Blind Bartimaeus
"Master, I Want to See."
October 28, 2012 30th Sunday in Ordinary
Time
Jeremiah 31:7-9 Hebrews 5:1-6 Mark 10:46-52
First reading from Jeremiah
Shout with joy for Jacob, exult at the head of the nations; proclaim
your
praise and say: The LORD has delivered his people, the remnant
of Israel. Behold, I will bring them back from the land of the north; I will gather them from
the ends of the world, with the blind and the lame in their midst, the mothers
and those with child; they shall return as an immense throng. They departed in
tears, but I will console them and guide them; I
will lead them to brooks of water, on a level road, so that none shall stumble.
For I am a father to Israel, Ephraim is my first-born.
The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Alleluia,
alleluia.
A reading
from the holy Gospel according to Mark
Glory to you, Lord.
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, Jesus 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 answered, "Master, I want
to see." Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved
you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the way.
The
Gospel of the Lord.
Praise
to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
----------------
Introduction
October 28, 2012 -Reformation Sunday
Protestant
congregations (especially Lutheran ones) celebrate Reformation Sunday on the
last Sunday of October. It was
on October 31, 1517, that Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of the
church in Wittenberg. That event kicked off the Protestant Reformation; its
battle cry was “Ecclesia semper reformanda.” ("The Church constantly needs to be reformed.”)
That was also the battle cry of many bishops in the Second Vatican Council
(1962-65). Reformation Sunday reminds Protestants and Catholics that reforming
the Church is never a finished job. The reformation of the Church angrily begun
by Martin Luther in the 16th century continues now through reformers
of a very different kind – peaceful reformers like Pope John XXIII, Fr. Mychal
Judge of New York City, Bp. `Ken’ of Saginaw, Archbp. Hunthausen of Seattle,
Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini of Milan, and yes, even Cardinal quarterback Kurt Warner.
A whole section on blindness
In
Mark’s gospel there is a whole section on blindness. It begins in the 8th
chapter with Jesus curing a blind man from Bethsaida, by twice putting spittle
on the man’s eyes. (Mk. 8:22-25) The section on blindness ends today in the 10th
chapter with Jesus curing a blind man from Jericho, named Bartimaeus.
Sandwiched
in between these two stories of physical blindness is a section on spiritual blindness. There’s spiritual blindness in the 8th chapter:
when Peter utterly rejects the idea that Jesus would suffer and die at the
hands of the chief priests and scribes. Because Peter so soundly rejects the
idea that Jesus should suffer, Jesus calls Peter `Satan’ and says to him:
“Can't you see! Your thoughts are men’s thoughts, not God’s!” (Mk. 8:31‑33)
There’s
more spiritual blindness in the 9th chapter: when Jesus’ disciples
are arguing about who among them is the greatest, Jesus says to them: “Can't
you see! The one who wants to be first must place himself last of all and be
the servant of all.” (Mk 9: 33-37)
There’s
still more spiritual blindness in the 10th chapter: when the sons of
Zebedee, James and John, ask Jesus for a special place when He comes in to his
Kingdom, again Jesus cries out in exasperation: “Can't you see! The one among
you who wants to be great must be the servant of the rest.” (Mk 10:43)
The section on blindness ends with today’s gospel: Jesus
cures blind Bartimaeus who begs Him, “Master, I want to see." At
the end of the day Bartimaeus wasn’t really blind at all, for those who see
that they don’t see aren’t really blind at all; they indeed have 20/20 vision.
`A holy
conversation’
“Master, I
want to see" – that was the cry of the blind man who ardently wanted to
see. “Master, I
want to see” - that is also the cry of a humble Church which sees that it
doesn’t see, and ardently wants to see. That’s the cry of a humble Church which
sees that it doesn’t see everything there is to be seen, especially concerning complex
issues like celibacy, human sexuality, homosexuality, birth control, divorce
and remarriage, the shortage of priests, the ordination
of women, etc.
“Master, I
want to see" - that’s the cry of a humble Church which is willing to open a `holy
conversation’ about these complex issues. By a `holy conversation’
Richard Gailardetz (theology professor
at the University of St. Thomas in Houston) understands
a conversation which “renounces the temptation to control or direct the
discussion toward predetermined conclusions.” By a `holy conversation’ Gailardetz
understands one that is free from fear and allows another to speak, and gives
the other an honest hearing. A `holy conversation’ is the kind that Bp. `Ken’ Untener
of Saginaw, Bp. Gumbleton of Detroit, Archbp. Hunthausen of Seattle and many
others in various ways have invited their Church to hold.
A humble Church, which sees that it doesn’t
see everything, doesn’t have recourse to facile phrases like “according to the
ancient, sacred and unbroken tradition of the Church” or “according to the
immutable and infallible teaching of the Church.” Such recourse conveniently
puts an end to `a holy conversation’
even before it ever gets started. A humble Church sees that it doesn’t see, and
it humbly prays, “Master, I want to see.”
“Disclaimers
of certainties” &”searchers for truth”
Bishop
Geoffrey Robinson (b. 1937) headed the Australian bishops’ committee for nearly
a decade. He retired in 2004 at the very young age of sixty-six because he had
profound reservations about the Church he loved. He emerged from retirement in
2007 to promote a new book which demands `a better Church.’ His book is
entitled Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church: Reclaiming the
Spirit of Jesus.
For
Bp. Robinson a better Church sees that its teachings on sex and sexuality are
outmoded and inadequate. For him a better Church sees clerical celibacy as
indeed a good, but not as an obligation. For him a better Church redistributes
its authority between national bodies of bishops and the `Sensus Fidelium’ - the `Feel of the Faithful.’ That
is to say, for Bp. Robinson a better Church believes that the
consciences and experiences of good and faithful Catholics (who, let’s say, are
practicing birth control) are a valid source of religious truth. At the end of
the day, Robinson’s bottom line is that the Church is fractured into
“proclaimers of certainties, on the one hand, and searchers for truth, on the
other.” He writes,
In
writing the book, I became aware that I was writing a book for these people
[searchers for truth], that I was trying to tell them that there is a Church
for them, and that it is fully in accord with the mind of Jesus. I was telling them there are indeed basic certainties, but there is
also abundant room for search. I became aware that it was important for many people that there should be a bishop saying these things. At moments I felt that
the needs of these many people were so great that it is perhaps true that I
have never been more of a shepherd [a bishop], I have never been more justified
in carrying around a pastoral staff [a crosier], than I have in this.
For Bp. Robinson a better Church is “a disclaimer of certainties” and “a searcher for
truth.” A better Church disclaims its certainties about sexuality, divorce and
remarriage, birth control, celibacy, homosexuality, ordination of women,
open-Communion, etc. Only when certainties are disclaimed can one become a
searcher for truth. For Bp. Robinson a better Church sees that it doesn’t see,
and like blind Bartimaeus cries out, “Master, I want to see."
We too - disclaimers & searchers
We ourselves must
first be disclaimers of certainty and searchers for truth before we can demand
the same from our Church. We ourselves must first be aware of our own blindness;
only then will we cry out with blind Bartimaeus, “Master, I want to see.” We
ourselves must first be disclaimers of certainty and searchers for truth; only
then can we be capable of a `holy conversation’ with those near and dear to us,
freeing
them from fear, allowing them to speak, and giving them an honest hearing.
Conclusion
A strange
saying
The
classical story of Jesus dealing with physical and spiritual blindness is
in John’s gospel. A man born blind has obviously been
cured by Jesus. But the Pharisees (who could physically see) weren’t willing to
see that the blind man was miraculously cured by Jesus. The story rambles on
for forty‑one verses. (Jn .9:1-41) The whole narration builds up to an
impatience that has us crying out, "For God's sake! Can’t you Pharisees
see?” It finally ends with a strange saying
from the mouth of Jesus indicting the Pharisees for their spiritual blindness,
and at the same time declaring His mission as the light of the world:
"I have come into this world so that the blind
should see,
and those who see should become blind."
(Jn 9:39)
A
paraphrased version reads:
"I have come into this world to show those who
think
they see everything there is to be seen that they are
blind.
And I have come into this world to give sight to those
who see
that they don't see, and who ardently cry out with
blind Bartimaeus,
`Master, I want to see.’”
