In the time of Jesus, a name was not just a label to identify with a person. A name expressed the personality or destiny of a person. So what does the name Bartimaeus in today’s gospel mean? Literally, it comes from the Aramaic and means “son or person of defilement”. This could therefore be, a nickname given to him because he was a blind beggar. Popular theology among the Hebrews held blindness to be a punishment from God for sin or defilement.
But the Greek version of the name could also be understood as a son or person of honor. This would indicate the man’s inner nature and destiny. By giving us the name Bartimaeus with its double meaning, Mark could be telling us that here is a man who is supposed to be a person of honor and dignity living in a state of dishonor and shame.
What Jesus did for him was not simply restoring his physical sight but, over and beyond that, restoring the man’s God-given human dignity.
Jesus comes to bring to fulfillment the prophecy of Jeremiah which we heard this morning in the first reading, the prophecy of the return of the exiled Jews from Babylon back to their homeland. The passage from Jeremiah is a hymn of praise and rejoicing because of what God is going to do for his people to include the sick, the lame, the blind.
In part the Lord says; “I will gather them from the ends of the world with the blind and the lame in their midst. And again he says: “I will lead them to brooks of water on a level road, so that none shall stumble”—Sounds like what Jesus has come to do for God’s people to include a blind beggar on the side of a road and also each one of us, gaining for us our dignity as sons and daughters of God.
The blind beggar, Bartinaeus, knows who Jesus is. He calls out “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me”. The title he gives Jesus, “Son of David” indicates that he, a blind beggar, actually sees who Jesus is more clearly than the disciples and the crowd who have been with Jesus all along. He knows Jesus comes from the royal lineage from where the savior would come. Bartimaeus does not pass up the opportunity to call out to Jesus as he is walking by.
How many times have we passed up our own opportunities to call out to Jesus? How many times have we passed up an opportunity to help a stranded motorist along side of the road, or to help feed the hungry by volunteering at our local food bank, or to give clothing for the poor on the streets of Seattle and our local communities?
Why are there so many that do not get involved in the march in Olympia in protest to those laws that do not hold to the dignity owed for those little ones still in the womb or to stand up and be heard for those who have to fight for their human dignity because of social injustices?
We all need to ask ourselves these questions daily. What would Jesus do, that should be our guide for answers to these questions. We need to daily call out to Him for strength. As Bartimaeus calls out again; “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me” , he is asking for the inner strength that Jesus offers through the Spirit, not just his physical healing.
No matter the situation we find ourselves in, Jesus will be there for us. The problem is that too often we have fixed ideas as to where we are likely to see him or the forms under which he will appear. Maybe in the faces of the homeless, the hungry, the stranded motorist, the volunteers at the food bank, the patrons themselves, or even in the faces of our youth.
It is easy to find Jesus in the tabernacle but less easy in a person we do not like or those who think differently than us. But Jesus comes in any form and in any person or situation, even the most unlikely.
Bartimaeus is now encouraged to get up and go to Jesus by the same people who were telling him to be quiet. These people are now saying; “Cheer up! Rise-up. He is calling you! Of course, they did this through Jesus’ prompting.
Bartimaeus jumps up, throws off his cloak. For a beggar, his cloak was also his sleeping mat and his only possession. He now approaches Jesus with nothing but himself. This is like the catechumen who throws off the old clothes, steps into the baptismal pool, come out to be clothed in a white garment, receiving a share in the new life of Jesus.
So Bartimaeus comes to Jesus with confidence, in freedom, with nothing. Not like the well-dressed rich man we heard about in the gospel two weeks ago
who could not follow Jesus because he identified wealth with money, or like James and John last week who seemed to be selfish in what they were asking of Jesus, that is to sit one on his right and the other on the left in glory.
We now find Bartimaeus face to face with Jesus. Jesus asks, “what can I do for you?” Here, we have Jesus, the high priest described in the second reading from Hebrews someone who is sharing our human nature, has a deep understanding of our needs. As we heard in the reading “Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins”.
So Bartimaeus answers “Lord, that I may see!” Bartimaeus is asking for much more than his physical sight. His prayer is one we all need to make continually. The secret of life is to be able to see, to see life’s real meaning and direction, to be a people of vision to know where God is to be found, where real truth and goodness and beauty are to be found, and where are human dignity is to be found.
It is a prayer that is certain to be answered as it was here. “Go”, Jesus says, your faith, your trust in me, has saved you, healed you, made you whole”. Immediately the man was able to see.
The lesson for us is this: On our own we are blind and poor with nothing of our own. As Christians, we have our eyes opened to the meaning of life, we are constantly undergoing a spiritual battle between good and evil, calling out to Jesus along the way to help us through all those times where we become lost and frightened.
We find our human dignity through our faith in the words of Jesus, scripture, our tradition, and we join as one dignified body by receiving the body and blood of Jesus in the Eucharist.
By calling out to him, we receive a new direction to all we are and do. We become able to walk with him on the way to Jerusalem with a clear vision, with true freedom, in true dignity. Let us not miss Jesus passing by. Call out to Him and he will answer.