The Gospel lesson of the blind beggar, Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52), has been a favorite of mine for many reasons. I often see myself in him. I have spent much time begging from God for the ability to see. Certainly I have experienced times when others closer to Jesus than I have wished I were silent. One can sit on the roadside and yet be a seeker, sojourning far into the eternity of the divine. Seeking, sometimes not knowing what. Questions are my quest. I’m intrigued by the infinite while others want only the definite. Some are so sure of what they have, where they are going, answered not asking. Yet sometimes Christ speaks to a blind man who begs upon the way, asking not for charity, but for an ability to see answers to his questions. One can only marvel that He stops to talk to an impoverished beggar. Maybe we don’t always need the right answer from God; we need Him to ask us the important question.
The Good News:
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.” So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.
Christ healing the blind man
To See The Way
God asked a blind beggar,
What would you have me do for you?
My God! He’s blind, he can’t see what he needs,
Let alone what would be good for the world.
Why not ask the wise,
those used to power and choice,
or even me?
We would know given one chance by God
What to ask from the Almighty:
Wealth, health, power, fame, what an opportunity!
The choices are unlimited, the blessings infinite.
One could be quite altruistic:
Peace for the world, food for the hungry?
Immortality for all? The destruction of mean people?
But only one can we choose,
And one chance to get it right.
I cannot see what is best to ask,
I’m blind as Bartimaeus.
Each wish is fraught with what is left undone,
Petitioners saying, “Don’t betray us!”
“Let me see Lord”
What each wish would bring
And fail to achieve,
Who would benefit
And who we would not please.
Wasted wish?
Now I see what I must do
The way is clear to me.
The Gospel:
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.” So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.
Insightful Miracle
In time God decided to walk on earth and to find a man whose wish He would grant.
The angels excitedly watched to see if they would be needed to fulfill the wish of that fortunate man. For they loved nothing more than to fulfill His will. And they wondered who would be chosen and so blessed. Perhaps a king whose wish was to bring justice to all the earth, or a great philanthropist who would share the blessings with so many others. Or maybe, He would ask one of His Twelve apostles, holy men, imperfect true but who would no doubt wish the church’s success. For angels are not omniscient and must wait to know their Lord’s will.
He was leaving Jericho, and the angels were sure He did not find that man whom He was seeking. Then suddenly outside that city of tumbled down walls He heard a voice and stopped. He summoned a noisy blind beggar to come near to Him. And then suddenly asked The Question: “What would you have Me do for you?”
The angels were astounded, for why ask a beggar what he wants? It is obvious and well known that they are satisfied with small coins of no real value, bread crumbs and magic! The apostles were stung, for even they had not been asked to have a wish fulfilled. But they had been debating such a point, just in case they were asked – and they were vying to sit at the right and left hand of Christ in His glory.
The blind man hesitated not a moment to tell God his one wish. He didn’t ask for vengeance on all who had walked by ignoring his pathetic poverty and insulting his worthless life to boot. He didn’t ask for the winning lottery ticket to end his panhandling misery. He didn’t ask for home or wife or comfort. He didn’t even ask for happiness. Given the chance to ask whatever he wanted from the traveling God, the blind man asked to see.
The angels marveled, contemplating the opportunity, missed or achieved. Christ granted the one wish of the poor beggar. A new act of creation, giving the man’s eyes what they lacked – the ability to see. Creator and new creation. The man experienced what God said at the beginning, “Let there be light.”
Those who could see without the help of Christ were not so impressed at the blessed man’s request: for seeing hadn’t enabled them to find in life a way to be satiated or satisfied.
Who saw what was needed and important? Eyes cannot help us see what the blind man could: the invisible, incomprehensible and ineffable God walking by.
Did the man-now-seeing use his newly given sight to become rich or powerful? No.
He didn’t pursue the things of this earth, but rather a certain blessedness. The man formerly blind now followed on the way the God who taught unworldly poverty. He worked not for personal gain but to help others to see what he now could.
See other of my blogs on this blind man: The Gospel Crowd as Church, Giving Hope to Someone who has Lost It, Call to the Lord and He will Hear You
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Talking about one who is blind… I have cataracts and cannot afford the surgery yet, so when you use a font which is light, I cannot read it. I do like reading your blogs every day and this is one I especially wanted to read completely, because I am always asking to see what is God’s will and answer questions I have. As you wrote, though, maybe I should “see” the questions God is asking me.
Thank you,
Kenneth
Thanks for letting me know that. I have wondered about that font color. I was trying to use a golden color with the scriptural text but agree that it is hard to see. I’ll change the color in the text and abandon the golden symbolism.
I wish there was a ‘love’ button. This is a beautiful post and I so agree with your thoughts about the questions being vital. Have you noticed that so few people ask questions nowadays…about anything? In ‘secular’ society [in the UK anyway] it seems that questions indicate some kind of weakness, yet surely the very opposite is true. x
I attribute that abhorence of questions to this need some have for the assurance of salvation. One has to be be so sure that one cannot allow oneself to question anything. So yes questions imply a weak faith. In the US there are those who hold to “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” It reduces humans to automaton status rather than beings made in God’s image and likeness with free will. God wants us to love Him – one can truly love only if one is free to choose whether or not to love. Questions are part of that process of helping us to know God and to choose to love Him.
Having lost my vision due to a brain tumor, and regain it through surgery, all of the healing stories touch me differently now, especially the vision ones. God’s love comes to us so freely, if we’ll accept it.