Homily for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Enduring Lessons From The Narrative Of Blind Bartimaeus

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, October 27, 2024

The story of blind Bartimaeus is a simple but powerful narrative of one man’s determination to be healed. In Mark’s Gospel (10:46-52), we hear that as Jesus is leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, who sits by the roadside begging, begins to call out, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” Think about this! Even before he had personal contact with Jesus, he already believed Jesus to be the Messiah. While the Pharisees are portraying Jesus as fake, casting serious and damaging doubt over his authority and aligning him with Beelzebub, the prince of demons (Matthew 12:24), a blind roadside beggar has accepted Jesus to be the One, the long expected Messiah. “Son of David,” which Bartimaeus called Jesus is the title that Matthew used in the opening line of his Gospel to prove to the Jews that Jesus is the promised Messiah (Matthew 1:1). The title is a reference to the Messianic promise in Isaiah 9:6. The Messiah would be a descendant of David whose kingdom would last forever. 

As Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus, the crowd tried to shush him. But he kept calling out more and more, “Son of David, have pity on me.” This time he got the attention of Jesus. “Call him,” the Lord said. Some people went to Bartimaeus and said to him, “Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.” I tell you, those others who told him that Jesus was calling him are like the Church, they are like missionaries and evangelists. Telling someone that Jesus is calling him or her is essentially the work of each one of us. Upon hearing that Jesus is calling him, the first thing he did was to throw aside his cloak, which was something of great value to him. He cast aside his old life, just as Peter, Andrew, James and John did. When Jesus called them, all immediately left their fishing nets, their fishing business and their old life to follow him. After casting aside his cloak, Bartimaeus sprang up to his feet. He did not dither, rather, he acted. From the time of throwing aside his cloak to springing up, he did not allow any temptation of doubt to enter. In the presence of Jesus, Jesus asks him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He told Jesus his greatest desire, “Master, I want to see.” Without delay Jesus speaks the word that completely changed his life: “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” The Lord did not have to touch him for him to receive his sight. His faith in Jesus has already triggered the restoration of his sight. 

Now, there are a few lessons we can learn from the story of blind Bartimaeus. First lesson. Knowing the real identity of Jesus is vitally important. If Bartimaeus knew Jesus as one teacher among the many teachers in Israel, he wouldn’t be motivated to cry out to him for healing. If all he knew about Jesus was merely a nice and gentle figure, Bartimaeus would probably ask Jesus for money or food, after all, he was on the roadside begging. If Bartimaeus’ notion of Jesus was that of a moral teacher, a sage, one of the great figures around, I don’t think he would bother reaching out to him. Our notion of Jesus determines how we relate to him. Bartimaeus called Jesus “Son of David” a title which we hear from the lips of Jesus is an inadequate depiction of himself (Matthew 22:41-45), but what Bartimaeus lacks in his view of Jesus, he makes up with the show of great faith in Jesus. 

Second lesson. Don’t let anyone silence your voice or dampen your passion when you are speaking or chasing after Jesus. Today, our society has increasingly become very secular. People including Christians prefer to talk about sports, entertainment, weather, climate, food, politics and world affairs. Speaking about Jesus, about faith and religious issues have become so rare. Why? Because many religious people have allowed the noise of secularism to silence them. We are now afraid or ashamed to mention the name of Jesus in our conversation. We are even intimidated to utter the blessing words, “God bless you” to someone we want to express gratitude to. It has become more convenient  to talk about great sports men and women, about pop artistes, about celebrities, and about individuals who have done well in the country. But what about Jesus? In Mark 17:37, we hear that people who live in the district of the Decapolis (ten cities), while speaking about Jesus, said, “He has done all things well.” Jesus has not only done all things well, he has significantly altered the course of history. He has impacted everything from western culture and ethics to social structures, due to his teachings on love, compassion, forgiveness, and the worth of every individual. Jesus has taught us what really matters and what really endures. As such, he deserves to be spoken of every day and every time. So, don’t allow the voices of secularism, of godlessness, of consumerism and the undue glorification of science to silence your passion for Jesus. 

Third lesson. Obstacles will be put in your way. Hebrews 12:1-2 encourages us to cast aside every obstacle as we run the race that lies before us. Like Bartimaeus, we have to make a decision to run to God even when things get in our way. The story of blind Bartimaeus should be our story. As many people around us run away from God, we should run towards him regardless of what others say to us. The desire to be with God should be so high and so great that we don’t allow any obstacles to be in our way. Bartimaeus did not let anything— his blindness, the hostile crowd— prevent him from getting to his Savior. 

Fourth Lesson. Stop paying attention to the crowd. Stop listening to the majority. The crowd is hardly correct. The crowd hardly gets it right. At the trial of Jesus, it was the crowd that shouted “Crucify him, crucify him.” But was Jesus guilty? Not at all! Yet, the crowd condemned him. Remember Barabbas. During the trial of Jesus, Pontius Pilate, after examining the case against Jesus, found him innocent. Since it was the Jewish custom that someone is released from prison at the Passover feast, he inquired if Jesus should be released. The crowd again chose Barabbas over Jesus to be released by Pilate. So, stop paying attention to what the crowd is saying. They hardly get it right. In the story of Bartimaeus, the crowd tried to silence him. Had the crowd had their way, Jesus would have walked past the blind man. The crowd is always changing. They usually respond to external stimuli which are prone to change. If you are going to follow your purpose, you cannot base your decisions on a standard that is constantly changing. God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Our actions should be based on what he says rather than what the world dictates.