They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stood still and said, ‘Call him here.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; get up, he is calling you.’ Mark 10:46-49

In another time, I would have just focused on the miracle and nothing else. Today, life has placed us in a different situation. Bartimaeus is no longer a person distant from my reality. He is one of our homeless youth. He was a person thrust into a condition which he never desired. Now, he had learned to adapt and apparently survive in that condition. Our children share the same story. They did not ask for this. They were thrown into this condition. Jesus identified them as the “little ones”. This gospel story gives a glimpse of what it means to be a “little one”. No one gave any heed to Bartimaeus’ constant plea. Many times in the gospel people approach Jesus pleading for healing. No one stood in their way nor reproached them. However, there were instances in the gospel where the crowd was in the way of a miracle. One was the poor woman who suffered from intense bleeding and the other was the four friends carrying their paraplegic friend. On these occasions, these people never gave up because their faith told them that Jesus was and is different. Their faith found a way to get to Jesus. This is a story about faith in action. In fact, the gospel of Mark is unique in this manner. It paints a picture of Jesus and helps us understand that our faith needs to act in order to approach Him. There are always many obstacles in the way.

The “little ones” were people who were considered insignificant and hardly tolerated in Jesus’ society. The gospel tells us that the people treated the blind man sternly as if he was an unruly animal. I wish we could say this doesn’t happen anymore. Unfortunately, this is not a thing of the past. This attitude is still present today. In more affluent societies, these “little ones” are hidden from sight. They are carefully tucked away in institutions far from the public. In other countries, they are out there in the open. Sometimes their presence can be overwhelming as it is in the city where we live presently. The local people have developed a defense mechanism against these “little ones”. They choose not to see these “little ones”. They can walk past them and not even notice their presence. They have become voluntarily blind. Some time ago, my sister visited with us from Australia. She was appalled to see how people walked by our homeless children as young as ten years old without batting an eye. I can understand that people don’t want to be weighed down by the distressing situation by pretending that the “little ones” don’t exist. Consequently, Bartimaeus did what was necessary to assert his presence in a society blind to his existence. He constantly yelled out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”

This simple plea did not escape the attention of the earliest monastic movement know as the desert fathers and mothers. They developed a formula using very similar words, “Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on us, sinners.” Besides the Lord’s prayer, this simple formula known as the “Jesus Prayer” is perhaps one of the most commonly used prayers among present day disciples of Jesus. The purpose is the help us keep our focus on Jesus which was exactly what Bartimaeus did. He heard the insults and stern warnings of the people but despite all this, he kept his focus on the person of Jesus. The desert monks went to isolated places, not to escape the harsh realities of life, but to keep their focus on our Lord so they could be more effective disciples of Jesus in society. This prayer is for people who want to live out their faith in action.

The author of the gospel doesn’t give us much information about our blind man. We don’t know if he was born blind or became blind through illness. Perhaps this is not relevant. It is enough to know that this man was blind and, in Jesus’ time, there was only one job opening for people like him; begging. It helped him survive and his ailment played a major role. His blindness garnered the necessary sympathy from the masses. Unlike Bartimaeus, in today’s world, many of us are choosing to be blind and deaf. In many ways, we are doing this in order to survive. We use our gadgets to shut ourselves away from the real world and get a filtered version of reality. We see what we want to see and listen to what we want to hear. Nothing inconvenient is allowed because it might upset our world. Many are very happy to remain in this state of self-induced blindness and deafness. Bartimaeus was no different. He adapted his lifestyle to his state of blindness and learned how to survive. Change or healing in his case would require a complete change in his life. He would lose his livelihood. He would lose the pity of the people to which he had grown accustomed. Healing came with hefty price for Bartimaeus.

Then Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’
Mark 10:51

I always thought that this was a strange question to ask. I mean that the man was blind and it was obvious what he needed. However, now I understand. People sought Jesus for all sorts of reasons. Some of them just needed Him to heal them and then we never hear of them again. There were perhaps some minor changes in their lives but they tended to forget about our Lord altogether. However, this blind man was asking for something more. He wanted to see in order to change his life completely. Jesus wanted to hear him articulate his desire which our blind friend did. Now, it is important for us to enquire what would give this man the courage to transform his life so radically at this point. No one ever changed careers in those times. You were either born into a trade which gave you a place in society or you were an outcast. Bartimaeus established himself as a blind beggar. We might think that this is a lamentable state to be in society but it was better than not having a place at all. Being able to see means that Bartimaeus needs to find something else to do in a world where there were no opportunities nor options. Jesus was just a poor itinerant preacher. There was not much prospect there. Being healed came with a hefty price and our blind friend chose to pay it.

Jesus recognized the courage of this man. Bartimaeus listened to his faith and not to all the other voices which were putting him down. I think that there is a lesson for us here especially in these modern times. There are many voices beckoning our attention in this world. Many times these voices tell us what to see and hear. They encourage us to isolate ourselves from the world. They want us to become partially blind and deaf because it will keep us safe.

Bartimaeus had a safe place in society but it was not a life-giving space. It was extremely limiting and dehumanizing. Our blind man perked up when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth. A small detail which speaks volumes. He had been feeding his mind with news of Jesus. He knew of his works and mercy. He knew that receiving sight from this Man was going to be different. It was Jesus and no one else who gave Bartimaeus the courage to be healed. The crowd wanted to keep our blind friend away from Jesus. They thought he was unworthy. Today’s crowd tries to convince us to listen to different lies which separate us from the rest of society. Jesus wants to heal us. He wants to give eyes and ears to see the world as it is and most importantly, He is able to heal and cure its ailments.

Bartimaeus was healed and then he followed Jesus so that he too could become an agent of healing. This is faith in action. It is not just about receiving healing but it is about becoming healers too. Many were just happy to be healed and then they did nothing with their lives. This story is not about healing. It is about listening to our faith and allowing it to transform us into agents of healing. Bartimaeus could have remained as he was and never enjoyed the fullness of life. Jesus wants to heal us so that we become healers, too. Our happiness and fulfillment lies in this. However, it demands a great change in our lifestyle. We cannot go back to things as they were after our healing. We need to consider carefully before asking for this healing. Perhaps praying the prayer of Bartimaeus can help and give us the necessary courage. After all, it worked for him. Therefore, let us join him and pray the prayer he prayed;

“Jesus, Son of God, Have mercy on us.”