A blind
man named Bartimaeus cries out to Jesus from the side of the road: “Jesus, Son
of David, have pity on me!” The blind
man is rebuked for calling out to Jesus, but he does not refrain from his
requests. Jesus finally responds,
telling the blind man that his faith has saved him. Bartimaeus is able to see and to continue on
his way.
Faith can change our lives. In fact,
through faith, the blind can see. Today,
we celebrate a saint who was burned at the stake at the age of 19 for being a
heretic in the early 15th century.
Imagine that – burned to death after being condemned by a court of the
Church on charges of witchcraft and heresy, and then many centuries later,
being celebrated as a very popular saint in the same Church. Joan of Arc died in 1431 and was canonized
many centuries later in the year 1920. The
faith of the people who saw a witness of holiness in her kept her memory
alive.
We recognize the faith of the saints
and the way they lived out the Gospel in the reality of their lives. Our imagination is captured by St Joan of Arc
- a young French girl who leads the French troops to victory over their enemy
the English as directed by the voices and instructions she hears from the voice
of God. We think of the many holy men
and women who are condemned and vilified in their own day only to be recognized
for their prophetic voices later long after they’ve died.
May we listen to the voice of faith
calling out to us in our own lives, no matter how challenging and radical that
message may be.
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