Twenty-third Sunday After Pentecost

“And Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ And the blind man said to Him, ‘Rabbi, let me recover my sight.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Go your way; your faith has made you well.’”

+In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.        
 
C. S. Lewis once observed, “It would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by an offer of a holiday at the sea.”
           
Lewis’ observation reminds me of that old 1970s show “Fantasy Island.” It was a very popular show about a special place where people of means could pay to have their fantasy made reality. Mr. Rourke was the very suave host on the island, assisted by his faithful lieutenant, Tatoo. Each week would feature guests who would come to Fantasy Island to have their fantasy come true. What made the show popular and compelling was that famous actors would appear on the show each week. And the fantasies would be very familiar—what if you got to be with a lover from your past, what if you became rich and famous, a star athlete, or something else? Many times, the fantasies were wonderful and a lot of fun. Sometimes the fantasies helped the characters recognize things about themselves that they didn’t know before, an occasion for personal growth and maturity.  And other times the fantasies would involve painful personal lessons.
           
As intriguing as the possibilities presented by the show Fantasy Island were, the opportunity presented to Bartimaeus in today’s Gospel is more compelling. Here we have an occasion where Jesus comes face to face with a man in need, and what happens when a desperate man responds with courage and faith.
           
Jesus and his disciples are passing through Jericho on their way to Jerusalem. And as it is usually the case, Jesus’ presence draws a crowd. St. Mark tells us that a blind man, Bartimaeus, is also present. What is noteworthy is that Mark not only tells us the name of the blind man, which is unusual, but also the name of his father, Timaeus. St. Matthew says there are two men, but gives no names, while St. Luke gives a similar account to Mark’s but leaves out the name. St. Augustine suggests that the reason Mark does this is because Bartimaeus comes from a prominent family, and his blindness has caused a dramatic drop in his fortunes. Bartimaeus is now a blind street beggar.
           
When Bartimaeus hears that it is Jesus passing by, he cries out at the top of his lungs, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” The title “Son of David” is a messianic one, revealing that Bartimaeus believes that Jesus is no mere rabbi or holy man, but the Messiah. And it is that faith that causes him to cry out even louder when the townspeople rebuke him for making a nuisance of himself. Bartimaeus, like the woman with the issue of blood, like the Syrophoenician mother, like the Roman centurion, is persistent and determined to get what he needs from Jesus, despite opposition, despite his fears.
           
And Jesus, who always sees those that others do not see, who has compassion on the lowly and needy, sees and hears the cry of the blind beggar, Bartimaeus. Jesus tells some bystanders, “Call him.” And some of the bystanders, who just a few moments ago were telling Bartimaeus to go away, now tell him, “Take heart. Get up, He is calling you.”
           
So Bartimaeus gets up and goes to Jesus. Jesus then asks him a simple, yet profound question: “What do you want me to do for you?” Even though Jesus is the one in control of the situation, even though Jesus knows the Bartimaeus’ heart and need even better than Bartimaeus does, He invites Bartimaeus to ask for what he wants. It is a reminder that Jesus wants a relationship with us. He wants us not to simply be passive recipients or bystanders with Him, but active participants. Jesus invites us to ask, and He wants us to exercise our wills. He wants us to hear Him and respond to Him. Remember what Jesus said to the crippled man at the Pool of Siloam? “Do you want to be healed?”
           
Bartimaeus’ request is straightforward and from the heart: “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” Certainly, it was a request for a restoration of his physical sight, but it was also a plea for spiritual sight too. Bartimaeus the blind man, because of the crucible of his lowly condition, now understood something he did not know in his earlier life. He understood his need for God. He understood that he was spiritually blind and wanted to see clearly, as he had the faith to believe that Jesus the Messiah could give that to him too.
           
Back in the Old Testament, when Solomon became king, the Lord came to him and invited him to ask of the Lord whatever he wanted. And Solomon asked not for riches or power, or the defeat of his enemies, but for wisdom, that he might rule God’s people well. God was very pleased by Solomon’s request, so he not only granted Solomon wisdom, but all those other things he didn’t ask for, but wanted. In the same way, Jesus was pleased with Bartimaeus’ request, and so he gave him not only his eyesight, but spiritual sight as well. He rewards Bartimaeus’ faith in Him, which contrasts with the lack of faith from Jesus’ own disciples.
           
If Jesus was standing in right in front of you, and He asked you, “What do you want Me to do for you?” What would you ask for? The answer we would give would reveal a great deal about the state of our hearts. Jesus’ encounter with Bartimaeus shows us three things about our relationship with God: First, we need to be persistent. Second, we need to respond immediately when Jesus calls us. Third, our requests to Him need to be specific and concrete, the result of self-examination. We need to be desperately definite in our asking. Finally, we need to have faith in who Jesus is and what He can and will do.
           
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the poem, “Blind Bartimaeus” and the final verses say this: “Ye that have eyes, yet cannot see, in darkness and in misery, recall those mighty voices three, (In Greek) “Jesus have mercy on me” “Take heart, get up, He is calling you” and “Your faith has made you well.”

​+In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.