WITNESS TO JESUS | THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Here is the prepared text of the homily delivered on Oct. 26 at St. Elizabeth Church, Aiea, with Missionary Families of Christ, and on Oct. 27 at St. Anthony Church, Wailuku, marking the 175th anniversary of St. Anthony School.
As you know, the Hawaiian word for “house” is “hale,” and the Hawaiian word for “prayer” is “pule.” Therefore, “hale pule” means “house of prayer,” or “church.” An evangelical minister, who is a friend of mine, is promoting a very good movement called “Every hale a hale pule” (“Every house a house of prayer”). It is an attempt to bring the family together in regular prayer, not only for its own strengthening, but as a service to the wider community as well.
This is a great vision, since it can open the eyes of family members to each other. They may not be physically blind, but sometimes blindness is caused by too much time focusing on a computer screen and not enough on another person; or some hurt that occurred in the family may cause the eyes to glaze over, so that people cease to really see one another. Or sheer busyness can blind us to one another in the family.
The fact that Jesus can open the eyes of the blind is not only something that happened long ago, but something he can do right now, if we have the faith that opens us to his healing grace. But Jesus does not force anyone to be healed. He offers his healing, but it is our faith that activates his healing power, just as it did for Bartimaeus in today’s Gospel.
In order to be healed, Bartimaeus had a dialogue with Jesus. That is what prayer is, dialoguing with the Lord. We call out to him, we praise him as Bartimaeus did (Son of David!), and we are bold in asking what we need. Then the Lord can open our eyes.
We can be blind to the suffering of someone very close to us if we simply speed by that person with a hollow “How are you?” Or we can open our hearts to dialogue with that person and can actually be an agent of healing, simply by caring enough to pray for the person.
We can be blind to our own sins, and they consume us. But if we open our hearts in prayer and ask the Lord to scrutinize us, our eyes can be open to our sins, and we can then work to eliminate them. If we do not see them, they will normally only become worse.
As we celebrate families today, we recall how important family prayer is. It can open the eyes of a couple who are always bickering about petty things to see the beauty of each other and be more grateful. Prayer can open the eyes of parents toward their children, either to see their goodness and praise them for it; or to see that they may need some loving correction and have the courage to offer it to them.
There are times, of course, when we would prefer to remain blind, because if we say we cannot see, we are not obligated to take action toward another person’s sufferings. If we simply drive by the homeless, we will never be able to help them live with the dignity they deserve. If we are blind to domestic violence when we see it in our friends, we will never help them break the cycle of violence. If we see our country is in need of reform but do not see how important our vote and our participation in government is, it is likely that nothing will improve.
Some homes are very accustomed to prayer. For others, it would be a life-changing experience to introduce family prayer into the home, just as receiving sight was a life-changing event for our friend Bartimaeus.
But just as Jesus was anxious to respond to his prayer and grant him sight to see, so Jesus is anxious to heal and strengthen us as well. If we make every heart and every home a hale pule, we will be healed of our various kinds of blindness and will be able to follow the Lord along his way.
