Coronavirus Talk 9
Begin with an Our Father
There are at least 22 instances of Jesus healing someone in the four gospels. Those healed include women and men, children those who were blind, deaf, mute, paralyzed, dying, and disfigured. He healed his own people, some Gentiles, some who were wealthy, some who were poor, some at their request, some at his own initiative, some in public, some in private. He even healed Peter’s mother-in-law.
But we must remember that Jesus did not heal every sick person he saw, and that everyone Jesus healed got sick again and died. Healing was only part of his mission; the healings were only a snapshot of who he was and of what our humanity is supposed to be. Quoting Phillip Yancey again: “Jesus’ healings are not supernatural miracles in a natural world. They are the only truly natural things in a world that has become unnatural, demonized, and wounded.” The healings showed us what humanity would look like without sin.
Tonight, I want to talk about the last healing recorded in Mark’s gospel. After this beautiful encounter, the gospel moves on to tell the story of the confrontations which brought about Jesus’ death and resurrection. We are at Mark 10: 46-52 – six little verses
And they came to Jericho. And as he is going out of Jericho, and his disciples, and a fair crowd, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. And hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me.” And many people scolded him and told him to be quiet, but he cried out much more, “Son of David, have mercy on me.” And Jesus stood and said: “Call him.” And they called the blind man, telling him “Take heart, stand up, he is calling you.” And Bartimaeus stood up, threw off his cloak, and came to Jesus. Jesus responded to him and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Master, I want to see again.” And Jesus said to him, “Go. Your faith has saved you.” And immediately saw again. And he followed him on the road.” – Mark 10:46-52
Note first that Bartimaeus is doubly disadvantaged: he is blind, and he is a beggar, a truly pathetic situation.
I said earlier about Jesus’ healings that they not only healed cells; they healed souls. We know that being physically blind means to lack the ability to see this world and all its beauty. It is true that when one lacks one sense, the other senses compensate for it by being sharper. But no matter how good your hearing is, it will never fully be what sight is.
But what does spiritual blindness consist in? What is the blindness of the soul? It means one never really “gets it,” one is unmoved by the plight of others, clueless about what God is doing in the world, unconcerned with things that really matter, vulnerable to stumbling into evil because they can’t see the traps that have been set. Spiritual blindness means one can’t appreciate the world of virtue and remains stuck in a shallow and immature faith.
Some spiritual blindness one can’t help because the spiritually sightless one has never been taught how to exercise their spiritual eye muscles. But a lot of spiritual blindness is willful because people simply choose not to see the beauty of the spiritual world. They put blinders on their soul.
What are the behaviors, the actions or omissions that result from spiritual blindness? Insensitivity, cruelty, prejudices, selfishness, shallowness. To recall what I said the other night, individual acts like these call for forgiveness, but the spiritual blindness which is their origin and their source needs to be healed.
This is what Bartimaeus knows and why he keeps yelling at Jesus for mercy. The gospel tells us that Bartimaeus had been able to see at one time in his life because he begs Jesus now to let him see again. Something has happened that darkened his vision,
The crowd is also an important actor is this story: first they’re telling him to shut up. Then, when Jesus calls him over, they say one of the most beautiful and hopeful lines in all the Scriptures: “Take heart, get up, he is calling you. You, blind beggar, He is calling you.
Jesus asks Bartimaeus: “What do you want me to do for you?” Doesn’t it seem obvious what Bartimaeus needs? The leper begged to be made clean, the demoniac asked nothing. Why does Jesus ask in this instance?
I think Jesus wants Bartimaeus to take ownership for his own request. He wants Bartimaeus to make an act of faith.
How often in our lives we complain that our prayers are not answered when we never truly asked in the first place.
Why don’t we ask for what we need? Maybe we don’t know what to ask for. But maybe we do know what to ask for but are afraid of what being healed will mean for our living, how we might be called to a deeper surrender or a deeper charity or a deeper humility.
At any rate, Bartimaeus is clear about what he wants: “Lord, I want to see again.” And Jesus says: “Go. Your faith has made you well.” And immediately he saw again.
Bartimaeus teaches us one of the most important lesson we could learn about the spiritual life: “Faith always produces miracles, but miracles don’t always produce faith.”
We shouldn’t overlook the end of this story. As soon as his sight is restored, Bartimaeus “followed Jesus on the road.” He didn’t just say: “Thanks a lot, have a great day,” This man, who began these 6 verses as a blind beggar now, like the leper and Legion the demoniac, wants to be near Jesus and be of service to others. Being healed by Jesus has wanting to serve others as a consequence.
So Bartimaeus wanted to be healed of blindness and he was. And he got to see a lot of things Jesus did: the miracles, the other cures, the wonders. But he also saw Jesus arrested, beaten up by the soldiers, spit on, crowned with thorns, nailed to the cross. Bartimaeus saw Jesus die on the cross, taken down, and maybe was able to see the heartbreaking scene Michelangelo sculpted of the Pieta.
I wonder if Bartimaeus ever regretted encountering Jesus and asking to be healed.
I read once that, after the war in Cambodia, when the Khmer Rouge inflicted so much horror on the people, many Cambodian women simply stopped seeing. Even though there was nothing physically wrong with them, their minds simply stopped letting in the brutal images that were left by a bloodthirsty political regime.
Being healed of blindness means we must see it all. We can’t be selective about reality or make up our own. As much as it may hurt, we must gaze upon the cross if we also want to gaze upon the empty tomb and see the face of the risen Savior.
The age of healing has not ended. It goes on because Jesus is alive and present in our world, again, not the historical Jesus, but the risen Jesus who continues to reveal Himself to everyone who chooses to see everything in the light of faith. We can know Jesus, we have access to him, he is with us always – even in these days of the coronavirus.
And remember what Jesus said to Thomas: “Congratulations to those who have not seen but believe.” If we don’t believe it, we will never see it.
So as we have looked into the face of Jesus the Healer, tomorrow and for the next few sessions after that, I’d like to look at the face of Jesus the Teacher and how his teaching continues to comfort and challenge us in our lives today.
Let’s end with a Hail Mary and a blessing.