Wars continue to rage on, violence continues to be a steady diet, division, demonization, and polarization doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. What gets lost in the headlines of all this is the real people, human beings, family members, friends, classmates and colleagues. No wonder feelings of anxiety and stress are escalating exponentially. How are we to respond? In the Gospel today Jesus sheds some light on the darkness that beleaguers not only our country but our world.
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. (Mk 10:47-48).
Though Bartimaeus is blind, he seems to “see” better than those around him and know who Jesus is. He does not just call out the name of Jesus, but “Jesus, son of David.” This is not merely a genetic marker, but a Messianic title. Bartimaeus may have physical blindness, but he is one of the few in the Gospel of Mark to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. The disciples and the crowd walking with him, the many who “rebuked him”, showed their spiritual blindness, in that they prevented the blind man from coming to Jesus.
Where might we see ourselves in this scriptural account, who are we? Are we like those in the crowd who follow and identify with Jesus, yet rebuke others seeking to come to Jesus? Do we foster a posture of a fear of the other, embrace tribalism, nationalism, and contribute to and foster division, polarization, and prejudice? If we do, we then are suffering from the very spiritual blindness that Jesus has come to heal.
We can better help to bring about change by making an assessment of ourselves. Each thought we ponder and action we take ripples out from us and touches everyone. In what way do we contribute to the violence? Do we gossip, spread false reports knowingly about others only to degrade and belittle? Do we pass dehumanizing images and memes on social media? Do we talk over or at people, do we impose our views not even willing to listen to another? The smallest act of indignity shown to another, whether it be a snide remark, a racial, ethnic, or sexist epithet, or any manner of disrespect contributes to the darkness that seeks to blind us.
There is another way. There is another path we can walk upon. The one that Bartimaeus, once he could see, walked upon. To walk it, we need to be willing to allow Jesus to light the way, to convict us in the depths of our souls. In so doing, we are better able to counter the impulse to build walls that promote division, hate, and violence, and instead build bridges of forgiveness, unity, and love. We can then reflect his light in our present darkness.
Jesus did not rebuke Bartimaeus for causing a ruckus and calling out to him. Jesus called Bartimaeus to him. Jesus came close to others cast aside as well. He saw and sees each person as human beings, brothers and sisters created in the image and likeness of God. Jesus called the Apostles and Bartimaeus to him. We too are called to Jesus, called to be present to those within our realm of influence to be more understanding, and to meet each other with compassion and empathy. Darkness only spreads when we contribute to it and become the darkness. It dissipates when we remain in the light of Jesus. Hate only wins if we feed hate. Love wins when we are willing to forgive and love each other.
Let us have the humility to recognize our interconnectedness, that we cannot get through this life on our own. We, like Bartimaeus, need to be healed and made new. We need the Son of David in our lives, we need a savior, a healer, and we need each other. When we acknowledge this reality, we may better be able to resist the temptation to be indifferent to or dehumanize others. Instead let’s be more willing to notice, recognize, pray for and act to provide aide for each other. Jesus calls us to arise from our defensive posture and to open our arms wide to love, to will the good of each other as other.
Jesus asked Bartimaus, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” Let that be our request of Jesus as well. May we ask Jesus to help us to see with the eyes of love, the eyes illumined by his light, and the wisdom of his Father. May we be willing to see each other as God sees us, as his beloved daughters and sons.
Photo: Night Rosary walk in Riverside Park, Vero Beach, FL.
Spiritual Stepping Stones 