Jericho is about 15 miles from Jerusalem, which means Jesus is 15 miles from Jerusalem. It is a one-way trip. He won’t be coming back the way he came. Three times he has predicted he will suffer and die (Mark 8:31-33; 9:30-32; 10:32-34). The time for that is rapidly approaching. He knows that, but it appears that the apostles are still blind to what is going to happen.

Several things are worth pointing out in today’s Gospel. Perhaps the healing of Bartimaeus is meant by Jesus to be an action parable that the apostles will understand in a few weeks. As the blind Bartimaeus had been healed of his blindness, the blindness of the apostles will be healed soon too.

When Jesus heals Bartimaeus, and gives him his sight, Bartimaeus follows Jesus on the way. The way leads to Jerusalem and crucifixion. How long did Bartimaeus stay in Jerusalem? We don’t know. However, there is a good chance that he became a Christian. Of all the healings that are recorded in Gospel of Mark, only one person who was healed is known my name, Bartimaeus. Thus, if he is known by name when Mark writes his Gospel some forty years after the healing of Bartimaeus, there is a good chance that he was one of the early Christians, and was known by many in the early church.

In contrast to Bartimaeus, a few weeks ago we heard about the rich young man who declined our Lord’s invitation to follow. The rich young man’s possessions were an obstacle to following Jesus. Bartimaeus, on the other hand, cast off his one possession when he was called by Jesus. We heard in our Gospel passage that Bartimaeus, “threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus,” and then after he was healed he followed Jesus to Jerusalem.

I want to briefly discuss one obstacle that can get between us and Jesus: suffering. Suffering is not punishment from God. Suffering is an invitation from God to join him in converting the world. Suffering does not separate us from God, but unites us with the suffering Jesus on the cross (See Romans 8:31-39, and 2Cor. 12:7-10). The suffering of Jesus was offered up to save us from our sins. Similarly, we are called to offer up our suffering for others. Thus, suffering when seen from the eyes of God is not punishment, but an invitation to join with Jesus to build up the kingdom of God.

Just as the apostles were blind to the fact that Jesus had to suffer, so we are often blind to the fact that suffering is an opportunity to help others when we offer it up. In his book Saint John Paul The Great, Jason Evert writes about an encounter St. John Paul II had with a priest with a broken leg (p. 174). The priest jokingly asked the pope for a blessing because of his broken leg. The pope said to the priest, “Don’t waste your suffering.” He then blessed the priest, and then lightly thumped him on the head with the open palm of his hand.

Sometimes we need someone to lightly bop us on the head. Suffering in the blind way of seeing things is a sign that God is mad at us, or has abandoned us. Suffering in the way that God sees is an opportunity to change the world. Don’t waste your suffering. Don’t let your suffering be an obstacle to drawing closer to the suffering Christ. Suffering doesn’t separate us from God, but unites us with him, and is an invitation to join with Jesus in changing the world with our prayers. The prayers of those who suffer are powerful prayers, and the suffering that they offer up for others is powerful indeed. Amen?

Back to Baritmaeus. Some scripture scholars say it is noteworthy that Jesus did not silence Bartimaeus as he called out, “Son of David have pity on me.” By saying that, Bartimaeus is stating that he believes Jesus is the Messiah. All through the Gospel of Mark, Jesus has been silencing those who call him by that title. It is known among scripture scholars as the messianic secret. Perhaps, with his death so close at hand, Jesus feels it is no longer necessary to hide the fact that he is the messiah, since it will be clear to all who will be able to see with the eyes of faith.

It is curious that Jesus asked Bartimaeus (Mark 10:51a), “What do you want me to do for you?” Isn’t it obvious that Bartimaeus wants to be healed of his blindness? Twice he shouted for Jesus to have mercy on him, but he hasn’t specifically asked for what he wanted. We can guess he wants to be healed of his blindness because the assumption of the people of that time is that he is blind because of his sins, so by asking for mercy, he is asking for forgiveness, and thus healing of his blindness. Remember, in the Gospel of John (9:2) the apostles encountered a man born blind man and asked Jesus, “Who sinned this man or his parents that he was born blind.”

So, we can assume that he wants to be healed of his blindness. However, Jesus is going to honor his freewill. Another image of Jesus honoring our freewill is found in the Book of Revelation. There we find this passage (3:20), “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.” God knocks on the door of our heart, but he won’t enter without permission. He honors our freewill. Thus, Bartimaeus needs to ask for the healing. If Bartimaeus is healed, he will need to find a job. He is a beggar. That is how he makes his living. If he wants to be cured of his blindness, he will need to find a new line of work. There are consequences to the healing, so Jesus won’t assume what he wants, and asks him, “What do you want me to do for you.”

It is the exact same question he asks James and John a few verses earlier in the Gospel of Mark. Remember, last week in the Gospel we heard James and John say (Mark 10:35), “Teacher, we want you to do whatever we ask of you.” Jesus then said to them (Mark 10:36), “What do you want me to do for you?” In their spiritual blindness they ask to sit on his left and right in the kingdom. A better response would have been what Baritmaeus said in response to Jesus’ question, “What do you want me to do for you?” Bartimaeus said (Mark 10:51b), “Master, I want to see.” It was the perfect answer, and then Bartimaeus followed Jesus to Jerusalem.

That encounter between Jesus and Bartimaeus should answer a common question about why we need to pray. Sometimes the question is asked, “If God knows what I need, why do I need to pray? Why doesn’t God just give me what I need?”

The response to that question is that God honors our freewill. We need to tell God what we need in order to invite him into the situation. Since we have freewill, God needs to know that his help is wanted. So, one of things that our prayer does is let God know that his help is wanted. A simple prayer that we can pray to invite God into our lives goes like this: “Come Holy Spirit. Come Lord Jesus Christ. Help me. Heal me. Open my eyes to the deep wounds that are the cause of my habitual sins. Open my eyes to what really needs healing in my life, so that I can serve you better and build your kingdom. Come Holy Spirit. Come Lord Jesus Christ. Help me. Heal me. I ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.” Or we can simply invite God into our lives by repeating, “Come Holy Spirit. Come Lord Jesus Christ. Come into my life.” Another way to invite God into our lives is by repeating the short prayer, “All you Lord. All you. All you Lord.” I sometimes pray that short prayer as I cross the altar before preaching the homily at the Spanish mass if I feel I haven’t practiced it enough. I’m asking the Lord to help my tongue speak clearly the words in Spanish.

Most of us have spiritual blindness. There are things that we do that affect those around us, and ourselves. How many times have we noticed a certain behavior in a relative or a friend that causes problems in their life and in their families, and when we try to bring it up, they say that there is no problem at all? We see it clearly, and the problems it creates, but they deny that it is a problem. I’m sure many of you are praying for family members or friends who are blind to their problems. Keep praying for them. They can’t change until they see the problem. Pray that something happens that opens their eyes to the problem so that they can begin making changes in their lives.

Now, if we notice spiritual blindness in others, what are the odds that we suffer from a form of spiritual blindness too? The odds are very good. However, are we humble enough to admit that? Are we humble enough to listen to others when they point out something that we might be blind to that is causing problems, or do we tell others who point out a problem in our life to mind their own business, and continue as if there are no problems at all?

The only way for us to be healed of spiritual blindness is to be open to correction from others, and to humbly admit that there are probably things in our life that we are blind to that makes life more difficult for those around us. Here’s a prayer suggestion for that: “Lord, help me to see how my sin affects my marriage, my family, my neighborhood, my workplace, my school, and my soul; so that I can then make the changes in my behavior in order to make my marriage a better marriage, my family a better family, my neighborhood a better neighborhood, my workplace a better place to work, my school a better place to go to school, and my soul a more worthy place for your love to dwell. Lord, help me to see and love as you see in love. I ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

Bartimaeus knew what he wanted. He wanted to see, and once he could see, he followed our Lord. In order to follow Jesus, and live the Christian life of holiness that he desires for us, we must humbly admit that there are probably things in our lives that we are blind to that makes life more difficult for those around us, and cause us to not be the child of God that God wants us to be. Let me conclude with one last prayer.

“Come Lord Jesus. Come Holy Spirit. Heal us of our spiritual blindness so that we may become holy men and women who build your kingdom on earth, and follow you all the way to heaven. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.”