Leaving behind what we are to become what we want to be...




“What do you want me to do for you”, Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see”. A blind man and a beggar sitting at the roadside from one of the Jericho’s roads, a blind man and a beggar who it is a “nameless”, an outcast, and an invisible with no physical sight was placed at the margins. From the margins he could be expected the unexpected, Jesus acknowledging his existence.
The beggar and blind man was sitting there, on the side road of one of the most affluent cities of the Roman Empire at that time, Jericho. He heard about Jesus. According to the Markan story, once this man heard about Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me”. This man was shouting as loud as he could, he urged everybody to hear him. Breaking the silence helped the blind man to be transformed, and healed.
Jesus walked with his disciples and a multitude. Jesus’ action of walking is broken by the blind man’s “cry out for help”. A “nameless” with a name, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, this name means, the oldest son unpresentable to God – in a religious sense. Therefore, the nameless become powerful, his power lays in the fact that he was able to stop Jesus on the way to Jerusalem, and make him talk to him. Jesus’ action to acknowledge the blind man 
The blind man and a beggar apparently had to be at the margins, however he knew who he was, his sense of identity according to the Markian narrative help him to realize that he could feel related with Jesus. The Son of Timaeus is invited to mirror himself in the Son of David and demands his compassion. Compassion in this context is reflected in Jesus solidarity with the beggar at the margins. The blind man saw with his faith what the others could not see. His commitment with the Son of David restored his name; therefore, his name is honored and his faith in this context is his own courage. The blind man and a beggar committed his life to follow Jesus without hesitation, with no return.
Bartimaeus in this story is “raised up” by Jesus. Jesus asked “the others” to call this man, and he subverted the structure, Jesus had included the one who was considered the other, the sinful, to partake with him because Bartimaues is willing to leave behind what he was.
Jesus restores Bartimaeus name. Jesus mirrors himself in Bartimaeus when the blind man is stood in front of him and threw his cloak aside. The same blind man and beggar that was rebuked by the crowd, but he was willing to overcome his fear and shout loudly Jesus identity. The urgency expressed by the blind man to shout out Jesus identity helps us to discern that faith in this context is dignity. Bartimaeus broke up “the silence” shouting loudly Jesus name, he defied the multitude with courage to shout out Jesus name without “shame”. The unclean, the marginalized found his calling in Jesus identity. Bartimaeus then, had the courage to overcome his own fear to be healed and included. Throwing his cloak as a symbol of change and commitment, Bartimaeus’ trust and dignity were restored because he found his voice letting go what he was and recovering his honor, his dignity, his dignidad. In Spanish, dignidad is part of a family legacy and restores names that were in disgrace because of family’s turmoil, the word dignidad transforms dishonor in honor. Bartimaeus is moved by the power of his faith in this story, at the point that Jesus becomes a spectator. Bartimaeus is shifted from being a secondary character to be the principal character in this story. Isn’t this happening today the same when we acknowledge the street singer, the homeless, and the “alien smuggler” in the subway or New York streets?.  Jesus question, “What do you want me to do for you?” is placed to help us realized, where our commitment is?, and what we are ready to stand for? Jesus question invites us to recover our faith in what we are called to do for those who are marginalized, for those who are considered the uninvited guests. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Persistence of Prayer Embodied in a Widow

Jeremiah 31:27-34, Psalm 119:97-104, 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5, Luke 18:1-8   In today's Gospel we find an illustration of the relationship between the Christian person and prayer. In the story, the widow becomes a model of persistence in prayer.   Let's analyze the situation presented in this parable of Jesus. We have a judge who "neither feared God nor respected men." He is in a position of power and most likely abuses his power. But something happens in the judge's interaction with the widow. The judge changes the way you think.  He says: “I neither fear God nor respect men.   However, as this widow does not stop bothering me, I will defend her, so that she does not keep coming and trying my patience."   Now let's look at the widow's position. In Jesus' time, widows had a very vulnerable and marginalized position. At that time, women were property and marriage ensured subsistence for the woman and the perpetuity of the husband's name. When she ...
Read more

Mary is called by name...

Sermon on Easter Sunday March 27, 2016 (John 20:1-18)  Have you noticed spring is here! The grass turns green and little chicks are chirping very loud. What a difference from winter! In winter the panoramic picture is gray. Contrary to winter, spring brings bright colors in flowers blooming and leaves start to grow populating the branches on the trees. We feel alive, even the colors we choose to wear are not black but bright. In today’s gospel, Mary is revealed as the first witness of Jesus’ resurrection. She was one of Jesus’ disciples and dearest friends. But we would think that he would grant this honor to one of the inner-circle disciples or to his mother.   But God's ways are not our ways.   We would not have picked Mary Magdalene or Mary of Magdala for this honor, but neither would we have picked devious Jacob to carry on the promise of a great nation, or boy David to get rid of the giant, or oppressor Saul to become missionary Paul.   God calls wh...
Read more

faith rooted in faithfulness

In today’s gospel, Jesus’ friends ask him how they might increase their faith. Jesus replies; “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.’ In some way, Jesus’ explanation of faith could makes us feel disoriented because he doesn’t give us the sort of answer we would expect. In my opinion, there is a hidden purpose behind this explanation about faith. How many times have we felt discouraged because we pray, and pray and don’t get the results we expect from God? Sometimes after praying and praying we feel abandoned by God to the point that we think God doesn’t listen… We started with a reading of the book of Lamentations. Here we encountered the voices of people grieving for a collective tragedy. We found the theme of despair …people felt abandoned by God. The author of this text personifies the city: the daughter of Zion. Does the lament sound familiar to you? Aren’t we inclined to echo t...
Read more