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Master, That I May See
Where We Are
Thursday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time. The evangelist Mark brings us to Jericho, where a blind beggar named Bartimaeus sits by the road as Jesus passes. This is the last healing story before Jesus enters Jerusalem for the final time. After weeks of listening to Jesus teach about discipleship, wealth, service, and the cross, we encounter someone who sees more clearly than the sighted disciples. First Peter reminds us that we are living stones and a chosen people.
The Word
Bartimaeus hears that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by and begins to shout: "Jesus, Son of David, take pity on me!" The crowd tells him to be quiet, but he cries out even louder (Mark 10:48). Jesus stops. He calls for Bartimaeus. The blind man throws off his cloak, leaps up, and comes to Jesus. "What do you want, that I should do for you?" Jesus asks. The answer is simple and profound: "Master, that I may see." Jesus says, "Go, your faith has made you whole." Immediately Bartimaeus sees, and he follows Jesus on the way, the way that leads to Jerusalem and the cross.
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Reflect
Bartimaeus is a study in what true discipleship looks like. He is blind, poor, and marginal. Yet he sees what the wealthy young man and the ambitious sons of Zebedee could not see: that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah. His physical blindness does not prevent spiritual sight.
Notice the details Mark gives us. Bartimaeus throws off his cloak. For a beggar, the cloak was everything, his blanket, his shelter, his only possession. He casts it aside without hesitation. Compare this to the rich man who went away sad because he had many possessions. Bartimaeus has nothing, and he gives it all.
Jesus's question, "What do you want, that I should do for you?" is the same question he asked James and John. They wanted thrones. Bartimaeus wants sight. The contrast could not be sharper. Sometimes the people closest to Jesus miss the point, while those on the margins see everything.
The healing happens through faith, not through merit or connection. "Your faith has made you whole." And the result is not just restored sight but conversion: Bartimaeus follows Jesus on the way. He does not go home. He does not celebrate privately. He joins the journey to Jerusalem, knowing or not knowing that the road leads to the cross.
We are all Bartimaeus. We sit by the road, unable to see clearly, crying out for mercy. And Jesus stops for us.
Living It
Pray Bartimaeus's prayer today: "Lord, that I may see." Ask for spiritual sight, the ability to perceive what God is doing in your life and in the world around you.
Is there something you need to throw off, like Bartimaeus threw off his cloak? An attachment, a comfort, a security blanket that keeps you from running to Jesus? Let it go today.
When someone around you is crying out, whether literally or figuratively, do not be like the crowd that tells them to be quiet. Stop. Listen. Help them get to Jesus.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us. Open our eyes to see you clearly. Give us the faith of Bartimaeus, who threw away everything to come to you. When the crowd tells us to be quiet, give us the courage to cry out even louder. And when you heal us, help us follow you on the way. Amen.
Today's reflection draws from Mark 10:46-52 and 1 Peter 2:2-5, 9-12 (CPDV), per the Ordo Lectionum Missae.
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