Qua bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu Kitô đến để gặp chúng ta. Chúng ta chẳng khác gì người mù ăn xin Bartimaeus: Người mà nghe nói có Chúa Giêsu đi ngang qua, và người mà đã không ngừng gọi danh Chúa Giêsu Kitô và xin Ngài thương xót cho đến khi Chúa dừng lại và gọi anh ta đến với Chúa. Chúng ta có thể có lợi điểm hơn hơn người mù ăn xin kia ... nhưng những cái khuyết điểm của con người yếu kém giống như người mù ăn xin kia. Chúng ta không thể nhận ra hoặc thấy Đức Kitô sống giữa anh em của chúng ta, hoặc, như thế, chúng ta đối xử với họ như chúng ta vẫn làm. Có lẽ, chúng ta không thấy những bất công trong xã hội, trong những cơ cấu tội lỗi, những gì qua đôi mắt của chúng ta, là một bình luận gay gắt kêu gọi sự cam kết của xã hội. Có lẽ chúng ta chưa hoàn toàn hiểu rằng «có niềm vui lớn hơn trong việc cho hơn là trong việc tiếp nhận»,. " Không có tình yêu to lớn bằng tình yêu Ngài dành cho chúng ta, Ngài đã hy sinh sinh tính mạng vì bạn hữu của Ngài' (Ga 15:13). Những gì đang ngăn cản chúng ta đến với Chúa: đó là những cám dỗ của thế giới này đang dẫn đưa chúng ta đến thất vọng, và những nghịch lý của Tin Mừng, sau khi những khó khăn của họ, trái cây gấu, thực hiện và cuộc sống. Chúng ta thật sự là trực quan yếu, và điều này không phải là một uyển ngữ, nhưng một thực tế đúng: ý của chúng tôi, suy yếu do tội lỗi, làm mờ sự thật trong tình báo của chúng tôi làm cho chúng ta nhận ra những gì là không phù hợp với chúng tôi.
Today, Christ comes out to meet us. We are all just like Bartimaeus: the blind beggar, by whose side Jesus passed by, and who started to call him out until the Lord stopped and called him. We may have a more advantaged name... but our human weaknesses (moral) resemble the beggar's blindness. We cannot see either that Christ lives amongst our brothers or, thus, we treat them as we do. Perhaps, we fail to see in the social injustices, in the structures of sin, what through our eyes, is a scathing call for social commitment. Perhaps we do not fully grasp that «there is more joy in giving than in receiving», that «Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends» (Jn 15:13). What is nitid looks obscure to us: that the mirrors of the world lead to frustration, and that the paradoxes of the Gospel, after their hardships, bear fruits, fulfillment and life. We truly are visually weak, and this is not an euphemism, but a true fact: our will, weakened by the sin, dims the truth in our intelligence making us pick out what is not suitable for us.
Solution: start calling out, like the beggar, that is, (leave the cloak behind) humbly pray «Jesus, have mercy on me!» (Mk 10:48). And shout all the louder the more they scold you, the more they discourage you, the more you get dispirited: «Many people scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he shouted all the louder...» (Mk 10:48). To call is also to beg: «Master, let me see again!» (Mk 10:51). Solution: to grow in our faith and beyond our certitude, trust in who loved us, created us and came to redeem us and remain amongst us in the Eucharist. Pope John Paul II said the very same with the example of his life: his long hours of meditation —so many that his Secretary complained that he prayed “too much”— tell us clearly that «he who pray changes History».
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.” Mark 10:46–48
Though the Torah commanded kindness and justice toward the blind, they were often treated poorly by the wider community. Unable to work or provide for themselves, the blind were typically reduced to begging. They also bore the stigma of being seen as suffering God’s judgment, whether for their own sins or the sins of their parents. While today’s story about Bartimaeus vividly illustrates the pitiful social and economic position of the blind at that time, it even more powerfully presents him as an ideal model to imitate.
First, we should humbly see ourselves in Bartimaeus. On a spiritual level, we are all blind and in need of God’s mercy. Like Bartimaeus, we must identify as people who are poor, ostracized, and incapable of seeing all that God wants to reveal to us. Pride gives us a false sense of who we are and blinds us to the truth of our spiritual poverty. Humility, on the other hand, opens the eyes of faith, enabling us to recognize our need for God’s mercy and His healing grace so that we may see and understand life as He wishes to reveal it.
Bartimaeus is not only a model of the humility we need; he is also a model of faith and prayer. In his humility, as soon as he heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, he cried out in a twofold way. First, he called Jesus the “Son of David.” This was a profession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah. “Son of David” was a messianic title rooted in Nathan’s prophecy, in which God promised King David that his descendant would establish an everlasting kingdom (cf. 2 Samuel 7:12–16). By calling Jesus the “Son of David,” Bartimaeus professed his belief that Jesus was the fulfillment of that prophecy.
With his profession of faith, Bartimaeus also prayed the ideal prayer: “Have pity on me.” The word “pity” is a translation of the Greek eleison, which is also rendered as “have mercy.” For example, at Mass, we pray in Greek, “Kyrie eleison,” or “Lord, have mercy.” This prayer is ideal because every gift from God is an act of mercy. We do not earn or deserve His grace; it is a freely bestowed gift, and our prayer should reflect this profound truth.
As Bartimaeus prayed, many people told him to be silent. Despite their rebukes, Bartimaeus intensified his prayer, “calling out all the more.” This persistence serves as another model for the ideals of prayer. The “many” who rebuked him and tried to silence him symbolize the numerous obstacles we face in our pursuit of God’s mercy.
Though the greatest obstacles we face are our own sins, which discourage us from approaching God in prayer, we also encounter challenges in the form of temptations. These temptations, like the “many” who sought to silence Bartimaeus, try to lead us away from prayer. They urge us to give up, doubt God’s care for us, or remain complacent in our spiritual lives. Bartimaeus’ response—to pray even louder and more fervently—teaches us the importance of perseverance in prayer, even in the face of discouragement or opposition.
Reflect today on this poor blind man, Bartimaeus, sitting on the roadside. With him, profess your faith in Jesus as the Messiah and cry out for mercy. When sin hinders you, have the courage to admit it, confess it, and plead for forgiveness. When temptations try to silence you, resist them and cry out all the louder. In the end, Jesus called Bartimaeus to Himself and healed him. Jesus desires to do the same for us. He will, if we humbly identify with Bartimaeus, see ourselves in his condition, and imitate his unwavering faith and persistent prayer.
Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! With Bartimaeus, I profess my belief in You as the Messiah, the Savior of the world. With him, I also plead for Your mercy in my life and in the world around me. You alone are the source of all grace and mercy, and though I am unworthy, You freely bestow it upon the humble. Lord, I want to see. Open the eyes of my heart and grant me the reward of Your mercy. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I ask you to turn your merciful gaze toward me. See me as I am and cure my blindness. I want to see all things as I should with eyes of faith. I want to see temporal things from your point of view and in the light of eternity.
1. Faith and Discipleship: One of the techniques used by Mark in his Gospel is to place similar stories as bookends to mark off various sections. For example, the feeding of the five thousand (in Galilee) and the feeding of the four thousand (in Gentile territory) mark off the “bread section” (Mark 6:33-8:26). The story about the Syrophoenician woman is sandwiched in the middle of the two miracles and refers to the bread of the children (of Israel) and the scraps from the table that the dogs (the Gentiles) eat. Read together, the stories about bread and food point forward to the mystery of the Eucharist that all people, Israel and the Gentiles, are called to partake of. The gradual healing of the blind man at the start of Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem (Mark 8:22-26) and the instantaneous healing of blind Bartimaeus at the end of Jesus’ journey (Mark 10:46-52) also form bookends. Faith and discipleship are some of the main themes in this section of Mark’s Gospel. The two healings symbolize the gradual coming to faith of Jesus’ disciples. The disciples are called to believe many things: that Jesus is the Messiah (Mark 8:29); that he is the Son of Man who will suffer and be crucified and rise on the third day (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34); that, as disciples of Jesus, they must take up their cross and follow Jesus (Mark 8:34), that Jesus is the Beloved Son of God the Father (Mark 9:7); that all things are possible to one who has faith (Mark 9:23); that they should not cause other believers to sin (Mark 9:42); that marriage is for life (Mark 10:1-12); that they need to accept the Kingdom of God like a child (Mark 10:13-16); that they need to be detached from earthly possessions, give to the poor, and store up treasure in heaven (Mark 10:17-22); that God can save them (Mark 10:23-27); and that they need to exercise authority in the Church as servants (Mark 10:43-45).
How do you pray? Do you ever “cry out” to Jesus with deep conviction and intensity? This blind man, Bartimaeus, sets for us a wonderful example of how we should pray to our Lord. First of all, the blind man was in a state of need. His blindness symbolizes every weakness and need you have in life. So what is it that you struggle with the most in life? What is your greatest habitual sin? Or what causes you the most grief?
Seeing our weakness is the first step. Once we are aware of our greatest needs, we must also “cry out” to our Lord just as Bartimaeus did. Upon hearing that it was Jesus, Bartimaeus somehow sensed within his soul that Jesus wanted to cure him. How did he sense this? He listened to the voice of God within. Yes, he heard the commotion of many speaking about Jesus as He walked by. But this alone could not have compelled him to cry out and to know that Jesus was the source of the mercy he needed. That which compelled him was the clear voice of God, a prompting from the Holy Spirit, within his soul, revealing to him that he needed Jesus and that Jesus wanted to cure him.
At first, those around him rebuked Bartimaeus and told him to be quiet. And if Bartimaeus would have been weak in faith, he may have listened to the crowd and, in despair, remained silent. But it is quite clear that he not only ignored the rebukes of others, he “kept calling out all the more.”
Bartimaeus gives us here a double witness of how we must turn to our Lord. First, we must sense His gentle but clear presence within our soul. We must recognize His voice and His promptings of grace. He wants to heal us, and His presence in our lives must be sensed within. Secondly, we must become intensely fixed upon that voice within. The crowds who rebuked Bartimaeus are symbolic of the many “voices” and temptations we experience in life that try to keep us from faithfully and fervently crying out to the God who speaks to us. Nothing should deter us from our wholehearted determination to call to Jesus with our need.
Reflect, today, upon Bartimaeus being an image of yourself. See yourself in desperate need of our Lord and listen for His clear voice. Do you hear Him? Do you sense Him walking by? As you do, cry out to Him with fervor, intensity, and conviction. And if you find that there are temptations that try to silence your prayer and faith, increase your intensity and cry out “all the more” to our Lord. He will hear you, call you to Himself and give you that grace which He desires to bestow.
My merciful Jesus, You are constantly passing by, drawing me to Yourself by Your divine presence. Give me the grace I need in order to see my need and to call out to You with all my heart. May I never be deterred from this fervent prayer, dear Lord, and when temptation sets in, may I call out all the more. Jesus, I trust in You.
Encountering Christ:
A Humble Heart: Bartimaeus teaches us about humility. As Jesus passed by, he called out unreservedly, even though people were telling him to keep silent. In the depths of his heart, he was humble enough to admit he needed Jesus’s mercy to heal him. “Have pity on me,” he pleaded. Sometimes, we are so blinded by our pride that we are unable to sense how near Jesus is to us. Or we are hindered by what we think others might say. It takes humility and courage to admit that we can do nothing on our own and that we need Jesus. Only with Jesus is everything possible.
Đôi khi chúng ta đánh mất mục tiêu của chúng ta trong cuộc sống. Cuộc hành trình của chúng ta thường bị mờ đi và giống như người ăn xin chúng ta trở thánh người đắm chìm trong công việc và mục tiêu trước mắt của chúng ta và quên các tiếng gọi của Chúa và theo Đức Kitô. Có lẽ bài đọc hôm nay là một lời gọi để chúng ta nhìn vào cuộc sống của chúng ta. Chúng ta đang ở đâu trong cuộc hành trình hiện tại của chúng ta? Chúng ta có thời gian để dừng lại và trân trọng sự kỳ diệu và tất cả vẻ đẹp của thiên nhiên mà Thiên Chúa đã tạo dựng? Có lẽ chúng ta cần phải lắng nghe tiếng Chúa Giêsu khi Ngài đặt câu hỏi cho chúng ta hôm nay "bạn muốn tôi làm những gì cho bạn?"
Have you ever encountered a once in a life-time opportunity you knew you could not pass up? Such a moment came for a blind and destitute man, named Bartimaeus. He was determined to get near the one person who could meet his need. He knew who Jesus was and had heard of his fame for healing, but until now had no means of making contact with the Son of David, a clear reference and title for the Messiah. It took a lot of "guts" and persistence for Bartimaeus to get the attention of Jesus over the din of a noisy throng who crowded around Jesus as he made his way out of town. Why was the crowd annoyed with the blind man's persistent shouts? He was disturbing their peace and interrupting Jesus' discourse. It was common for a rabbi to teach as he walked with others. Jesus was on his way to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem and a band of pilgrims followed him. When the crowd tried to silence the blind man he overpowered them with his emotional outburst and thus caught the attention of Jesus.
This incident reveals something important about how God interacts with us. The blind man was determined to get Jesus' attention and he was persistent in the face of opposition. Jesus could have ignored or rebuffed him because he was disturbing his talk and his audience. Jesus showed that acting was more important than talking. This man was in desperate need and Jesus was ready, not only to empathize with his suffering, but to relieve it as well. A great speaker can command attention and respect, but a man or woman with a helping hand and a big heart is loved more. Jesus commends Bartimaeus for recognizing who he is with the eyes of faith and grants him physical sight as well. Do you recognize your need for God's healing grace and do you seek Jesus out, like Bartimaeus, with persistent faith and trust in his goodness and mercy?
"Lord Jesus, may I never fail to recognize my need for your grace. Help me to take advantage of the opportunities you give me to seek your presence daily and to listen attentively to your word."
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