Master, I Want To See!

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, October 24, 2021

Most people who encountered Jesus during his earthly ministry are not named. The rich young man who says to Jesus, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark. 10:17) is not named. The Syrophoenician woman who persistently begs Jesus to heal her daughter of demon possession (Mark 7:24-30) is not named. The deaf man with a speech impediment that Jesus heals in Decapolis is also not named. The lone leper who approaches Jesus and says, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean,” (Luke 5:12 is not named either. There are so many who encountered Jesus that are not named. But in today’s Gospel (Mark 10:46-52), Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus is clearly named. The use of his proper name is a strong indication of the historical authenticity of the event. Bartimaeus himself might have been alive to confirm the story when the first Gospel was written. St. Mark’s account of this story is a great icon, a symbolic journey of the spiritual life. So, let’s look at it in great detail. 

The locus of the story is Jericho. The mention of Jericho will definitely generate some thoughts in the mind of a first century Jew. As Israelites prepare to enter the Promised Land, they had to deal with Jericho, an enemy city. Under the leadership of Joshua, they liturgically marched around the Walls of Jericho with the Ark of Covenant. As they marched, they also prayed and blew the trumpet. Eventually, the Walls of Jericho came down and Israel was able to conquer the dark power of the world. So, the mention of Jericho will make people think about it as a sin city, a city standing in opposition to God’s purpose for the ancient Israel. Today, we can also say that Jericho stands for the culture that poisons the mind and heart. It stands for the culture that produces spiritual blindness—the inability to see the deepest truth of things. In our increasingly secularized society, secularism is a kind of blindness. The secular eyes see the world in different dimensions, but don’t see the depth dimension, the dimension of the first cause, the spiritual and transcendent dimension. So, the blind Bartimaeus sitting by the Walls of Jericho is a symbol of all of us submerged in a blindness caused by the world and culture we have today. 

Now, the first great virtue of Bartimaeus is that he begged. He hears that Jesus is passing by and he begins to shout and beg, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me” (Mark 10:47). Today, we live in a culture of self-affirmation and self-assertion. Christina Aguilera, in one of her songs titled, “Beautiful,” sings, “I’m beautiful in every single way…. words can’t bring me down.” But Bartimaeus knows he is not handsome in every single way. He knows he is blind. He also knows there is nothing he can do to solve his own problem. So, he reaches out. During Advent and Christmas when we sing, “Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel,” we are not saying, “I’m okay!” “You’re okay!” or “I’m beautiful in every single way.” We are saying, “We are helpless.” We commence the Mass with a clear awareness of our blindness and our incapacity to save ourselves. That’s why we sing, Kyrie Eleison (Lord, have mercy). So, rather than spend our time ignoring our dysfunctions, pretending all is well with us, affirming and asserting ourselves, let us call upon the Lord for help. If you are okay, and I am okay, why then did God the Father send his Son Jesus Christ into the world? In spiritual life, the most important moment is the moment we realize our own helplessness in the face of our sin. In a 12 steps program designed for those struggling with addiction, the first step after hitting bottom is to realize there is nothing you can do to solve your problem. The solution is to turn your life over to a higher power. In the struggle to overcome sin, the right biblical approach is to pray and say, Jesus, Son of the living God, have pity on me. As Bartimaeus beckons, many rebuke him and tell him to be silent. In this secularized society, don’t think the majority of people will support you when you turn to Christ. Don’t think people will applaud you when you start begging and praying to a higher spiritual power. Some will see you as weird. Others will see your action as medieval and embarrassing. A few may even say to you, “Come on, man, help yourself. Grow up.” But what does Bartimaeus do in the face of opposition? He keeps calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.” 

The second great virtue of Bartimaeus is persistence. The Bible speaks about perseverance in prayer. According to the great St. Augustine, this persistence causes the heart to expand, so as to receive what God wants to give. If God immediately answers all our prayers, we may not be ready to receive what God wants to give us. Because of Bartimaeus’ persistence, Jesus stops and says, “Call him.” Throughout the Gospels, Jesus calls people. In the New Testament, the term for “church” is “ekklesia.” Ekklesia is derived from the word “Kaleo” which means “to call.” The church therefore is the assembly of those who have been called by Jesus Christ into intimacy with him. Bartimaeus stands for those who  are aware of their own sin, blindness, and incapacity, who are calling out to Jesus saying, “Lord, help me,” and are hearing the invitation of Jesus to come into the church, into “ekklesia.” Jericho, the world and its ways have blinded us. Church, therefore, is the new community where our vision is restored.

Having been told that Jesus is calling him, Bartimaeus throws his cloak aside, springs up and comes to Jesus. Throwing aside his cloak is reference to baptism. In the ancient church, when someone approaches the font for baptism, they throw off their old garment, which is a symbolic gesture of throwing off their old life, their old form of life. After stripping off their street cloak, they will be plunged down into the water of baptism and clothed in a white garment. That’s what happened to Bartimaeus. When Bartimaeus approaches Jesus, the Lord asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” This is one of the handful of times when Jesus directly asks someone this kind of question. Bartimaeus’ answer is magnificent: “Master, I want to see.” At the physical level, Bartimaeus wants to see. He is clinically blind. At the spiritual level, he wants what we all want: to know the deepest truth of things, to know where he is going. A lot of us are drifting along without purposeful movement. Bartimaeus wants to see. Jesus then tells him, “Your faith has saved you.” That means, your trust and confidence in God has healed you.  After he regains his sight, he follows Jesus on the way. That’s confident discipleship. He’s gone through different stages, from physical/spiritual blindness to openness to Christ, from resisting the crowd to being called. From answering the Lord’s question in the right way to recovering his sight. Now within the life of the Church, he now knows where he is going. In this Gospel, we can see the whole spiritual life. So, sisters and brothers, take the place of Bartimaeus. See yourself kneeling down before the good Lord Jesus, and listens to him as he says to you, “What do you want me to do for you?” What would you say to the Lord? Right now, Jesus is in front of you and he is asking, “What do you want me to do for you?”