30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 28, 2018

          I remember a woman from one of the nursing homes in my first assignment.  Her name was Barb and she was blind.  I always knew when to start Mass at the nursing home where she lived because she had one of those watches that on the hour would say, “The time is 11:00 o’clock.”  That was my cue.  At the end of every Mass at I would always go around and greet as many of the residents as I could.  Every time I came around to Barb she would take firm hold of my hand and say to me, “Father, pray for me that if it is God’s will I would see again, but most importantly that I would get to heaven.”  And I would always tell her, “Barb, you’ve got your priorities straight.  I think you see better than most.”  I couldn’t help but think of Barb as I looked at the Gospel for this Sunday in which Jesus encounters Bartimaeus.  There’s a lot we can learn from Barb and there’s a lot we can learn from Bartimaeus. 

I never really thought of Barb as being blind.  As I said, I think she saw better than most.  And when I read this story I don’t really think of it as a story about the healing of a blind man.  Rather, I think of it as a story about the healing of many blind people through the faith of the one man in their midst who could really see, Bartimaeus, though he was physically blind. Yes, in the end, the gift of physical sight was given to Bartimaeus, but that’s not nearly as important as the gift of spiritual vision that he already possessed, and which everyone around him seemed to lack.  Just look at how the events unfold and I think you will see my point.

          Jesus is leaving Jericho, and Bartimaeus sits at the side of the road begging.  He hears that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.  On hearing this, not wanting this opportunity to pass him by, he calls out, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.”  Think of this for a moment.  The mere mention of Jesus’ name prompts this man to call out for Him.  He cannot verify anything with his physical sight, he cannot see Jesus (he is blind), but just hearing that Jesus is passing by is enough for him to act.  Contrast that to the crowd, who rebuke Bartimaeus and tell him to be silent.  They have perfectly adequate physical vision, they can see Jesus in plain sight, and yet their reaction to Bartimaeus’ calls reveals that Jesus presence with them means little.  If they truly recognized the One who was in their midst, they would call out for Him too and bring everyone they could to Him.  That’s what happens to a person whose heart is on fire with love for Jesus.  But no, they desire instead to get rid of this bothersome Bartimaeus.

          Notice, then, how Bartimaeus calls upon Our Lord.  He does not address Him as “sir,” or even “Rabbi” (“Teacher”), but says, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.”  This is no small thing.  This title, “Son of David,” is the title that belongs properly only to the Messiah, the promised of God, the Savior of Israel.  No wonder they wanted him to be quiet, he was speaking what could only have been understood by them as blasphemy.  But Bartimaeus, for all his lack of physical vision, is able to see better than the rest.  He sees that this man, Jesus, is much more than a carpenter from Nazareth, a Galilean, and a friend of fishermen.  This Jesus is the “Son of David,” He is the Messiah.

          When finally, despite the efforts of the crowd, Bartimaeus does get Jesus’ attention and is summoned, there are a number of amazing things that happen.  Bartimaeus throws aside his cloak, springs up, and comes to Jesus.  Remember, he is physically blind.  Now I don’t know about you, but when I get up in the middle of the night for something I always walk very carefully with my hands stretched out in front of me until I can find my glasses and then the light, so I don’t stub my toe or trip over a piece of furniture.  But Bartimaeus who can see nothing is braver by far.  He is not afraid, despite his blindness, to strike out toward Jesus, even if it means stumbling toward Him in the darkness.  He reaches Jesus, who asks this resolute soul, “What do you want me to do for you?”  Bartimaeus, again seeing better than anyone around him, addresses Jesus as “Master,” and says, “I want to see.”    

As we look at the example of Bartimaeus, each of us should take a good look at ourselves.  Often we know that Jesus is there, that He is “passing by,” but we are silent.  We do not call out to Him in faith as Bartimaeus did.  Perhaps this is because we do not feel worthy, or because we figure He’s got better things to do than to deal with us, or because we are afraid of what an encounter with Our Lord would mean for our lives.  Or maybe, we do call out to Jesus, but when we are called forth, we stay put rather that get up and move toward Him.  We will call out over and over again, “Jesus, help me,” waiting for Jesus to come to us, but we do not imitate the boldness of Bartimaeus by actively seeking Our Lord. 

But supposing that we do decide, like Bartimaeus, to get up and begin to move toward Jesus, often there is still something holding us back.  Bartimaeus threw aside his cloak, but we are reluctant to throw aside our pride, our comfort, our attachments, our sinful habits, in order to follow Jesus.  But perhaps, even this we are willing to do, by God’s grace.  Still when we leave all behind and we approach Jesus we are confronted, as was Bartimaeus, with the question, “What do you want me to do for you?”  Maybe for all our crying out to the Lord, we do not really know what we want from Him.  We do not answer so quickly as Bartimaeus, who said, “Master, I want to see.”  Maybe we do not want to see, because seeing would mean change, seeing would mean all those things that were comfortably tucked away in the darkness, all those things we were oblivious to before would come to light.  So you can see that this business of following Jesus is, in some ways a complicated one.  First, we have to listen for Jesus, then we have to muster the courage to call out to Him (even when all others are telling us to be quiet), then, once we are called, we must be so bold as to go to Him, to cast aside all that keeps us from Him and to stumble forward in the darkness.  Then, and perhaps hardest of all, we have to say to Him, “I want to see.”  Thankfully, we do not have to worry about all of this at once.  We must simply start where Bartimaeus started, by listening for the coming of the Lord.  Then, we cannot let Him pass by, but must call to Him, go to Him, receive our sight and follow Him on the way.