Thursday of the 8th Week of Ordinary Time
As newborn babies, long for the pure spiritual milk, that with it you may grow, If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Come to him, a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God, precious. You also as living stones are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. In the past, you were not a people, but now are God's people, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
Beloved, I beg you as foreigners and pilgrims to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, Having good behavior among the nations, so in that of which they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good works and glorify God in the day of visitation.
Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before his presence with singing.
Know that the Lord, he is God. It is he who has made us, and we are his. We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, And into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, and bless his name.
For the Lord is good. His loving kindness endures forever, His faithfulness to all generations.
They came to Jericho. As he went out from Jericho with his disciples and a great multitude, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, you son of David, have mercy on me!" Many rebuked him, that he should be quiet, but he cried out much more, "You son of David, have mercy on me!"
Jesus stood still and said, "Call him."
They called the blind man, saying to him, "Cheer up! Get up. He is calling you!"
He, casting away his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?"
The blind man said to him, "Rabboni, that I may see again."
Jesus said to him, "Go your way. Your faith has made you well." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the way.
Bartimaeus does something remarkable when Jesus calls him - he throws off his cloak and springs up. In that culture, a beggar's cloak was everything: protection from weather, a place to collect coins, often the only possession of value. Yet Bartimaeus abandons it without hesitation. The movement here is from clinging to security, even meager security, to radical trust.
Peter's letter echoes this same dynamic. Notice how he describes us as "foreigners and pilgrims" - people traveling light, not weighed down by possessions or status. We're called to be "living stones" in God's spiritual house, which means we're both solid and moveable, grounded yet ready to be repositioned as God builds.
There's a beautiful irony in Bartimaeus receiving his sight only to follow Jesus "on the way" - the very path that leads to Jerusalem and the cross. Physical sight becomes spiritual vision. He sees clearly enough to choose the difficult road of discipleship.
Consider how this plays out in our daily choices. What cloaks do we clutch - the need to be right, comfortable routines, familiar resentments? Sometimes God's invitation requires us to cast aside what feels essential but actually limits us. The parent who stops hovering to let a child grow. The employee who speaks truth instead of staying safely quiet. The friend who risks vulnerability instead of maintaining distance.
The psalm reminds us we belong to God - "we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture." This belonging gives us the courage to travel light, to throw off whatever keeps us from responding when Christ calls.
What security blanket might God be asking you to release today? When have you experienced the freedom that comes from letting go of something you thought you needed?