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To Follow Jesus is to Stop and Ask What is Needed

Throughout the gospels people come to Jesus asking for healing for themselves and others, so why is it that in today’s gospel a blind man is scolded and told to be quiet when he calls out to Jesus?

One of the things that stands out to me about this healing story is that the man in need of healing is identified both by name and by family. He is not just “a blind man,” he is Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus.

I wonder if the people around him tried to silence him because he was well known to them, someone that they saw regularly and had already written off as a nuisance. I imagine that Bartimaeus was one of those people who was an embarrassment to the community whenever important visitors were passing through. Did people try to shush him for the same reasons that people today try to move anyone who is homeless out of a city before an important event? Did they think that his visibility made their community look bad. I can’t count the number of times that I have seen social media posts blaming the problems of our society on people who are on social assistance, people who struggle with addictions, people who are unemployed or underemployed, etc. A common belief seems to be that if these people would either change or go away, all of our societal problems would be solved. Like the crowds following Jesus from Jericho, we don’t want to be disturbed by the cries of those who want help.

Bartimaeus sits at the side of the road and begs because that is the only thing he knows how to do to make it from day to day. But what he longs for is to have other choices. He wants to have what everyone else has, the ability to participate in society as an equal. He knows that the only way that this will ever be possible is if he can convince Jesus to change whatever plans he had and stop to offer help. So Bartimaeus causes a disruption. The people who rebuke Bartimaeus, want him to accept the status quo and stop trying to interfere with Jesus’ plans. Jesus, however, makes the choice to stop and to ask what is needed.

As I read today’s gospel, I am reminded that when I see people who are on the fringes of society, I need to be willing to change my plans and stop and ask what they are hoping for and how I can help. What change do they think would make their life better. What change would allow them to participate more fully in the world. My work in the hospital has taught me that the vast majority of people who are making decisions that appear problematic to me, are doing the best they can to find the peace and joy that all of us seek. If their choices are not good, it is because they don’t have everything that they need to make better choices. Often, they need someone around them to help create a space for change before they can change.

I have frequently thought about today’s gospel as an invitation to be like Bartimaeus and call out to Jesus to help me. Today I am reading it as a call to be like Jesus and really see and hear the people who are calling out for help.

~Pam Driedger