"Master, I want to see"
Mark 10: 46 - 52
The Word for Sunday: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/102818.cfm
For those of us who have always been blessed with sight it may
be hard to imagine what the experience of total blindness must be like. Sight is certainly one of those senses, like
hearing or smell, that we simply take for granted. But try to imagine never seeing color. The words of color such as blue, red, green, and
yellow mean nothing at all to a blind person.
You cannot describe what color is like to a blind person; it would be a
futile task. Even a color blind person can distinguish shades of differences but to a blind person it would be meaningless.
In the rare instance where surgery is able to restore sight to
the blind, the ability to now see things is not so easy as we might
imagine. The brain has to “compute”
vision, distance, perspective, color, sunlight and moonlight and movement. It would all be quite disconcerting for a
time to the one who can now see things never seen before. It would take quite a time and likely the
person would be frightened by many things and would need some careful therapy to
adjust over time. It would probably seem
chaotic and nonsensical for a period.
But the writers of scripture, John in particular, use
blindness, darkness and light to symbolize ignorance, lack of faith, doubt and
knowledge, belief, and understanding. In
this Sunday’s Gospel as we come fairly soon to the end of our Ordinary time
journey in this liturgical year, we hear of a blind man from Mark’s
Gospel. He was evidently known to some
extent and his continued shouting of “Jesus,
Son of David, have pity on me” as Jesus passed by irritated the
crowds who tried to dismiss him.
Yet, he continue his plea, hoping that Jesus would take notice
of him as he addressed him with a messianic title indicating the hope that he
indeed would be the successor in David’s royal line who would restore the
kingdom of Israel. Yet, there is a more
personal desire the man has at this time.
He is brought to Jesus as our Lord acknowledges his pleading voice and
he requests: “Master, I want to see.” Physical sight of course is what he is
asking for but Jesus offers him far more.
He restores his sight, recognizing the man’s faith but then
this man now follows Jesus “on the way.”
Was his newly found sight a moment for chaos, confusion, disorientation
having never seen before? It seems Jesus took care of that or at least Mark
wanted to make a more fundamental point: the man now took the position of a disciple;
a student a follower of Jesus on “the way.”
The first reading from Jeremiah speaks of a time of joy and
deliverance as God will restore all brokenness and return from exile to
wholeness. It is a reference to the
return of the Jews from exile in Babylon but also can be for us a reminder that
God will not abandon us but in time will make all things right. That making right includes our understanding
of who Jesus is for humanity: the suffering servant who died and rose for
salvation.
This Gospel of the blind Bartimaeus who tags Jesus with a
messianic title yet does not know him fully can be seen as reflecting that of
Peter who referred to Jesus in the same vein: “You are the Christ!” Or even the
other apostles who didn’t quite get the point of Jesus suffering and death yet
our Lord, as they continued their journey with him “along the way” patiently
opened the eyes of their hearts to understand the fullness of his mission.
It is for us a moment to reflect on our own understanding of
Jesus. Our lives can be so packed with
activity and with other more immediate priorities that our spiritual life takes
a back position. We pursue so many
things that falsely tell us of security, comfort, joy, meaning and purpose that
we lose sight of Jesus as the center of our faith. He seeks a relationship with us and so our
Christian faith lends itself to relationship, to conversion, and faith. But do we see that and have we arranged our
lives accordingly? Do I live by Gospel values always measuring my decisions by
the light of faith or do I live in darkness leaping after things that are
limited and ultimately unfulfilling?
As in all the stories of healing, whoever the person may be,
the Gospel writers challenge us to see ourselves in them. We are Bartimaeus and we are in need of clear
sight to see the things of God and to follow Jesus on the way.
Almighty ever living God,
increase our faith, hope and charity,
and make us love what you command,
that we may merit what you promise.
Through our Lord, Jesus Christ your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.
Amen
(Collect for Sunday)
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