The name, fame and shame of Bartimaeus. His name means Bar, meaning “the son of” Timaeus.
Others point to the Aramaic or Hebrew word for "unclean" (‘bar-tem’), suggesting that BartimaeSus is "son of the unclean."
In reality both names fit because Bartimaeus was a poor blind beggar with faith; dishonored and marginalized but, became an example of discipleship for all of us.
1). First of all he was insistent and deliberate-
Not like the lady who said, “I planned on joining the procrastinators club, but maybe next week.”
Bartimaeus kept calling out, "Jesus, son of David, have pity on me,” even though many people rebuked him and told him to be quiet.
Jesus told St. Faustina something similar, “In these situations, take no heed of the opinion of others, but obey the evidence of your conscience and take God to be the witness of all your actions, ever mindful of God.”
So, Bartimaeus kept calling out to Jesus even louder.
Not like, at our weekly Bible study, when the leader asked an elderly gentleman, Walt, to open the meeting with prayer, for the purpose of invoking God’s blessing on their meeting. Walt did so in a soft voice. Another man, straining to hear, shouted, “I can’t hear you!” Walt replied, “I wasn’t talking to you.”
The bystander’s wanted to manage and control the moment, telling him to be quiet; they did not want the marginalized man to get healed and restored to community life.
In fact, the earliest commentary of Mark’s Gospel says, “Sins and demons suppress the cry of the poor man (Bartimaeus) which the Lord heard.”
To love as Jesus loves is to hear the cry of the lonely voice.
We can all get stuck on the side of the road in different ways at different times in our lives.
But, we got to call on the name of Jesus for help. We gotta fight for our right to be heard. Fight for our healing.
2. Then, Jesus hears him and calls for him--
Bartimaeus threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
The early Christian writers made a big deal about Bartimaeus throwing aside his cloak.
As per Eph 4:22 and Col. 9, which speak of “putting off your old self, which is the old person, and putting on the new self.”
So, Bartimaeus is said to jump out of the old man.
His cloak was used to spread out on the ground to collect change when he was not wearing it; so in effect, Bartimaeus cast aside his beggar’s license .
There is expectation of transformation and a change of status from a blind beggar to something else, ready for something new.
Discarding baggage—confession—is always part of healing.
Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?"
The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see." In Latin, “That I might see.
Bartimaeus says, it was mercy he was searching for and not money; he wanted to recover his sight.
Naming our needs does something—like
naming our hurts or naming our sins or even naming one’s children. Things named become etched in reality in a new way, no longer confused with ideas—
denial, intention, or rationalization. Things named in faith, become blessings for us.
He left that entirely up to Jesus, leaving space for him to act.
3. I will end how this Gospel was used in baptismal ceremonies in the early Catholic church.
The Person to be baptized says: “Have mercy on me,” which speaks of the absolute need for God.
The Deacon says: Call him or her over.
The Congregation says: Be brave, Jesus is calling you.
Person to be baptized removes their cloak or outer clothing.
The Deacon asks--What do you want me to do for you?
Person to be baptized- I want to be illuminated
Deacon, baptizing the person, then says, “Your faith has saved you.”
The response of faith is always personal, but Bartimaeus followed Jesus and joined the other disciples who were also "in the way" (Mark 10:32,46).
Christian life is never lived in isolation from others: only in company with others can we find salvation and fullness of life and also help others stuck on the side of the road without any faith.
