Gospel (Mk 10:46-52)
As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great multitude, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 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!” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; rise, he is calling you.” And throwing off his mantle he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Master, let me receive my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.”
And immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.
Commentary
The person in today’s Gospel passage must have been well known to the disciples, since the evangelist mentions his name and that of his father. It is easy to imagine him recounting his unforgettable experience upon leaving Jericho. Let us contemplate this meeting between the son of Timaeus and the son of David. The first is blind and poor; the second is the light of the world and rich in mercy.
Blindness and poverty do not prevent Bartimaeus from hearing. During his long hours “sitting by the roadside,” he heard the coins people tossed to alleviate his hardship. That day, however, his ears heard something new: the noise of the crowd as the Teacher from Nazareth passed by. And he began to cry out begging for mercy. He also heard the reproaches of many who tried to silence him. But his cries became even louder and reached the ears of Jesus, who called him. Leaving behind the little he possessed, his cloak and some coins, he met God himself. What Bartimaeus perhaps had often prayed became a reality: “Lord, hear my prayer, let my cry come to You” (cf. Ps102:2).
Bartimaeus, with his loudly proclaimed faith, won healing from the Master. And the story continues with his new life. He is no longer at the side of the path but traveling along it. Now Jesus is his Way. We see in Bartimaeus what Saint Paul testified to: “one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead” (Phil 3:13).
It can often happen to us that we do not see our path clearly. Then is the time to rekindle our faith with a more persevering prayer, also being ready to listen to the advice of a good friend: “Take heart; rise, he is calling you.” And we will obtain the strength needed to go forward, leaving behind whatever could be a hindrance to following the Master: our cloak, our blindness, our past. Let us make Bartimaeus’s plea our own, as Saint Josemaría advised: “Place yourself before our Lord each day and tell him slowly with all the strength of your heart, like the man in the Gospel who was in such great need, Domine, ut videam! Lord, that I may see! That I may see what you expect from me, and struggle to be faithful to you” (The Forge, 318).