Am I Blind Like Disciples or Like Bartimaeus?

“And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.

And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

Mark 10:46,52

If we were asked a question, “Do we feel we can change who we are?” What would be our answer? In a survey done it was reported that 80 - 90% , of people say “no.”  Most people believe we cannot change;  that we are hard-wired for war, because of our greed, our selfishness, our aggression, and our belligerence, and we will never change.

Well, we just read a New Testament Gospel story about a man who changed.  He was blind, and after his encounter with Jesus, he changed: he could see.

So if this is a story about changing, one of the questions we have to ask at the start is, “Is this a believable story?”  Is there such a thing as personal transformation?  Do you feel that it is possible for you?  Would it take a miracle?

Now before we go further, let us ask if we are to take this miracle story literally or not?  Does it reflect a memory of the historical Jesus, or is it meant metaphorically? Marcus Borg, an American New Testament scholar and theologian in his book Jesus: Uncovering the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary (p. 56) suggests that the way Mark tells us this story, from its structure to its details, he is writing metaphorically.  The many conscious echoes of the Isaiah text we read are one example (Isaiah 35:1-10).

Blindness is one of the most common metaphors I can think of. Certainly Jesus used it.  Remember when he called the Pharisees “blind guides” (four times in Matthew 23)?   Blindness means you just cannot see what is right in front of you, staring you in the face.

So I think Mark wants us to ask ourselves the question: what am I blind to?  What am I not seeing, or not willing to see?  And then, what can be done about it?  Can I change?  What will happen if I start seeing things I did not use to see?

It opens with Jesus and his followers on a journey.  Mark is telling this story to teach about what it means to follow Jesus, or the Jesus-path.  So, they are making their way down from Galilee, on the way to Jerusalem.

They come to Jericho.  Jesus, whose name in Hebrew is Joshua, comes to the first city that Joshua and the Israelites conquered by force, as they took possession of the  promised land.  Jesus is living in a revolutionary time in which many people want a new Joshua to lead them into battle against the occupying Roman army, to take back their promised land from the pagans.

Here, the blind man Bartimaeus yells out to Jesus, calling him the Son of David.  Jesus  calls Bartimaeus, to come, which he does, then asks him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

It is the exact same question Jesus had recently asked James and John.  They had wanted to sit to the left and right of Jesus’ throne when, as the new Joshua, he conquered the Romans.  Bartimaeus merely wants his sight back.  Quite a contrast.

If we observe we may see that miracle stories are rarely named.  In Mark, Jairus was named.  His name means “he will see.”  Bartimaeus means, son of Timaeus.  Timaeus, Mark expects his Greek speaking readers to know, means “honor” (from timao) so this dishonorable blind bigger is ironically named, the son of honor.

Jesus does what no one in the crowd expected him to do; he honors him with special attention.  Jesus characteristically reaches out to the dishonorable, the marginalized, the poor, the hurting, the suffering.

Reaching out to the suffering is exactly what it means to be on the Jesus path.  On this path, people encounter Jesus.  And when we do, our eyes are opened to the reality of suffering all around us.  And our eyes are open to the ways in which we can help bring healing.  This is what it means to live in the kingdom of God.

But it takes a miracle; the transforming, healing, encounter with Jesus, who calls us, just as he called Bartimaeus.  When we respond to that call, our eyes are opened in a brand new way.  We see suffering, and we do what Bartimaeus did, leave the old life behind and come and follow the Jesus path to Jerusalem.

What is ahead for Jesus, for Bartimaeus, and for all the others who follow the Jesus path?  In Jerusalem, they will confront the power structures at the temple who are defining blind people as dishonorable and unclean.  And in the process, there will be suffering.  But Jerusalem is the place of both death and resurrection.  It is where new life can come, after the trusting acceptance, that suffering is part of life.

This Lenten Season can we, With open eyes, look around, as Jesus did, and notice where suffering is happening.  Can we open our eyes to the real suffering of people without adequate jobs, people with disabilities, the mentally ill, people suffering from depression or addiction, and we respond in every way we can. 

May God help us to answer the call to follow Jesus, walking his path, as Bartimaeus did. God Bless You.