REFLECTION

Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight.                                                                                      

Jesus left Jericho with his disciples, together and a large crowd, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Mark 10:46-5

Reflection

More often than not, seeing was the one thing we are most afraid of losing and for some very interesting reasons. If you could not hear, then you would not have to listen to your mum tell you to clean up your room. And if you could not speak, you would not get called upon in class to answer a tough question. But if you could not see, well then, what would Christmas be like or not being able to play baseball? To my band of philosophers, the benefits of seeing were, just plain and simple, overwhelming.

And so it was with Bartimaeus. Blind, possibly from birth, he had but one fervent desire, “Master I want to see.” Because of Bartimaues’ unwavering faith, Jesus answered his prayer with the words we all know so very well, "Go your way; your faith has saved you." And in that instant the eyes of Bartimaeus were opened, and all the wonderful sights of the world around him were made real.

So how good is our vision? Are we using this wonderful gift of sight to its potential? Sure, we all see the image-filled screens on our iPhones, movies on Netflix or the words in a Reflection, but are we missing something?

As we go about our business  today, we should all try to focus a little more closely on what we are really seeing and who is in our field of view. Maybe if we look a little closer at the entire picture, or try and peer around the corner, we will see Jesus standing there showing us his guiding hand, his unfailing willingness to be with us.

And maybe, if we learn how to improve our focus, Jesus will no longer be at the edges or hidden in the shadows, but front and center in our field of view, and we will truly see “Christ in all things.”

Hopefully, with our new and improved 20-20 vision, we will also see how to love like Jesus loves. That is the type of sight that is truly worth praying for.