THE WORD
FIRST READING Jer 31: 7–9
For thus says the LORD:
Shout with joy for Jacob,
exult at the head of the nations;
proclaim your praise and say:
The LORD has saved his people,
the remnant of Israel.
Look! I will bring them back
from the land of the north;
I will gather them from the ends of the earth,
the blind and the lame in their midst,
Pregnant women, together with those in labor—
an immense throng—they shall return.
With weeping they shall come,
but with compassion I will guide them;
I will lead them to streams of water,
on a level road, without stumbling.
For I am a father to Israel,
Ephraim is my firstborn.
SECOND READING Heb 5: 1–6
Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
He is able to deal patiently* with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. In the same way, it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest, but rather the one who said to him: “You are my son; this day I have begotten you”; just as he says in another place: “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
GOSPEL READING Mk 10,46–52
As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage; get up, he is calling you.” He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.
IN OTHER WORDS
The wider context of this story of the healing of the blind Bartimaeus, namely, the 3 predictions of the Passion, gives us a hint as to its message. The immediate context has to do with the instructions on what discipleship (being a follower of Jesus) entails. It is interesting to note that immediately before the healing of Bartimaeus comes the story about the two sons of Zebedee, who approached Jesus asking that, “in your glory,” one of them might sit at ‘your’ right and the other at ‘your’ left. Mark clearly tells us that the disciples did not understand what Jesus’ teaching and call was all about. It seems that Mark wants to say that there were those who accompanied Jesus who were blind in spirit, who could not accept the idea of a Messiah who would not dominate but serve. They could not accept a Messiah who would suffer and die. This incident is in stark contrast to what follows immediately—the healing of the blind Bartimaeus. With this healing Jesus wants to heal his disciples’ blindness of spirit, just as he heals the physical blindness of Bartimaeus.
There are words in the story that allude to certain truths which Mark underlines in his gospel. The first is when Jesus says: “Call him.” The crowd then said to the blind man: “Take heart, he is calling for you.” This is certainly a story about calling to discipleship. This alludes to Mk. 3:13 which says:“Jesus called to himself the men He wanted.” “He called those whom he wanted.” These words fix the origin of NT ministry, that it is clearly not a creation of one’s autonomous decision, thus fulfilling one’s own will and desire; rather, it is a response to a call and the acceptance of the will of another. The story of Bartimaeus’ receiving back his sight ends with this statement: “. . . he followed him on the way” which, Mk 11:1 tells us, is the way to Jerusalem—to the cross. It seems that this “outsider,” i.e. who was not part of the 12, understood that to follow Jesus was to follow him in his suffering on the cross.
What Bartimaeus understood is the message of the parable of the sower and the seed. Jesus explained that the seed is the Word of God: “If the grain of wheat does not fall into the ground and dies, it remains only a grain of wheat. But if it falls in the ground and dies it will bring much fruit.” With this, Jesus makes us understand that he himself is the grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies. In the crucifixion, everything seems to have been a failure, but it is precisely in falling to the ground, in dying on the way to the Cross, that he brings forth fruit for everybody and for all times. It is only in the process of transformation through suffering that one arrives at the fruit. He can only be the Messiah if he falls and dies; there can be no other way. This is what the blind Bartimaeus saw.
- Magdaleno Fabiosa, SVD (VCR, CKMS, QC)
The Word in other words 2015
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
