From the Sunday Note, with additional thoughts:
As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,
Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,
sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say,
“Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.”
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
But he kept calling out all the more,
“Son of David, have pity on me.”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called the blind man, saying to him,
“Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.”
Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.”
Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way.
Sunday’s Gospel, Mark 10:46-52
Matthew, Luke, John, and Mark did not write what we would call “biographies” today. For instance, where John indicates Jesus’ public ministry took place over a (reasonable) 2 ½ – 3 years, the other three arrange their accounts more succinctly to follow a single year. As with modern biographies, however, all four are striving to give an accurate account of the man’s life and his teachings. After all, they are inviting commitment to Christ, a commitment with huge implications for anyone who chooses to follow him, including the risk of persecution and death.
Today we consider the particular way Mark underlines a key element in his account.
In Mark, after some spectacular miracles of healing, of power over radical evil in spirits, and of command of nature, Jesus begins to prepare his disciples for the shocking mystery of the Cross he knows he is headed towards. Mark shows this deeper preparation as taking place between Christ’s healing of two blind men. The first, in Mark 8:22-26, is passively brought to Jesus by friends, taken aside privately, and healed gradually. Immediately after this Peter accurately identifies Jesus as the Messiah, the Savior-to-come, and Jesus begins to teach them that the Messiah must be rejected and die at the hands of his own people. A “hard saying” the disciples do not want to hear and cannot understand. Jesus uncompromisingly insists on it three different times as they continue their journey. Mark concludes this section with the healing of another blind man but shows us a quite different case.
Bartimaeus, blind (and therefore one who must ask for his bread to be provided every day) is begging at the place where pilgrims to Jerusalem for the great feasts would be leaving Jericho on the last leg of their journey. He is not taken before Jesus by friends, but loudly calls out to him on his own. Nor does he let the crowd’s rebukes shut him up. He is the first person to call out for help to the Lord by calling him by his name, “Jesus”. He is also, in Mark, the first person to call him “son of David” the Messianic title tied to kingship (son of King David). This claim could be perceived as a political threat and was manipulated as such in the effort to kill Jesus.
Instead of taking him aside as had happened with the first blind man, Jesus publicly invites Bartimaeus to come stand before him and ask for what he wants. Bartimaeus hears this call, casts his beggar’s cloak aside, and approaches Jesus himself. He acknowledges Jesus as his “Master,” and tells him he wants to see. As to Jesus’ identity and a willingness to publicly declare it, Bartimaeus has more insight, more faith, than even the Twelve have mustered so far. Jesus is happy to honor his request and cures his blindness. The time to reveal his Messiahship more publicly has come.
Jesus tells Bartimaeus to “go your way.” Mark notes that Bartimaeus immediately “followed him on the way.” For Bartimaeus realized that Jesus’ way was going to be the way, too, whatever it turned out to be. “The way” up to Jerusalem; “the way” of the Cross with the shock of Jesus’ death; “the way” of the empty tomb and the Resurrection. A previously blind man, now learning to see with his eyes wide open.
It is striking that Bartimaeus, alone, is named for us among all those people Jesus cures in Mark’s recounting. Scholars suggest this indicates he was well-known in the early Church, which was for a while called “the Way.” (Acts 9:2 and others)
For further reflection:
Look back at these lines:
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
But he kept calling out all the more
This is how our world today so often reacts to appeals for God’s help: “Don’t be foolish–there is no help from “god” (because modern people know there is no such thing). You are just making a spectacle of yourself.”
In Bartimaeus, however, the resistance and put-downs of the world do not generate discouragement but strengthen his determination to continue! He is (without knowing it explicitly) following Jesus’ call to “pray always and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1).
We must remember that Jesus is working to heal everyone’s sight: that of the blind man, but also the “sight” of those in the crowd, who tried to shut the blind man up. We tend to have a narrow concern for ourselves and those closest to us when we pray, but Jesus keeps everyone in mind when he decides how and when to respond to our prayers. Because Bartimaeus perseveres in prayer, and nay-sayers are entangled in trying to get him to stop, they will receive the blessing of seeing a clear example of Jesus’ power to heal.
Mark does not tell us how any of them reacted, but perhaps the miracle happening right in front of their noses helped lead one or more to acknowledge Christ as the Light that enlightens all creation.
After reflection on the considerations above: This miracle of Bartimaeus takes place within each of us. We want to call out to Jesus to help us with our blindness to the unique gifts God creates in us. Calling out to Jesus in our prayer must overcome our doubts, our embarrassment, efforts to hide our weakness, even our gifts and fear that God will not hear us and answer. All this internal conflict is expressed by the people surrounding Bartimaeus in this story. Jesus tells us to “stand up” to whatever within us will deter us from following “the way” and using the gift we are today for others, especially the most needy.
Thanks, Annie. So much of the chatter in our heads is negative, full of discouragement. With Bartimaeus, our first response should be to call on the Lord with even more determination!