“Jesus doesn’t work magic; He works miracles.” Tonight, Sr. Miriam asked each of us to look at our own lives and ask ourselves what it is that we want of Jesus.
Sister told the story of the blind man Bartimaeus who laid all that he had on the line in order to call out to Jesus (Mark 10:47-52). He called to Jesus in a way that no one had before. Bartimaeus called Him the Messiah and thus acknowledged that He was the Son of God. One of the promises associated with the Messiah was that the eyes of the blind would be opened (cf. Isaiah 35:5).
After Jesus calls Bartimaeus, the crowds encourage Bartimaeus to rise and go to Jesus. To do so required Bartimaeus to take a risk, to leave everything he owned behind to approach Jesus. Sr. Miriam encouraged everyone tonight to be willing to take that same risk and make ourselves vulnerable before Jesus.
It is in that moment of Bartimaeus’ utmost vulnerability that Jesus meets him. Jesus reaches out to him with the words and asks him “My beloved one, what do you want me to do for you?” Bartimaeus asked for only one simple thing. He said to Jesus, “I want to see.”
Tonight, we are invited to answer that question. Jesus will approach each of us, and we have the opportunity to reach out to Him in confidence. An image of this is a little girl’s comfort with her father. Sr. Miriam showed us this video where a four year old girl sings with her dad in absolute freedom. In the same way, we are called to sit with Jesus tonight in perfect freedom.
To reach out to Jesus in total freedom, it is impossible to hold anything back. Sr. Miriam asked us tonight, “What is your cloak?” Whatever things we cling on to, Jesus invites us to give it to Him tonight. When we give Him our comfort and our fears, He gives us freedom. Whether we are at home or at Steubenville, that is always Jesus’ invitation: freedom.
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