On the Back Porch
Reading, pondering and studying God’s Word is sometimes best done “on the back porch.” Each week we will try to offer something for you and your “back porch time.”
30th Sunday, Year B
What We Celebrate
The gospel is the story of Bartimaeus, a blind man, who cries out to Jesus for pity. Despite the rebuke of the bystanders, Bartimaeus calls out even more vigorously. And in so doing he encounters Jesus who asks, “What do you want me to do for you?”At first glance it might seem that this is another miracle story in which Jesus reaches out to the marginal. It is indeed a miracle story, in fact it is the final healing miracle in the Gospel of Mark. But it is also an account that is part of a mosaic that Mark has been constructing that points back to the last few weeks of Sunday gospels to draw contrasts between Bartimaeus’ response and that of the people and the apostles themselves
As always, a lot going on in the gospel reading. Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and take a moment on the back porch with the Word of God.
Full Text of the Sunday Readings
Detailed Commentary
“Healing the Blind Man” | Václav Mánes | 1832 | National Gallery Prague | PD-US
The Way
In Acts 4 we learn that one of the names that the nascent community who followed Jesus was known by: the Way. It is a simple Greek word hodos, but it echoes not just in the New Testament, but reaches back into the Exodus story whee the Lord laid out the way for the people to leave slavery and reach the Promised Land.