Readings: Jer 31:7-9; Psa 126; Hebs 5:1-6; Mark 10:46-52
Theme: Cry Persistently to Christ.
- The Sitting Blindman
The gospel reading which centers on the blind Bartimaeus, is the last episode we see in the gospel of Mark before Jesus enters Jerusalem. At this point, Jesus is on a move with Jerusalem, the city of his passion, as his destination (cf Mk 11:1-11).
The reading began by saying that Jesus was leaving the city of Jericho, and he was accompanied by his disciples and a great crowd. Hence, there was a single movement with Jesus, heading to Jerusalem.
But in this moving of the disciples and a large crowd behind Jesus, was this one man who was not moving but rather ‘sitting’ by the side of the road (Mk 10:46).
In a situation whereby everyone was moving on the road, Bartimaeus was sitting by the side of the road. But this was not because he did not want to move with Jesus but because he could not move since he was blind.
Jesus invites everyone to follow him ‘en te hodo’ (on the way) but Bartimaeus’ blindness hindered him from moving and limited him to sitting ‘para ten hodon’ (by the side of the road).
Dearest in Christ, as Christians, Christ calls us and wishes that everyday of our lives, we continue to move with him ‘on the way’. But certain predicaments come into our lives and cripple us, making it difficult, and sometimes impossible for us to walk with Jesus.
But the question is, do we always realize that we are no longer moving with Jesus ‘on his way’ to Jerusalem? What do we do when we are hindered by sins and/or difficulties of life from moving with Jesus ‘on his way’?
- ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me’
Bartimaeus was able to realize that he was no longer moving because he had become blind, but most importantly, he was able to realize and discovered the presence of Jesus who was passing by, and he began to cry out ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.’
The Scripture did not say that Bartimaeus ‘cried’ which would have suggested a one-time act, rather it says that he began to cry out, that is to say, he repeatedly kept on calling on Jesus, seeking for his attention.
But the most interesting question is ‘when Jesus was passing by, did he not see Bartimaeus who could not join him on his way because of his blindness? If Jesus saw him, why did he not heal him at once?
The answer is simple: Jesus wanted Bartimaeus to realize his condition, to realize that he needed help, and then to make the request.
Dearest in Christ, Jesus sees us and our predicaments, but sometimes he leaves us, and even passes us by because he wants us to be the ones to make our requests known to him.
And when we do that, praying to him to have mercy on us, we must imitate Bartimaeus who did not just cry once and gave up, but who continued to cry “have mercy on me, Son of David”.
- From a Discouraging Crowd to an Encouraging Friends
Immediately Bartimaeus heard ‘it was Jesus who was passing by’ he began to shout. But his shouting and calling on Jesus to come to his help, in the first instance, did not get any response or attention from Jesus.
The people who responded to him were those who were moving with Jesus. Instead of helping the blindman to call on Jesus, the people began to attack Bartimaeus and to force him to keep quiet.
However, the more the people tried to stop Bartimaeus from getting his prayer answered, the more he was persistent in praying and calling on the only one who could heal him: Jesus.
The more they tried to discourage him from reaching Jesus, the more he raised his voice in prayer: Son of David, have pity on me!
Jesus was listening to both Bartimaeus and the people trying to stop him. But he gave Bartimaeus that opportunity to overcome the obstacles standing between him and Jesus. Of course, Bartimaeus remained resilient and persistent.
At this point, Jesus turned and said ‘Call him’. Jesus did not go to Bartimaeus but turned to the same people who were trying to stop Bartimaeus, and gave them command to call Bartimaeus for him.
With this approach, Jesus teaches the people that they are not to hinder others from reaching him, but rather, they are expected to call people and bring them to Jesus; they are not to lock people up in their predicament, scolding them not to make their voices known, rather they are to encourage them and even help them in praying and in presenting their predicaments to Jesus.
Jesus turned the discouraging crowd into encouraging friends but that was only because Bartimaeus stood his ground and overcame the discouraging crowd.
Dearest in Christ, in so many ways, we become obstacles to others’ progress; in so many ways, we keep on discouraging people who want to come to Jesus either by the way we speak or through our actions.
Jesus reminds us today that he expects us not to block people from coming to him or discourage them from coming to Jesus, but rather to use supporting words and actions and encourage them to come to Jesus who is calling all of us, even in our predicaments.
- ‘Master, Let me see again’
Finally, Bartimaeus came to Jesus. Then Jesus asked him, ‘what do you want me to do for you?’ Jesus knew Bartimaeus’ predicament already, but he wanted him to express his wish in clear terms.
All this while, Bartimaeus had only been shouting ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.’ This expression is a general way to call attention of Jesus.
But Jesus now wanted to know what actually Bartimaeus wanted from him. Bartimaeus remained persistent not only in calling Jesus but also in what he wanted from Jesus: to see.
His interest was not that Jesus should solve his material needs, rather he wanted to see.
Dearest in Christ, many of us, if not all of us are blind. We need to come to Jesus and beg him to remove our blindness so that we can see.
- ‘And immediately his sight was restored, he began to follow Jesus on the road’
At the beginning of this episode, blind Bartimaeus was ‘sitting by the road’. He could not move with Jesus because he could not see.
But after his sight was restored, he abandoned everything and began to follow Jesus ‘on the road.’ This shows that blindness was what was hindering Bartimaeus from following Jesus.
Dearest in Christ, the story of Bartimaeus shows that although we, the disciples of Christ, are invited to follow him ‘en to hodo’ (on the way), some predicaments in life may hinder us from following Jesus.
But such hinderances can be removed by Jesus when we identify them, recognize the presence of Jesus, believe that Jesus is capable of removing the predicaments, and then faithfully and persistently call on him for help like Bartimaeus.
Hence, the story of Bartimaeus is presented as an encouragement to the disciples of Christ who are experiencing one predicament or the other in their desire to follow Christ.
Rev. Fr. Henry Nnamah
Catholic Diocese of Aguleri