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Now
as Jesus approached Jericho a blind man was sitting by the roadside
begging, and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening.
They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” He
shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” The
people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he
kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on
me!” Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to
him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me
to do for you?” He replied, “Lord, please let me
see.” Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has
saved you.” He immediately received his sight and followed
him, giving glory to God. When they saw this, all the people gave
praise to God.
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"I
never knew that everything was falling through, that everyone I knew
was waiting on a cue to turn and run when all I needed was the
truth. But that’s how it’s got to be: it’s
coming down to nothing more than apathy, I’d rather run the other
way than stay and see the smoke, and who’s still standing when it
clears. Everyone knows I’m in over my head, with eight
seconds left in overtime, she’s on your mind. Let’s
rearrange, I wish you were a stranger I could disengage, say that we
agree and then never change, soften a bit until we all just get
along."
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There
are many things that we can "get into" too much: moving too
quickly into a love relationship which is the situation of The
Fray’s song, "Over My Head (Cable Car)"; or we can
get too involved in someone else’s life; or we put ourselves into
a situation that we cannot get out of easily; or we become overwhelmed
with too many things going on in our lives. What do we do in
those cases? The song merely states the problem and does not give
an answer.
In fact, there are many answers, but one of them probably makes more sense than any other. The blind beggar of Luke’s Gospel gives it to us: you cry out to someone you trust. He trusted this Jesus that he had heard about. He reasoned that Jesus would listen to him, and give him some help. It is interesting that he does not shout to be healed; all he asks for is "pity." Jesus, as usual with sincere people, gave him the help he needed. We should talk to someone we trust when we are in "over our heads." The person of faith will turn to sincere prayer to God through Jesus, as the blind beggar did; but our prayer is not only for the talking that should take place; we should talk to a best friend, to a parent, a religious minister, to someone we trust completely. Being in "over our heads" or being overwhelmed with a problem is a situation that most people experience in their lives in one form or another, and talking it out with someone that we trust will always be a good solution. |
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THOUGHT
What are the areas of our lives in which we
get in "over our heads"?
PRAYER Good
and gracious God, because we are human beings, we get ourselves into
situations that are too much for us, situations in which
we need help. Give us the grace to turn to you at those times,
and the help to choose people in the world to talk to. Be with us,
we pray.
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©2007
Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America |
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