Following Jesus on the Way

Homily for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Gospels tell us that toward the end of his life Jesus walked to Jerusalem from the region of Israel known as Galilee. The text that we read today from St. Mark’s Gospel tells us that Jesus has reached Jericho which sits at the base of the mountain on which Jerusalem is built. It is frequently called Mount Zion. Jesus began his journey to Jerusalem in Bethsaida where Jesus had healed a blind man. In other words, the journey to Jerusalem begins and ends with the same kind of miracle healing. In this way, the cure of blindness ‘frames’ the journey at its beginning and end. The arrangement suggests an intention on the part of the Evangelist to make the physical blindness of the two men Jesus heals a symbol of the spiritual blindness of the disciples, which, as we have read again and again, is the chief focus of Jesus’ activity on the journey to Jerusalem. The instant cure of Bartimaeus and his readiness to ‘follow (Jesus) along the way’ contrasts sharply with the reluctance of the disciples to come to terms with the suffering and death that awaits Jesus in Jerusalem. He has told them explicitly what is going to happen three times, yet they fail to understand and have been dragging their heels in following him there.

The first cure, in Bethsaida was unusual in that the man recovered his sight in two stages: at first, he saw only indistinctly; then, following further ministration from Jesus, he saw clearly. Taken symbolically, the two-stage cure reflects the situation of the disciples. Peter has answered the question posed by Jesus as they made their way to Jerusalem. “You are the Christ, the Messiah for whom we have been waiting.” However, he and the other apostles have not let go of the idea that Jesus will establish his kingdom by overthrowing the Roman occupation. In this sense they have partial ‘sight’. Right to the end of the Gospel, despite frequent warnings, they fail to comprehend that Jesus’ messianic ministry will involve giving up his life as a ransom for many.

Today we read the story of a second cure which gave sight to Bartimaeus. Unlike the apostles, Bartimaeus receives not only his physical sight, he also receives his faith in Jesus. He begins by addressing Jesus as the Son of David, the traditional title given to the Messiah. Like the apostles, he knows whom he is addressing. The people following Jesus tell Bartimaeus to be quiet. They symbolize the response of the world with its distractions which try to tear us away from our faith in Jesus. However, Jesus calls him directly, and Bartimaeus responds in a dramatic gesture. St. Mark tells us: “He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.”

Bartimaeus was a blind beggar. His cloak would have served two different purposes. He would have spread it on the ground and asked people for alms which they would throw to him. He would gather them up, using his cloak the way a beggar of our own time would use a plastic cup. At night, he would use his cloak as a blanket to keep him warm throughout the night. When he throws is aside, he has already decided to follow Jesus. He will no longer need to beg for alms. He will no longer need his cloak. Like the apostles who were fishing when they heard Jesus call, he leaves his cloak behind in the same fashion that they had left their nets and boats behind to follow Jesus.

Jesus then asks him what he wants. Bartimaeus responds: “Master, I want to see.” With this second title, Bartimaeus reveals that he now considers himself a disciple of Jesus, one who understands what Jesus is about. Jesus has become his Rabbi, his teacher. All of this is symbolized in his use of the title “Master.”  Jesus grants his request and tells him, as he has done to so many before him, that his faith has saved him. The evangelist then makes a rather startling point when he writes, “Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.” “The Way” is one of the earliest names for Christianity. In fact, it’s used in the Book of Acts of the Apostles more times than the word “Christian.”  In the Gospel of St. John, Jesus tells his disciples that he is the way. In a literal sense, these words indicate that Bartimaeus is going to follow Jesus to Jerusalem. In a symbolic sense, these words indicate that Bartimaeus has come to a knowledge of Jesus that even his apostles had failed to grasp.

One last point needs to be made. With very few exceptions, those who have been healed or cured or had their demons expelled from them have remained nameless in the Gospels. We know of Peter’s mother-in-law, but not her proper name. Only the disciples and the women who supported his ministry have been named. However, the blind beggar whose name is recorded in the Gospel will always be known by name as a follower of Jesus.

The example that this man gives us is hard to ignore. What do we want Jesus to do for us? What would we do with such a gift? Do we realize the gift that we are given every time we come to this table? Do we have the resolve that Bartimaeus displays when he realizes that Jesus has granted his request?

At the beginning of Ordinary Time, I reminded you that this season was used by the Church to examine the cost of discipleship. Bartimaeus understood without a doubt what was expected of him. He was not only given the ability to see, but he was also given eyes of faith. The great theologian St. Thomas Aquinas urges: “If, then, you are looking for the way by which you should go, take Christ, because he himself is the way: This is the way; walk in it.” Today, may we all travel the way of Christ, the way to heaven. Let Bartimaeus be a lesson for all of us to learn that Jesus has called each of us to follow him on the way.