"Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you, All things are passing away: God never changes. Patience obtains all things Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices." - Prayer of St. Theresa of Avila
Mark 8-10 is a teaching about discipleship bracketed by the healings of two blind men, that last of whom, Bartimaeus follows Jesus on the way to Jerusalem. Surrounded by enemies who would kill him, Jesus leads his disciples through a world where God is marginalized.
For the 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time the Lord instructs the disciples on servant leadership rooted in his example of leadership on the cross. He came to give his life for many as prophesied in Isaiah 53 - "Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days; through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear."
When he brought her to the man, the man said: "This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called 'woman, ' for out of 'her man’ this one has been taken. That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh." Gn 2:18-24