Blind Bartimaeus is not so Blind

For those of you who perhaps do not like the Book of Job or have not studied it a whole lot, you may be surprised to discover that despite the age of that book, it has something to say to us. Job is distinguished from his friends in that they only come to argue or debate with him. Job is right with God, not because he knows as God knows, but because he prays. Praying to God is not a private, individual act, it is a communal act—one that acknowledges a relationship with the community around us. If there is one thing remembered from The Very Reverend Bill Ellis in my mind, this is the message. God is not my personal savior as much as God is the savior of all. The problem with thinking about God as a personal savior is the temptation to think that God thinks the same way we do regardless of our actual thought content. God’s salvation is available and accessible to all people and is especially promised to the baptized. But even in baptism, God invites us into community and the community promises to help us in our faith journeys. Our faith journeys are to be accompanied by prayer. That means that not only should we be listening to God, but God’s children who surround us. Job gains insight whereas Bartimaeus gains physical sight. Bartimaeus already has insight. He is seeking to become whole—both insight and physical sight. He believes that Jesus can give him sight and in a very public setting, he reaches out to Jesus in the context of a community who advocates for him. During my seminary years in Columbus, OH, I met a man who was a blind student. Now, 40 some years later, he is a bishop. Here’s what he has to say about being blind as a follower of Jesus: “I understand Bartimaeus as a model of faith and not someone who needs fixing. Jesus tells him his faith has made him well before he receives his sight. Bartimaeus calls to Jesus as Son of David, identifying who Jesus is. He will not be silenced by the crowds. He throws aside his cloak, something dangerous for someone who cannot see to do because he is likely never to find it again. In so doing, he does what the rich man of a few weeks ago might – gave up all his possessions. Bartimaeus knows there’s no going back. Mostly, Bartimaeus begs of Jesus for what he needs. If we personally, societally, and the church did more of that, beg Jesus for mercy rather than pretending we have all the answers and trying to fix things for ourselves, we might be in a better place. Then, having received his sight, Bartimaeus follows Jesus on the way to the cross. Society is largely like the crowd, trying to silence people with disabilities. A few years ago, he was walking through the theology building at Notre Dame. he’d not been there for years. An undergraduate saw him and moved a box out of the way that was in the hallway. He overheard this student explaining to a friend, ‘that’s Dr. S. He doesn’t see well.’ I’m not sure how an undergraduate who wasn’t there when I was would know this and react so quickly.” “So, thinking about Bartimaeus as a model of faith rather than someone who needs fixing might change us in profound ways. Perhaps understanding Bartimaeus in this way would give us the grace to beg for what we need, at least to Jesus, and maybe even to heed the cries of the beggars around us.” "We are all beggars. This is true." Luther knew that like the man born blind, we are all beggars in need of Christ to open our eyes. Like blind beggars we sit in darkness waiting for our eyes to be opened by God who is forever inviting us to follow the way of Jesus. And when our eyes are opened, we see the unconditional grace and love of God. *Episcopal Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta, GA 3/2014, Dr. Craig Satterlee