Our Response to Christ’s Call: From Baptism to Mission

This Sunday’s Gospel reading is one of my favorites from the Gospel of Saint Mark. It is about a blind man named Bartimaeus. We are told that he called out to Jesus, addressing him as “son of David.” This indicates that he already believed Jesus to be the Messiah. He didn’t simply cry out words of faith but acted on his faith as well. We are told that when he got up and went toward Jesus, he tossed aside his cloak. For a blind man to toss aside his cloak was an act of faith. If Jesus doesn’t restore his sight, how will he see to retrieve his cloak? This important garment would be gone. It not only kept him warm, especially during a cold night, but he would have also had it on the ground in front of him as he sat begging. People would have thrown their coins on the cloak for him to retrieve. If the coins were simply thrown on the ground, they would have been difficult for Bartimaeus to find. The cloak he threw aside was his livelihood. 

We conclude our four-part series on baptism this weekend, reflecting on the idea of response. Father John Riccardo, in his book Rescued: The Unexpected and Extraordinary News of the Gospel, writes that our personal response to Jesus includes worship, praise and thanksgiving, and surrender. He further adds that our “personal response is also more expansive: he’s sending us out on mission.” Ultimately our mission is to help God get His world back. It involves ensuring people that “every human ill, the solution to every human problem” is Christ. But we begin going out on mission among our own sphere of influence, which includes our family, friends, and co-workers. It includes a spouse if we are married; if we have children – our children, parents, siblings, and the adults of the kids on our own kids sports’ teams. 

To these people, we begin with our story. Why was I baptized? Where and when was I baptized? Why did we have our children baptized? Why was I willing to serve as a Godparent? The answers to these questions are our story. It is a convincing story. It may be all that needs to be said to bring someone to greater faith and even to baptism themselves. 

We don’t need to know everything there is about our faith to be on mission. We do need to know the one who sends out on mission though. That means talking to Him. We usually call this prayer. But without talking and listening to someone, anyone, we will never get to know them – God included. The early disciples of Jesus were sent out with no traveling bag, walking stick, food, or extra clothing. Similarly, we don’t need a bag full of knowledge, wisdom, or memorized Bible verses to go out on mission. We just need to know the one who sends us. 

We are introduced to the one who sends us through Baptism. We grow in knowing Him through the reception of additional Sacraments. Our relationship with Him is further solidified by attending Mass as often as we are able. We come to know Him as friend through prayer. 

In Baptism we were created to be in love with Him. By sin that relationship was broken, and He rescued us. We respond with gratitude to the life He gave us and the life renewed by rescuing us, by accepting the call to be His hands, feet, ears, and voice. We do for others what He did for us. 

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