Thursday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
The story from the Gospel of Mark that we have before us today can seem pretty straight forward. And that is in part due to the fact that it is a familiar story—a story of Jesus healing someone. And so we might be tempted almost to skim this story, thinking that we already know what it’s telling us. Bartimaeus was blind. He called out to Jesus to heal him. Jesus did and tells Bartimaeus that it is his faith that has made him well. Another miraculous healing!
Thankfully, my fabulous husband recognized early on in our relationship that I have a thing for the Bible. I really like reading it. And I really enjoy reading commentaries on the Bible. And so for my birthday one year, he bought me some volumes of a commentary—including a commentary on Mark.
Reading from that commentary today I learned that to understand this story of Jesus healing Bartimaeus it’s really important to pay attention to the details that we are given about who Bartimaeus is and what his story is. He is disabled by blindness. He wasn’t always blind—the text says that he “regained his sight.” So, something happened in the course of his life to make him blind. What an extraordinary and debilitating loss for a human being, especially in his day. Because he is blind he is not employable. Moreover, while we learn the name of his father (Timaeus), his father makes no appearance in the story. He is absent, and we don’t know why. Without family or the ability to work he is obliged to beg. If people feel sympathy for him he eats. If they do not, he goes hungry. And we have no idea if he has a dwelling in which he can lay his head. Perhaps he is homeless. He has a coat to protect from the elements, but that’s it. He is, to put it simply, incredibly vulnerable. What an exhausting and terrifying way to live.
But he has heard of Jesus. We don’t know exactly what he’s heard, but he calls to “Jesus, Son of David.” And he pleads with Jesus to have mercy on him. Importantly, Jesus is with his disciples and a large crowd. And Bartimaeus, we are told, is sitting by the road. In other words, there is a whole lot going on in this scene. If Bartimaeus is sitting by the road as a huge crowd passes by on its way to Jericho, chances are that no one is paying attention to him. He’s invisible. But he cried out. And when he did, Jesus “stood still.” Bartimaeus’ cry arrested Jesus. And then Jesus told his disciples to “bring him here.” Can you imagine this scene—a crowd gathered around Jesus is making its way to Jericho. And hearing the cry of a blind man stops Jesus. And, incredibly, Jesus asks him—what do you want me to do for you? Jesus invites this incredibly vulnerable and largely invisible (to the society of his time) man to tell Jesus what he wants.
Bartimaeus’ reply is simple—I want to see again. Jesus recognizes this man’s faith. Jesus sees that this man not only believes but is determined to gain Jesus’ attention despite the crowd’s castigation that he be silent. He insisted. Jesus rewards this man for a faith that will endure strong disapproval on behalf of healing. And Jesus says “’Go; your faith has made you well.’”
I think that we can learn three things from this story that would be easy to miss. The first is that faith is not mere belief and involves action. Like Bartimaeus, there are times when we have to put ourselves out there. People may not like it. They may even try to silence us. But sometimes we have to be loud. Second, Jesus wasn’t into the crowds. He wasn’t looking to be famous. He wanted to serve the least among us. He stopped for the blind man at the side of the road. The beggar. When have we been hailed by “the beggar”? How did we respond? Did we offer healing? Finally, the beggar really took a chance with Jesus. Of course, he didn’t know if Jesus would heal him when he called out to Jesus. He also didn’t know what his life would be like if he were healed. No longer blind, what would he do? It’s not as though a job was just waiting for him. He would have to remake his life. How would that go? Too often, I think, Christians think faith is about certainty. About having the Truth. More often than not, I think, it’s about stepping out, taking a chance, following Jesus and then seeing in retrospect the path we’ve been on.
- Susan Trollinger