I WANT TO SEE

[1]True story. A woman was on a bus with her three-year old daughter. The little girl saw a man eating out of a garbage can and was very distressed. She kept asking her mother “why this” and “why that.” A man sitting next to them in a wheelchair told the woman. “Miss, you have a very lovely and caring little girl there. And not only is she lovely, but she is very wise and very beautiful. She looks exactly like you.” The mother thanked him and then noticed, for the first time, that he was blind. As they got off, he said, “Goodbye ladies! Enjoy this beautiful day.” The man was physically blind, but in other ways he was very perceptive.[2]

Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem in Marks Gospel is situated between two stories in which Jesus restores sight to the blind. The first instance occurs in Bethsaida, where a blind man is brought to Jesus, who effects a gradual healing then sends him home (Mk 8:22-26). In today’s Gospel, the setting is Jericho, the last stop before Jesus ascends to Jerusalem, the place of his passion. Unlike the blind man of Bethsaida, Bartimaeus initiates the encounter. The crowd attempts to silence him, but he persistently calls out all the more.[3] This time Jesus said, “Call him” and so the people said to him, “Jesus is calling you.” (Mk 10:49) And here is the key exchange:

Jesus: “What do you want me to do for you?”
Bartimaeus: “Master, I want to see.”
Jesus: “Go your way, your faith has saved you.”
Bartimaeus: Gains his sight and followed Jesus on the way. (Mk 10:51-52)

Bartimaeus persistently called out “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” (Mk 10:47) This is much like the persistence of God that Jeremiah speaks of to the people in exile. God promises to lead them back, console them, and deliver them. These are the same promises God makes to us, and in Jesus, God begins to fulfill this promise. Jesus is calling us! Asking us, what do you want me to do for you?

Can we even hear his calling? The world we live in is constantly rebuking us, attempting to silence our pleadings with all its busyness and distractions. Blinding us to our real needs and the needs of others, those on the roadside begging to be heard. We convince ourselves into believing blindness is something that happens to other people, to the point that we fail to understand that the blind beggar persistently begging for attention, is us, or at least the parts of our own inner being that cry out for healing and attention, for presence and witness.

Think for a moment of the things in your life you regret, that you feel guilty about or ashamed of, when you wish you had acted differently. The times you’ve actually asked yourself, “How could I have done that?” … “Didn’t I see what I was doing?” … “I didn’t see that coming?” … “How could I have been so blind?”

There are people among us today walking around with 20/20 vision who are blind and less perceptive than the blind man on the bus in so many ways.

The good news is, these texts invite us to embrace our places of limitation, weakness, and vulnerability. They invite us to be more aware of our own inner being, to welcome the voices of need from the fringes of life, and to not let the harshness of our inner critic silence our deep cry for healing.

It is by God’s persistent love for us that we can be healed. His Word made flesh, Jesus, knows our human condition, we can take courage in hearing his calling us and asking, “What do you want me to do for you?” Be honest. Let your faith impel you to find strength in weakness, courage in opposition, and a voice when people seek to silence you. Be persistent! Jesus empowers all parts of us to ask for what we need, to not rely on victimization, nor to be silenced.

Jesus doesn’t make assumptions about what the blind man needs or wants, nor will he with us. As we enter into this event of sacrificial love, Jesus asks, what is your deepest desire. He yields to our inner sovereignty. He acknowledges the power to be healed exists within us already.

Do you want to see, do you really want to see? See the human suffering and need in the world, in the community, in the Church, and even within ourselves. Let us in obedience and faith come to Jesus, ask for what is truly needed, and follow him on the way.

[1] New American Bible, Saint Joseph Edition © 1986.  Scripture: Jer 31:7-9; Heb 5:1-6; Mk 10:46-52.

[2] Sundays with Jesus, © 2008 by James DiGiacomo, SJ

[3] Living the Word © 2017 by Laurie Brink, O.P. and Paul Colloton, O.S.F.S.