What do we want from Jesus? What do we want from our faith? These questions popped into my mind as I thought about our Gospel readings from the last several weeks from the 10th chapter of Mark. People are asking questions of Jesus and wanting different things from him. Two weeks ago, a prosperous young man asked Jesus what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Even though the people of Ancient Israel would have seen his prosperity as a blessing from God, he walks away from his encounter with Jesus in sadness, unwilling to make a leap of faith in order to follow Jesus unconditionally. In last Sunday’s Gospel, James and John asked Jesus to grant them positions of honor when he enters his glory in God's kingdom. In today’s Gospel, Bartimaeus is sitting on the roadside, certainly not in a position of honor or glory.
Like James and John who want positions of honor in eternal life, like the rich young man who cannot free himself from his possessions, we also can become prisoners to many things in life. Having nice things, or attaining a position of power, or fitting into the value system of our modern secular world: all those things are not intrinsically bad in themselves. Yet, these things can seduce us and entice us away from God.
We can learn so much from what Bartimaeus asks of Jesus. My good friend Sister Paulinus Oakes, a Sister of Mercy who was a legend in our Diocese of Jackson for many decades, gave me a book when I first started my priesthood by Jesuit priest Father Paul Coutinho from India, entitled How Big is Your God? I find myself going back and rereading the short chapters in this book from time to time. In one chapter, Father Coutinho states that God is fundamentally an experience, not a theology. This makes sense, but many Christians approach God as a theological construct or idea rather than an experience or relationship in their lives. We can approach our faith as a set of rules and commandments, rather than a personal experience with the living Christ. For Bartimaeus, God is an experience in his life. He reaches out to Jesus without any constraints or embarrassment, as he shouts out to him from the side of the road: “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me, have mercy on me!”
And what do the disciples try to do? Rather than encourage Bartimaeus or recognize his great faith in Jesus’ power to heal, they try to restrain him and silence him. But Bartimaeus is tenacious; he won't back down, as he keeps calling out, “Son of David, have pity on me!” Bartimaeus is also shrewd; he knows that in the code of honor in Ancient Israel, it would be difficult for Jesus to accept the honor Bartimaeus bestowed upon him by calling him Messiah without rewarding Bartimaeus in some way. We recall how the rich young man was unable to give up his possessions in order to follow Jesus unconditionally, yet Bartimaeus throws off his cloak with joy in order to follow Jesus with his newly gained sight, even though this cloak is probably his only worldly possession. Not only has Bartimaeus gained his physical sight, but his sight of faith has been renewed and energized – he can now follow Jesus wholeheartedly as his disciple.
Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung states that reality is that which affects us. In other words, whatever affects us in our lives is real to us. Bartimaeus had faith in God. He had faith in God's power to heal and to be a real presence in his life. God affects Bartimaeus' life: God motivates him, touches him, opens up infinite possibilities for him. Thus, for Bartimaeus, God is VERY REAL!
What about us? Does our faith and our relationship with Jesus make God a reality in our lives? As we hear the story of Bartimaeus today, we might ask ourselves if there is anything we need to ask of God, if there is anything we need to do in order to make God a much more real presence for us. It’s good for us to reflect upon the reality of God in our lives as we think about how God is asking us to use our talents, gifts, and treasures.
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