Faith

Faith

Mark 10:46-52

They came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage; get up, he is calling you.”  He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.

Reflection:

Imagine, if you can, the drama of the moment for Bartimaeus. He was a man who spent his life on the fringe of society. In this time those afflicted with physical disabilities were considered to have been cursed with infirmity or disability because they were sinful. Today we know this is not true. The blind of Jesus’ time were targets of scorn and survived only through the compassion of a few who pitied them.

Bartimaeus had no reason to have faith but he did. Through his exercise of faith he was given the gift of sight, the ability to see the world.

How did Bartimaeus respond? He did not run into town celebrating his new found vision or head to the nearest pub to make merry or chose one of many other choices he could have made. Recall that Jesus told Bartimaeus to go his own way. Instead Bartimaeus followed Christ. Why? Because Bartimaeus knew that Jesus had done more than give him sight – Jesus had saved him.

We know the miracle Jesus would work on us this week end is not to restore our sight. We all, in varying degrees, can see just fine. The gift he would have us accept is more than just vision. He wants to save us. In our Creed we profess to believe not just in things that are visible but also what is invisible. Our faith is what leads us to believe in what is not visible and that same faith allows to begin to see what had previously invisible to us.

Faith grows within us the ability to see our wives as partners and soul mates and not just someone who cooks, cleans and care for children. Our children become gifts to cherish and nurture rather than objects to endure. The people around us become brothers and sisters of Jesus and in each person we see the divinity of Christ revealed to us. Once we begin see the people around us as unique gifts to the world from God we are driven to reach out to those in need and to serve them as Christ served Bartimaeus. Faith gives us the ability to see the image of Christ and motivates us to become more like him. Faith will become our sight.