Thursday in the Eighth Week of Ordinary Time 

Mark 10:46-52

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.

The Lord Jesus healed many people during the three years of his public life.  Most often, those suffering from illness or infirmity came or were brought to him.  When the afflicted could not come to him, he went to them or healed them from a distance.  Here, Jesus seems to simply walk by a blind man as though he is not aware of him.  Of course, as he was making his way to Jerusalem, he was surrounded by his disciples and, on this occasion, at least, by a large crowd.  He is also traveling on the busy road between Jericho and Jerusalem.  No one would have expected Jesus to see the blind beggar on the side of the road.  Jesus, though, knows well that he is there.  He walks by purposely in order to elicit the cry for help from the beggar.  Jesus’s will is to heal, but only those who ask — pray — for this.  When the Lord calls for him, the crowd tells him to go to Jesus, but they do not seem to do anything practical to help; he is an obviously blind man, but they do not help him up or lead him to the Lord.  He springs up on his own, however, and makes his own way.  

Jesus asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” The Lord knows well what the man wants so desperately.  What the Lord wants is for the man to speak for himself.  In this way, he causes him to be involved in his own healing.  The Lord’s question also is meant to elicit an act of faith from the man.  First, Bartimaeus cried out for help, which he could have asked from anyone.  Now, he is to ask the Lord to grant him sight, professing belief that the Lord can indeed do this.  “Master, I want to see.”  The prayer is direct and without ornament.  There is no attempt to gain Jesus’s sympathy, no flattery, no rhetorical flourishes, nor does he make any outlandish promises in exchange for his healing.  His prayer is straight from the heart.  “Go your way; your faith has saved you.”  His simple faith that Jesus possessed the power to heal him is enough.  Now, the man did not heal himself because he believed; rather, Jesus healed him to confirm his faith.

Jesus says to the man, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.”  St. Mark tells us that after receiving his sight, the man followed Jesus.  The way of Jesus had become his way.  Faith led him to the Lord through the crowd, and he continued to follow him.  Bartimaeus used the gift he received from the Lord in order to follow the Lord, which ought to make us wonder how we use the gifts the Lord gives us.

St. Mark must have known the man at some point, because he is the only Evangelist of the three who render this account and who gives the man’s name.  Since Mark was a later follower, he must have known Bartimaeus as a member of the early Church.

Rev Walter smith.  2028414732

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