And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.
And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.
And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me.
And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.
And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might see!
And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way. (Mark 10:46-52)
The first passage we translated from Greek in seminary was this one. And the imperative, urgent nature of the request of the blind beggar, Bar-Timaeus, was apparent, once you saw.
Lord, that I might see! is an accurate translation. He wasn’t deferential, he was in a hurry.
And he discarded everything to follow Jesus. Without being asked.
As we recall from the story of Saint Francis, the town square of Assisi witnessed something similar about 12 centuries later. The son of a wealthy merchant cast off the trappings of wealth right down to his skin.
[Naked as the youth in the garden running away in the night when Jesus was betrayed.]
He had no idea what would happen next, except that now he was really following Jesus.
And then the bishop covered him with his cope. After that, Francis found a discarded cloak of an under-gardener waiting for him on a trash heap. He gladly adopted it as his own, chalking a cross on the back.
[“Where have you laid him?” the women asked at the empty tomb. “For we would have his body in our care.”]
[Yes we have wandered far from Jericho, but not far from Jesus, and his encounter with those who did not see - and those who did.]
Jesus is turning toward Jerusalem. His disciples have trudged in his past all the way from north of the Sea of Galilee. Down the Jordan River they have trod, until they have arrived at the foot of the long climb, from the ancient well-town of Jericho on up to Jerusalem.
And here at this turning point, sitting by the side of the road, is a would-be sighted man. All around him people pegged him as a beggar, blind, consigned to the rubbish heap of life.
But he did not accept that. That was not his fate. That is not what God called him to be. That is not what God made him. God made him his own child, beloved, and a miracle.
A miracle, we know, of restored sight, but also a miracle of forgiveness, grace, and healing.
He did not hesitate. He did not quit. He did what he was not supposed to do. He cried out. And revealed the truth about the one passing by, whom he, son of Timaeus, was first to address as son of David.
What does the son of Timaeus have to do with the son of David? What do they share?
Life - the gift of life - and the redemption of body and soul in the light of the kingdom’s dawning.
For the dawn is upon them, just beyond night; just beyond the darkness of Calvary, Easter comes.
And they are ready, first for the one, and then for the other. The unimaginable other.
Perhaps it is easier to see if you have once been blind. But now, you see.
President Obama sings Amazing Grace (C-SPAN)
October 24th 2021
Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 25 Year B
Lectionary 30
http://edgeofenclosure.org/proper25b.html
An earlier version of this essay was published as "Lord, that I might see!" in Keeping the Faith, Home + Life, Arizona Daily Star, November 14th 2021, E3.
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