30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 24, 2021

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What about my own blindness? What do I want from Jesus?

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.

Music Meditations

Opening Prayer

From Father William Bausch:

Some of us are blind to our own faults… Lord, we want to see
Some of us always focus on the weakness of others… Lord, we want to see
Some of us never acknowledge life’s blessings… Lord, we want to see
Some of us are blinded by unbridled desires for pleasure, money, and self-promotion and fail to notice the needs of others… Lord, we want to see
Some of us have eyes darkened by prejudice and hared… Lord, we want to see
Some of us are blinded by pride which makes us think we are the center of the universe… Lord, we want to see
Some of us are blinded by ambition and step all over others’ feelings… Lord, we want to see
Some of us are blinded by self-absorption which makes us see we are the center of the universe… Lord, we want to see
Some of us wallow in our own self-pity and are turned in on our own sins and never notice God’s mercy… Lord, we want to see
Some of us don’t have our prayers answered and need to learn to sense something deeper happening in the crosses we bear… Lord, we want to see

Companions for the Journey

From a homily by Father William Bausch:

By way of introduction, the story of the blind man from the past conjures up a story about a blind man in the present. At a celebrity party, singer Stevie Wonder met Tiger Woods. Wonder mentioned that he, too, is an excellent golfer. Tiger was a bit skeptical that the blind musician could play golf well, but he was too polite to say anything, “When I tee off”, the singer explained, “I have a guy call me from the green. My sharp sense of hearing lets me aim.” Tiger was impressed and Stevie suggested that they play a round. Then Tiger agreed, Stevie asks: “How about we play for $100,000?” Tiger insisted that he wouldn’t play for money, but Stevie argued until Tiger finally relented and said, “So, when do you want to play?” Stevie laughed and said: “Any night you choose.”

It is significant that today’s gospel comes right after last Sunday’s gospel about James and John seeking to sit at the right and the left hand of Jesus, not seeing what this would involve. The side-by-side position of these two episodes says that Jesus’ intimates had it all wrong and today’s stranger had it all right. In short, the apostles, physically able to see, were morally blind. The man in today’s gospel is physically blind, but morally full of sight and insight. We know this by the way he answers Jesus’ question: “What do you want me to do for you?”

Pause for a minute. What would be your answer? What would you want Jesus to do for you? To win the lottery? To get a raise? To regain health? To reclaim a lost child? To be rich and famous? To be happy? Bartimaeus. Why did they remember his name and not the others? Perhaps it is because he was the only one to give the right answer to Jesus question when he answered: “That I might see”. Whether he was cured or no he wanted to see, that is, to see the meaning behind it all, to see what life was about, to see how to really live, to see some sense in life’s confusion and unfairness, to see the hand of God somewhere in the present, to see beyond his physical blindness. He was, in short, asking for faith, for goodness, for moral insight. Would that be our prayer? This kind of sight that Bartimaeus was asking for was to see as Jesus sees, to see what’s important. Which is why the gospel adds that he immediately followed Jesus. That is, once he saw what was really real, what really counts, he left his former life and gave his life away to Jesus.

According to the gospel, many rebuked Bartimaeus, telling him to keep silent. We have the same today. We have a media that keeps us endlessly distracted with trivia and a culture that offers us bread and circuses or purchases as the means of happiness. Many rebuke us telling us to keep silent, not bring up all that “spiritual” stuff and the real issues of the spirit. But like Bartimaeus, we must cry out all the louder our deepest and most heartfelt needs when Jesus stops before us and asks: “What is it that you really want me to do for you?”

Your answer?

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

What do you want me to do for you?

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

  • Why might God desire us to ask for what we want instead of just giving it to us?
    Do you think God knows what we want without our having to ask for it?
  • If Jesus were to ask me: “What do you want me to do for you?”, what would my answer be?
    How honest am I with God about what I want or need?
  • Is there anything I want badly enough that I would call out in public?
  • Is there anything that I would prefer Jesus not notice about me?
  • From Father Paul Gallagher, OFM:
    Why do you think people rebuked Bartimaeus for crying out to Jesus?
    What do you think were their motives?
  • Bartimaeus was an irritation to the crowd. Why are we often annoyed by needy people?
  • What does this story and others in the gospels tell us about the role of the insignificant and outcast in recognizing Jesus?
    Why would this be so?
    What kind of message is there for us to see?
  • Does it bother me when those who ask and ask seem to get and get while those who soldier on uncomplaining are not noticed?
  • What are my “blind” spots?
    Is there someone or something I need to see in a new way? Why?
    How hard is it to do so?
  • What do I want to “see”, really?
    What would be the cost of regaining my “sight”?
  • What of God’s presence and providence in our lives have we ever been blind to, focusing instead on the fact that life has not been perfect for us?
    Do I stop and appreciate my God-given ability to see?
    How much have I noticed the sheer beauty of God’s creation?
    What other abilities or gifts do I sometimes take for granted?
  • What in our culture blinds us to what we should be seeing?
    What in our Church does the same?
    Whom does society or the Church choose not to see?
  • Which is true: Seeing is believing or believing is seeing?
  • Describe the faith you think Bartimaeus had.
  • How important is Bartimaeus throwing off his only form of protection from the elements (his cloak) and following Jesus?
    Why is this part of the story often ignored?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Father Xavier often says that we are what we notice. However, we go through life so focused on certain tasks or pleasures, that we fail to notice many things—the unspoken anxiety of a co-worker, the need for someone in my family or my dorm to have me really listen to what they are NOT saying, for example. We cultivate a sort of selective blindness which allows us to be efficient and successful, but may cause us to skip the nuances which can make us more like Christ, who noticed everybody…

What people I encounter in my everyday life am I blind to? How do I react to the person outside the grocery store with a cardboard sign? The homeless man with all of his possessions in a shopping cart? The person working for minimum wage who is the sole support of her family? The dorm-mate abusing drugs or alcohol? The person in my class who has such a hard time with chemistry?

What attitudes or habits in myself am I blind to? My defensiveness when asked a simple question? My brusqueness and irritation when I am feeling pushed for time? My exasperation with those who are not as competent as I am? My dismissal of things I do not want to hear? My own cry for help? What can I do to increase my awareness and sensitivity to those around me and my own needs and failings?

What do I actually DO with that awareness?

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:

First, read the gospel aloud.

Then imagine that you are Bartimaeus. What kind of childhood did you have? Describe your average day. Immerse yourself in the sounds and smells of the place where you sit every day. What is it like to be a beggar? How did you come by your cloak? How long have you been sitting on the side of the road? How do you get there each day? What are you waiting for? Do you believe in God, in God’s love and mercy? Describe how you feel and what you think as Jesus comes by with his disciples and followers. Do you believe that Jesus is someone special? How do you feel when he stops to talk to you? Why do you throw your cloak aside, when it is your only protection against the elements? Is it the restoration of your sight that made you follow Jesus, or something else?

Then look at your own life. Is it more like that of Bartimaeus or the followers of Jesus? What do you have to lose by following Jesus? What do you have to gain? Is the choice harder for you than it is for Bartimaeus?

Sit quietly for a few moments and imagine yourself hearing Jesus say: “Your faith has saved you.” How does it make you feel?

Literary Reflection:

This is a poetic form of an Ignatian Meditation, getting into the mind and life of someone you have encountered in the gospels. Does this poem by Ed Ingebretzen, S.J. help you to imagine what life was like for this man, for the hopelessness he experienced, and the raw honesty with which he approached God?

“Bartimaeus”

Maybe I could love you God
If less of me
Spent each day dead;

I am Bartimaeus:
I wait by long roads
And most Friday afternoons
I wait
Just to hear you pass.

Do you see these hands?
They are wrinkled in despair,
And these my eyes
Never really could see.

Look at me
A blind beggar
Hiding by some tree;
Like a lone widow, drunk with fear,
Clutching some piece of hem
In silent faith.

You ask by not asking
What I want:
These hands, these eyes
Speak worlds better than I.

Closing Prayer

From Sacred Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits:

Lord, I sometimes open my eyes in the morning, and do not notice the sunshine, the green of trees, the colours in my room, the warmth or sorrow in the faces around me. If I had been blind, like Bartimaeus in today’s gospel, I would long to open my eyes and see all that is to be seen. I could not have enough of this light-filled world around me.

Give me a relish, Lord, for all that my eyes can take in: not the pre-selected shots of the TV screen, but the endlessly varied landscape and peoplescape that surrounds me. I pray with Bartimaeus: Master, let me receive my sight.