LITURGY IN FOCUS

THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK

30th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Reflection: Best way to see is by listening

By SISTER MARY McGLONE

What would it be like to be blind from birth?

Sight offers one way of understanding the world, blindness another. The disparity is inexplicable.

We have multiple accounts of Jesus healing the blind. It was one of his specialties and a sign that he was “the one to come” (Luke 7:18-23). As John 9 underlines, miracles were not primarily a show of power, but a teaching metaphor.

Bartimaeus was blind and a beggar. That means he probably pestered passersby without knowing who they were. How could he discern the difference between a poor widow and a tax collector? Like some we see in our cities, he must have been willing to implore anyone within hearing range.

Now come Mark’s symbolic details. Bartimaeus “heard” that Jesus was nearby. Hearing is a first step in faith — and Bart must have heard of Jesus before that day. Hearing can lead to curiosity. One wonders, “Can this be true?” How might we know? That curiosity and Bartimaeus’ need gave him the chutzpah to make a scene in spite of those who preferred to ignore him. This guy would not be silenced, he had too much at stake: “Son of David! Have mercy on me!”

Bartimaeus’ racket became impossible to ignore so Jesus told the disciples to call him. They didn’t need to speak twice. Bartimaeus leapt up. Navigating with nothing more than his ears, he found Jesus. Jesus saw him and asked what he desired.

Duh! 

“Master, I want to see!”

This statement moves us into the heart of the matter. What did Bartimaeus really want to see? How could he have known? He had heard of Jesus and received his invitation. He asks for something else he has heard about but can’t imagine. Then Jesus tells him he already has it: “Your faith has saved you.”

Duh? What did that mean? 

What did Bartimaeus have? “Faith.” How did Jesus know? He called Jesus “Son of David.” Peter had recently called Jesus the Messiah although he couldn’t accept what Jesus said about a suffering Messiah. Bartimaeus named Jesus “Son of David.” He called on Jesus as the kingly leader who had united the people and brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.

Bartimaeus asked Jesus for “mercy.” Mercy, eleeo in Greek, goes beyond compassion or pity. One who has mercy takes on the need of the other. In Gospel terms, Bartimaeus asked Jesus to be and act like who he was, the Son of God identified with humanity. We echo Bartimaeus each time we humbly repeat his words, “Kyrie elison, Lord have mercy, help us to see.”

Although he had just seen Jesus for the first time, Bartimaeus exhibited more faith than Peter and other disciples. Bartimaeus had paid attention to what he had heard about Jesus and allowed it to awaken his curiosity. At Jesus’ invitation, Bartimaeus left his belongings behind and went to Jesus saying, “Master, I want to see.” 

Bartimaeus’ story completes a section of Mark’s Gospel (Mark 8:22-10:52). This unit began with the semi-successful healing of a blind man followed by Jesus’ three predictions of the Passion — an idea the disciples did not want to comprehend. The section ends with Bartimaeus’ symbolic request to see more than he might be able to fathom. He wanted to transcend his limited perspective. Mark put these incidents together to teach taking on Christ’s viewpoint is a long process that may need more than one start.

Unlike the disciples who clung to their definition of Messiah, Bartimaeus allowed Jesus to explain and carry out his mission. Bartimaeus expressed the kind of faith lacking in James and John who looked for glory (Mark 10:32-41). He believed enough to ask for help and was humble enough to go wherever Jesus was going — without knowing what it would entail. With no bragging, no agenda, no fear, Bartimaeus wanted Jesus to lead him. He was ready to begin to see Jesus’ way of seeing the world, a way many chose to ignore (John 9:40-41).

Mark presents Bartimaeus as a mature disciple. If Bartimaeus were here, he might beg us to listen deeply for the good news in our fragmented world. He would probably tell us that we really do need to hear and respect viewpoints different from our own.

He would urge us to realize and accept that we are blind to more than we see. He would remind us that recognizing and adjusting to Christ’s perspective is no once-for-all process (Mark 8:22-25). If Bartimaeus were here, he might beg us to listen deeply for the good news in our fragmented world. Finally, he would say he knows for sure that admitting our blindness and asking for mercy will open us to what Christ has desired to give us all along.

Master, we want to see! 

Reading I

(Jeremiah 31: 7-9)

Thus says the LORD:
Shout with joy for Jacob,
exult at the head of the nations;
proclaim your praise and say:
The LORD has delivered his people,
the remnant of Israel.
Behold, I will bring them back
from the land of the north;
I will gather them from the ends of the world,
with the blind and the lame in their midst,
the mothers and those with child;
they shall return as an immense throng.
They departed in tears,
but I will console them and guide them;
I will lead them to brooks of water,
on a level road, so that none shall stumble.
For I am a father to Israel,
Ephraim is my first-born.

Responsorial Psalm

Reading II

(Hebrews 5: 1-6)

Brothers and sisters:
Every high priest is taken from among men
and made their representative before God,
to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring,
for he himself is beset by weakness
and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself
as well as for the people.
No one takes this honor upon himself
but only when called by God,
just as Aaron was.
In the same way,
it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest,
but rather the one who said to him:
You are my son:
this day I have begotten you;
just as he says in another place:
You are a priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek.

Gospel

(Mark 10: 46-52)

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,
Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,
sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say,
“Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.”
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. 
But he kept calling out all the more,
“Son of David, have pity on me.”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called the blind man, saying to him,
“Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. 
Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” 
The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” 
Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” 
Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way.