Thursday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
The figure of Bartimaeus the blind beggar in Mark’s Gospel today is powerful in the midst of weakness. It’s hard to imagine the helplessness and isolation of a beggar in ancient times compounded by blindness. Jesus did not shy away from the most desperate as he found them. Here there is the added dimension in that Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was passing near and cried out to Him in his dark isolation: “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.” This desperate cry for help must have disturbed the bystanders. We can wonder why they tried to silence him. Was it because his condition of blindness seemed to render his plea completely unrealistic? Was his plea disturbing because Bartimaeus had the courage to publicly express his faith in this Jesus whom he believed to be the anointed Son of David and had the power to save him?
Bartimaeus becomes our spokesperson when we find ourselves in the darkness of doubts about our faith. How much of our blindness comes from within and how much is due to the darkness around us? In either case, Bartimaeus challenges us to cry out in faith whenever we sense that He is near even in unexpected ways.
When the Lord asks the question: “What do you want?” With hope and courage may we answer with a full-hearted “I want to see!” But the second part follows for us as it did for Bartimaeus. We ask for the strength to respond to what we see, namely to follow and do the Lord’s will.
Reflection by Fr. Daniel Petsche, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections