead him.
Whatever the outcome of our national election, faith and the courage to act on that faith will still shape how we care for each other and the immigrant, the hungry child, or the woman or man in need of health care.
Leadership and leadership styles may change but the call to love one another will not change and in fact may be in sharper focus than ever before. Yes, it is difficult right now to feel the joy that Jerimiah talks about in the first reading but if we can hold on to faith as Bartimaeus did miracles might happen, maybe not as anticipated but still with significance.
Peace,
Anne
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