Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!

Now they came to Jericho. As he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And then he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer. Rise. He is calling you." And throwing aside his garments, he rose and came to Jesus. So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man said to him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight." Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

- Mark 10:46-52

Jesus continues his journey on the road to Jerusalem. In the past several readings and commentary, we have discussed this sense of being "on the road." Today, the meaning and significance will come up once again for our notice.

Now they came to Jericho. As he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer. Rise. He is calling you." Jericho, we recall, is the city whose walls fell flat because of the combined shout of all the forces of Israel. Today, we have blind Bartimaeus, a beggar who sits by the side of the road, who persists in his shout. It is important to understand the significance of this plea, this shout. Bartimaeus is insistent, although others are telling him to be quiet. In Jericho, we can understand God's action in toppling a wall -- only in this case, it is the wall between God and man that falls in the person of Jesus, and his redemptive action. He becomes our direct link, the one we can each relate to as persons, as individuals. Joshua and the whole of Israel surrounded Jericho to topple the wall with a collective shout; but in Jesus, there is the One to whom each one of us can shout, and he will come to us and invite us into relationship.

My study bible notes the importance of the plea of Bartimaeus: "Have mercy on me!" Certainly, have mercy is a favorite phrase of prayer in the liturgical tradition of the Church everywhere, and has been so from ancient times. My study bible notes that, "Mercy is God's lovingkindness, His tender compassion toward repentant sinners." We understand mercy to be akin to balm, and in sound ("eleos"), to the Greek word for olive oil, the base for all healing balm in the ancient world. God's "lovingkindness" includes every part of ourselves, whatever it is that needs healing and attention. Bartimaeus' cry becomes our cry, for each one of us who prays.

And throwing aside his garments, he rose and came to Jesus. So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" Bartimaeus has put his all into the shouting he has done toward Jesus, pleading for his mercy. This is so important for us to understand, the need for persistence in prayer, and the renewed action of going again and again in prayer to Christ. We enter into personal relationship through this plea, through prayer, and we await this attention and response, this love. And when there is the response, the attention. Bartimaeus leaves, in a sense, everything behind, his whole identity in order to find himself with Christ. He "throws aside his garments." So, too, we come without possessions, and ask to be shaped in this relationship. Jesus, also, gets very specific here. He asked Bartimaeus, "What do you want me to do for you?" My study bible points out that Jesus knows that Bartimaeus is blind, and yet he asks this question anyway. Bartimaeus could have asked for the grace to live with his blindness, but instead, he asked for his sight. My study bible notes that "faith needs to be specific, and Jesus requests him to exercise his faith by asking for a specific need. Rabboni means 'my teacher,' showing the man's affection for Jesus."

Again, we go to relationship; "Rabboni" is intimate, personal. Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. The connection has been made. This circuit of faith that is created through this interaction is similar to the one made by the woman with the years-long bloodflow who touched the hem of Jesus' garment. Bartimaeus' sight is immediately received. But Bartimaeus does not leave and "go his way" in the sense in which we'd normally think of this particular phrase. He is healed in a number of ways, perhaps -- but clearly changed more powerfully than merely his restored physical sight conveys. This is also a metaphor, and with his new sight, he is also in relationship to Christ. "His way" has become Jesus' way; he is now part of a new society, with a new identity as he is healed. Coincidentally, I've been having a conversation elsewhere about these readings lately where Jesus is on the road. The word for road, here, in Greek is "odos" or "hodos" (its accent indicates that it was originally meant to be pronounced with an aspiration at the beginning of the word), οδως. This is a word still commonly used in Greece for "street" or "road." However, it is the same word translated to mean "way" in the statement, "I am the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6) and also as "the Way" in Acts 9:2. So there is a clear tie between this road on which Jesus teaches and leads his disciples, and encounters Bartimaeus on the way to Jerusalem, and what would become "The Way" for the early Christians. My study bible notes, as well, that Bartimaeus is not commanded to silence, as others have been who received spectacular healings by Jesus. It notes, "Now that Jesus is heading toward an open confrontation with the Jewish leaders in the Holy City, the veiling of his identity (the messianic secret) is no longer necessary."

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday in the liturgical calendar. It is one of those rare years when the entire Church, wherever it is found, in every denomination, will be celebrating at the same time. In our readings, we are now going through that road to Jerusalem. The passage immediately following the one we reviewed today is Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, the beginning of Mark 11. I encourage everyone to read it on their own tomorrow (See Mark 11:1-11). Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem leads us (and Him) into Holy Week. We remember today that the blind receive their sight (in more ways than one), that he asks us to be specific with him, and that he invites each of us into relationship with him. He invites Bartimaeus into dialogue. We are also reminded, as with the wealthy young man (and Bartimaeus' clothes), that we leave everything we are behind in order to be shaped in this relationship. The healed continue on, inseparable, in a sense - identity shaped by their healing. Let us remember persistence in prayer. Of what do you need to be healed? What would you like to leave behind you? What do you need to reveal in prayer, as Bartimaeus did in answer to Jesus' question, "What can I do for you?" And we remember that "glory" is not always what we expect and predict, as we walk together on this road, the Way. Christ will leave everything behind, and yet He is with us today.

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." Rev. 3:20