A MIRACLE BY THE WAYSIDE

A miracle by the wayside Mk10: 46-52

Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem for the Passover. The road to Jerusalem passes through Jericho. It was the custom when a distinguished Rabbi or teacher was on such a journey he was surrounded by a crowd of people disciples and learners who listened to him as he spoke while he worked. That was one of the commonest ways of teaching.

            At the northern gate of the city sat a beggar, Bartimaeus. He heard the tramp of feet. He asked what was happening and who was passing. He was told it was Jesus. There and then he set up an uproar to attract Jesus’ attention to hm. Now to those listening to Jesus’ teaching as he walked, the uproar was an offence. They tried to silence Bartimaeus, but no one was going to take from him his chance to escape from his world of darkness and he cried with such violence that the procession stopped, and he was brought to Jesus.

            In this illuminating story can be seen many of the things which we might call the conditions of a miracle.

1.      There is the sheer persistence of Bartimaeus. Nothing would stop his clamour to come face to face with Jesus. He was utterly determined to meet the one person whom he longed to confront with his trouble. To Bartimaeus, this was a desperate desire and it is that desperate desire that gets this done.

2.      His response to the call of Jesus was immediate and eager, so eager that he cast off his cloak to run to Jesus more quickly. Many a man hears the call of Jesus, but says in effect, “Wait until I have done this or wait until I have finished that”. Bartimaeus came like a shot when Jesus called. Certain chances happen only once. Bartimaeus instinctively knew that. Sometimes we long to give ourselves more completely to Jesus, but often enough we do not act on it on the moment and the chance is gone, perhaps never to come back.

3.      Bartmaeus knew precisely what he wanted: sight. When we go to the doctor we want him to deal with some definite situation. When we go to the dentist we do not ask him to extract any tooth, but the one that is diseased. It should be so with us and Jesus. And that involves the one thing that so few people wish to face: Self-examination. When we go to Jesus, if we are as desperately definite as Bartimaeus, things will happen. But all too often, our admiration for Jesus is a bit of a vague attraction.

4.      Bartimaeus had a quite inadequate conception of Jesus. He called him Son of David. Although that was a Messianic Title, it has in it all the thought of a conquering Messiah, a King of David’s line who would lead Israel to national greatness. In spite of this inadequate idea of Jesus, Bartimaeus had Faith, and faith made up a hundredfold for the inadequate theology. The demand is not that we should fully understand Jesus, which in any event we can never do. The demand is for Faith. A wise writer has said: “We must ask people to think, but we should not espect them to become theologians before they are Christians.” Christianity begins with a personal reaction to Jesus, a reaction of love, feeling that here is the one person who can meet our need. The response of the human heart is enough…

5.      Lastly, in the end there s a precious touch. Bartimaeus may have been beggar by the wayside, but he was a man of gratitude. Having received his sight, he followed Jesus. He did not selfishly go on his way when his need was met. He began with need, went on to gratitude, and finished with loyalty… and that is a perfect summary of the stages of discipleship. My brothers, let us pray for the grace to be like Bartimaeus, persistent in our determination, immediate and eager in our action, precise in our desires, faithful and loving followers of Jesus and thankful for all that we are and have received.