LET ME SEE

 As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stood still and said, ‘Call him here.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; get up, he is calling you.’ So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man said to him, ‘My teacher, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way. (Mk 10, 46-53)

Followed by his disciples and a sizeable crowd, Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. He was walking ahead of them. He had accepted his father’s will, and “entered willingly into his Passion”. He was decidedly leading them all the way. The crowd would have heard about what the religious authorities were plotting against him, and they were amazed, and those who followed him were afraid.
listen here

Jesus called the twelve apostles aside, and told them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles … and they will kill him. But, after three days he will rise again”.

Along the way, Jesus was twice presented with the opportunity to ask “What is it you want me to do for you?”

First James and John came forward to Jesus and told him: “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you”. They were disciples! He answered them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” They wanted a place of honour and power in Christ’s glory. It seems that they, who were present at his transfiguration, remembered the words about his ‘rising again’, but forgot or were unable to digest the words about his suffering and death. He said to them, “You do not know what you are asking”. He was not angry at them. He took the opportunity to teach them that, if they wanted to be real disciples they had to change their mentality and accept their mission to serve and not to be served. This was indeed Jesus’ mission, “To give his life a ransom for many.”

Then, Mark tells us about Bartimaeus, the blind man from Jericho. He was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that Jesus of Nazareth was coming his way, he began to shout and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” People tried to silence him and sternly ordered him to be quiet. They couldn’t stop him.

Jesus stopped! Even though surrounded by a big crowd Jesus heard him. He then asked those who were around him to bring the blind man to him. When Bartimaeus heard the good news that Jesus was calling him and that people were encouraging him on, “he threw off his cloak, he sprang up and went to Jesus”.  These are signs of his faith in Jesus’ power to heal him. In fact, a blind man would not throw off his cloak, he would want to find it again, if needed. A blind man would not spring up, for he needed help to find his way in his darkness.

Jesus then asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man’s answer was simple, “My teacher, let me see again.” It is interesting that when Bartimaeus was calling for Jesus to get his attention, he called him by name. This leads me to think that he wanted a personal relationship with him. Then he repeatedly called him ‘Son of David’, a messianic title that would point to his faith in Jesus, perhaps not yet understood. When speaking face to face with Jesus he called him ‘teacher’, showing his readiness to listen in order to learn.

All of this sheds a light on the blind man’s request, “Let me see again”. Did this beggar lose his eyesight later in life or was he born blind, for some translations only say, “Let me see”. Not that it matters that much for us, because the end result would be the same for us if we make ours his request. If we would like to have a stronger faith to be able the better to see God’s doings in our history, or if somewhere in our history, we distanced ourselves from our faith, and wish to return to him, we need to frequently ask Jesus, “Let us see again!”

Jesus answered the blind man’s request saying, “Go! Your faith has made you well.” A two lettered word was enough for Jesus to perform this miracle. There was no need for more, because Christ’s power was sort of activated by the man’s effort for a personal relationship with Jesus, by his faith in the person of Jesus, and in his readiness to listen and learn. Go your way, Jesus told Bartimaeus who immediately regained his sight and, instead of going his way, chose to follow Jesus along the way.

Is there a need for us to compare these two episodes, that of James and John and that of the blind man? I don’t think so, for all of them were, in a way, blind, and all appealed to Jesus with what they perceived was there aim in life. And it was good that they did so. The disciples’ request gave Jesus the opportunity to teach them about being his disciples, and for the blind man his request gave Jesus the opportunity to give him back his physical sight and also his spiritual one, for in fact he opted to follow Jesus.

Let us not be afraid to go to Jesus, with our requests and our dreams, even if they may seem silly, for “the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought” (Rom 8, 26). Jesus told his disciples, “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it” (Jn 14, 13). In fact, Jesus granted his disciples what they were asking for, not according to their unfounded dreams of power, but on a higher level, for he told them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized”. This is how John understood his lesson, “What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is” (1Jn 3, 2). Jesus told us, “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you”, perhaps not exactly as we imagine but according to God’s loving generosity.