Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Consider this statement - “No involvement , No Commitment.” It was made by Stephen Covey, an educator in organizational leadership in the 1990s. As a newly ordained priest in the late 1990s, I was looking for ways to live out my priesthood effectively. Someone put Stephen Covey’s book, The Seven Habit of Highly Effective People in my hands. I found him very effective. He said, “Without involvement, there is no commitment. Mark it down, asterisk it, circle it, underline it. No involvement, no commitment.”
Covey was right. Priesthood requires both involvement and commitment. What would my priesthood look like it I was not committed? What would the celebration of this Eucharist look like if I was not involved? Whether it is marriage, friendship, work, sports, or the following of Christ, there is no involvement without commitment and there is no commitment without involvement. “Mark it down, asterisk it, circle it, underline it. No involvement, no commitment.”
The story of the Bartimaeus - the blind man in today’s Gospel reading- on the periphery looks like a simple healing miracle. However, Mark has deeper messages embedded within the story. On the one hand, by having the blind man address Jesus as. “Jesus, Son of David,” Mark was identifying Jesus as the Messiah. In the Old Testament, “Son of David” is a messianic title. On the other hand, Bartimaeus’ story is a story of involvement and commitment – a story of Christian discipleship.
I would like to offer three insights and three questions.
Are you Saved?
Mark includes many stories in his gospel that make the reader understand what following Jesus means. He provides contrasting stories to make his point. For example, he intentionally narrates the story of the rich man (gospel reading from two weeks back) with the story of the blind Bartimaeus. The rich man had many possessions whereas Bartimaeus was a blind beggar. The rich man sought eternal life whereas Bartimaeus initially merely wanted to see. But the main point that Mark makes is that these two men followed two different paths when it came to following Jesus. The rich man had set a limit how far he was willing to go to attain eternal life. When Jesus asked him to discard his possessions and follow him, his face fell and he went away sad. The rich had come so close to salvation and yet he went away so far. Bartimaeus, on the other hand, let go of his only possession, his cloak, leapt up and followed Jesus “on the way.” In the final analysis it was Bartimaeus to whom Jesus said, “Your faith has saved you.” He not only had his sight back, but Jesus and salvation.
Question: Do I set limits for Jesus in my life?
Do I Have a Name?
Mark does not easily name the people in the stories that he tells. There was yet another blind man healed in this section of Mark’s gospel (Mk 8:22-29), whose name we do not know. Neither do we know the name of the rich man who walked away. In this context, it is strange that Mark tells us the name of blind beggar in today’s gospel. His name is Bartimaeus. Why does Mark name him? To answer the question, we must go back to Mk 8:29-32, where Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” Jesus did not ask this question because he was having an identity crisis, but rather, the disciples’ answer would give the disciples their identity. In other words, when somebody chooses to follow Jesus in a serious way, their identity emerges not from who they are but who Jesus is for them. Mark gives Bartimaeus a name because by his giving up everything and following Jesus, he had not only found sight and salvation, but he has found himself in and with Christ. For Mark, this is the meaning of salvation.
Question: If Mark was writing your story, would he give you a name?
Involvement is Commitment, Commitment is Involvement
Finally, we come to the point where we understand the purpose of Mark writing his gospel. He wants to bring the readers to understand, first, who Jesus is; second, who they are; third, what it means to follow Jesus, and finally, to make a committed decision about it. At the end of the gospel of Mark, the readers cannot simply keep the story of Jesus down and go about life. They are compelled to either throw their weight behind Jesus or to walk away from him. When it comes to Mark, there no sitting on the fence. Either you get involved because you are committed and you get committed because you are involved, or you must walk away. Through the Bartimaeus story Mark shows us what it means to be committed and involved. Mark in inviting us to seek to follow Christ by putting no limits, no obstacles, but rather, by throwing our entire weight behind him.
Question: “Without involvement, there is no commitment. Mark it down, asterisk it, circle it, underline it.” What does this mean for your Christian discipleship?
The Jesus who healed Bartimaeus will be on the altar in a few moments. The Jesus whom Bartimaeus followed without limits will be on the altar in a few moments. Now it is our turn.
- Fr. Satish Joseph