THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (2024)
Readings:
Jeremiah 31:7-9
Psalms 126:1-6
Hebrews 5:1-6
Mark 10:46-52
The evangelist Mark’s gospel is structured in such a way that it is unlikely that the placement of the ‘Jesus tradition’ is accidental. Mark’s gospel is unencumbered, and uninterested, in the details of Jesus’ infancy, making Jesus’ public ministry what is most important, a ministry which inexorably leads to a single trip to Jerusalem, where the Father’s plan will be accomplished. With this in mind, the subject of today’s gospel, the healing of the blind beggar Bartimaeus, is the last healing miracle before Jesus and His tribe enters Jerusalem.
Bartimaeus may be the single most important reason Jesus and His disciples stopped in Jericho, for it was not easy to get to Jerusalem from Jericho, eighteen arduous miles away. Mountainous paths and marauders (like in the Good Samaritan) awaited the travelers in Jericho who wished to reach Jerusalem. While the stop in Jericho might seem peculiar, there was a blind man (not unlike the blind man in the Gospel of John) there who had something important to share, especially important in Jesus’ eyes.
We might describe what Bartimaeus did as “making a scene.” Hearing that it was Jesus who was passing by, “Bartimaeus cried out and said, Jesus, Son of David have pity on me.” Bartimaeus was making such a disturbance, he might never have another chance to be this close to Jesus, that others “rebuked him, telling him to be silent.” He continued making a scene until Jesus stopped, and told His disciples to “call him.” Throwing aside his coat, a symbol of what was old and worn out, he mustered the courage to stand before Jesus, and in what can only be described as a “duh” moment, Jesus asks “What do you want me to do for you?” With expected obviousness Bartimaeus answers, “Master, I want to see.” Jesus told him, “Go on your way; your faith has saved you.” It’s a great story with a happy ending; yet, in Mark’s eyes, there just might be more.
The most that Bartimaeus knew about Jesus was second-hand information, but what he had keenly heard and recognized, and not with his eyes, was that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah, the “Son of David” (a messianic title). Bartimaeus’ faith put the weak faith of others to shame. The Jerusalem experience would be filled with dozens of people who could see very well, but they were unable to see that which was most important. Through His teaching and His works (miracles/healings), Jesus was trying to instruct His part of the world that He was the long awaited one, that He was the Messiah. Bartimaeus is a sign and symbol that the incidentals of sight and sound are not necessities for faith. This particular miracle was meant to strengthen the faith of Bartimaeus. But more importantly, it was meant to strengthen the faith of the disciples, who really could not imagine, in spite of Jesus’ attempts to tell them, what awaited them in Jerusalem.
Like Bartimaeus, may we pray for the sight which truly sees things as God sees them. May we be able to recognize what is truly right and just. May we try to recognize what God’s plan is for us and for the world we live in, and may we cultivate eyes that see beyond the exterior to recognize what is true, and good, and kind, and peaceful, and just, and may our sight empower us to especially work for the good of refugees, displaced people, and all those who stand on the fringe of society.
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