The Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (2024)
They called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage; get up, Jesus 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.
—Mark 10:49-52
Anyone who lives in a large city becomes accustomed to the sight of the homeless and of people asking for money at intersections and outside of stores. Many of us find ourselves embarrassed and disconcerted by the extended hands or incoherent mumbling. This is a challenging reality, especially when we remember that as Christians, we’re called to be people of encounter.
Our experience of discomfort helps us to understand what Jesus’ followers seemed to have felt in the passage from the Gospel of Mark that is proclaimed this Sunday. After all, wasn’t the blind man, Bartimaeus, causing a spectacle by shouting at Jesus. Even after the people in the crowd told him to be quiet, he kept calling out “all the more, ‘Son of David, have pity on me.’”
To really get a sense of the importance of this story—which is much more than just another account of one of Jesus’ miracles—we have to think about where it falls in the Gospel of Mark. The healing of the blind Bartimaeus is, in fact, linked to the healing of another blind man, recounted only a few chapters earlier (8:22-26). These two stories form “bookends” for one of the most important sections of Mark’s Gospel in which Jesus tries to help his followers understand who he is and what his mission really is. But, as we’ve discovered over the past several Sundays, the Apostles and the other disciples don’t seem to be able to comprehend Jesus’ message or to understand the true cost and meaning of discipleship.
After all, these are the same men who openly opposed Jesus when he tried to teach them about his coming suffering and death.
This blind beggar is, however, able to see what the Apostles cannot and the physical healing of Bartimaeus is a powerful reminder that, when we open ourselves to God’s grace, we can be healed of that blindness of spirit that sometimes prevents us from following Jesus with freedom and joy, which is an important part of discipleship. As Pope Benedict XVI reflected in 2012 homily:
In the encounter with Christ, lived with faith, Bartimaeus regains the light he had lost, and with it the fullness of his dignity: he gets back onto his feet and resumes the journey, which from that moment has a guide, Jesus, and a path, the same that Jesus is travelling. The evangelist tells us nothing more about Bartimaeus, but in him he shows us what discipleship is: following Jesus “along the way,” in the light of faith.
Saint Mark beautifully describes Bartimaeus’ excitement when Jesus finally calls for him: “He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.” There is an energy in his response that wonderfully exemplifies the enthusiasm that should be a hallmark of our discipleship. When the Lord calls, we must be ready to respond. Because of his faith and willingness to respond to Jesus’ call, Jesus blesses Bartimaeus by not only restoring his physical sight but by empowering him to live out his faith in the community of disciples.
The invitation for us this Sunday is to humbly reflect on the ways we might be spiritually blind by asking ourselves what habits, attitudes, and ideologies hold us back from becoming the disciples that Jesus is calling us to be.
Almighty ever-living God,
increase our faith, hope and charity,
and make us love what you command,
so that we may merit what you promise.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
-Collect for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
