"Master I want to see"
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102724.cfm
Almighty ever-living God,
increase our faith, hope and charity,
and make us love what you command, so 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, God, for ever and ever.
(Collect from Sunday Mass)
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 to a blind person.
You cannot describe what color is like; 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 can 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, depth perception, color, texture, 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, and in three dimensions as well. It would take quite a time and likely the person would need some careful assistance to adjust. It may even seem chaotic and nonsensical for a period as the person is connection sound with vision. Was Bartimaeus in the Gospel story today, immediately healed and able to see without any further assistance? It certainly seems that way.
In this Sunday’s Gospel of Mark we hear of a blind man. Unlike many of the miracle stories of Jesus,
this man is named: Bartimaeus. Perhaps
he was known in the early Christian community as an active early member. In the
story, his continued shouting at Jesus as “Son of David, have pity on me” as an
indicator that he correctly identified Jesus as Messiah. Yet, the crowds tried
to dismiss and silence him as simply an annoying beggar.
Yet, Bartimaeus gave a determined shout, hoping that Jesus would take notice of him as he addressed him with a messianic title. He believed Jesus could and likely would have pity and bring him sight for the first time. He did have faith so he could already “see” who Jesus is.
However, there is a more personal desire the man had at this time. He is brought to Jesus as our Lord acknowledges his pleading voice and he requests: “Master, I want to see.” Notice, he threw off his cloak, a symbol of the rejection of his old ways and now ready to embrace something new. Physical sight of course is what he is asking for but Jesus offers him far more.
Jesus 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.” It is a compelling story of conversion and brings into question our own blindness; what we may not see on our walk with the Lord.
I think there is no doubt that one of the saddest things we notice these days is a severe lack of faith and indifference to the holy and sacred. We saw it displayed at the Opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics; we hear of it in song, we see it in political adds, and certain candidates who place politics above religion, those who tout immorality as the right choice, etec.
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.
I think it’s significant that Jesus asks the same question of Bartimaeus that he asked of James and John in last Sunday’s Gospel: “What do you want me to do for you?” The brothers were seeking their own advancement, but the blind man was only seeking to see, and Christ gave him far more than physical sight.
As we also encounter the risen Christ, we are like
Bartimaeus who is a symbol of us all. We
come to the Lord and ask for understanding, vision, and faith in him.
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.
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