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 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 to 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 garment, 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

In yesterday's reading, Jesus was traveling toward Jerusalem. As they walked on the road, He warned the disciples once again about what was to happen to Him there. James and John Zebedee approached Him and told Him they wanted Him to grant that they would sit on His right hand and left in His glory. But Jesus told them they didn't understand what they were asking -- there is a cup to drink, and a baptism with which to be baptized which they must also endure. To sit on His right or left hand is not His to give, but it is for those whom it is prepared. He said to all of the disciples, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

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 to all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" Jericho, we remember, is the town whose walls were toppled with a shout. Here, blind Bartimaeus is the one who is doing the shouting, and he won't be kept quiet. Instead, he calls out more loudly. So badly does he want something, that he just can't be contained by the crowd. To say, "Have mercy" is to pray, and is a phrase of liturgical prayer in many traditions of the church. My study bible says that "mercy is God's lovingkindness, His tender compassion toward repentant sinners."

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 garment, he rose and came to Jesus. So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?" This is the same question Jesus asked in yesterday's reading, when John and James Zebedee wanted to make a request of Him. Here, Jesus offers the same lovingkindness, compassion to a blind beggar: Bartimaeus gets all of His attention. My study bible points out here that faith needs to be specific, and Jesus requests him to exercise his faith by asking for a specific need. So often the readings teach us that God wants us to know what we want, and come to Him with what is in our hearts. It is a way that we cooperate with grace, by emptying ourselves in this way.

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. My study bible points out that Bartimaeus could have asked for the grace to live with his blindness, but he asks for sight -- a specific request. Rabboni is a term of affection, meaning "my teacher." Again, my study bible points out a helpful aspect of this reading: Jesus is on the road to confrontation in Jerusalem -- Bartimaeus is not commanded to silence about this messianic sign of healing. The good news here is Bartimaeus' call. Just as Jesus called Him to ask what he wanted, here he chooses to follow Jesus on "the Way." The word in Greek for the "road" is the same one used among the early believers for the "Way."

There are some little clues in the reading about the action here between the afflicted and Christ. Bartimaeus throws off his garment (his cloak) as he goes to Jesus, in a figurative sense he casts off one role for another, and he goes as himself openly, a man before God. In the Greek, asking for Him to "have mercy on me" is a kind of active verbal form. It sounds like "mercy me" in the same sense a child might ask, "feed me" -- or if a plant could talk, it would ask, "water me." And the word in Greek for mercy sounds alike for the one for olive oil: it is evocative of a request to "anoint me." In our image we have of mercy and lovingkindness, we see grace as a type of anointing, and a healing (both were uses of oil). So, when Christ calls us, responding to our cries for mercy, we come as ourselves -- and we come with our heart's desires, who we truly are, our specific faith. We cast off the cloaks of who we think we should be for a real and true relationship of the heart. This is the way which we are called -- and when Jesus tells Bartimaeus to "go," Bartimaeus goes His Way, as a follower, with the gift of His love, His grace, His anointing and healing. When we pray, "have mercy," let us think about prayer in this way. We reveal ourselves for relationship and love, and we give ourselves to Him as He gives Himself to us. This is the road to Jerusalem, the Holy City.