They came to Jericho. As he and his diciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, a blind begger, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many sternly order him to be quiet, be he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. ~ Mark 10: 46-50
The only time I remember ever waking up on a Sunday morning and literally crumpling up the sermon I had written and throwing it in the trash was on a Sunday morning after I had spent a Saturday night in New York City on a Midnight Run. The scripture reading for that Sunday was the one Kathy read a portion of this evening about Blind Bartimeaus. After spending Saturday night on the streets of Manhattan handing out food and clothing and blankets to nameless men and women who were grateful beyond measure for the food, the company and the conversation I finally understood the text and realized what I had written on Thursday was all wrong…or at least wrong enough that I could no longer stand up and say it and believe what I was saying.
Here is what I realized on that chilly Saturday night.
As the Bible tells it, this is a story about a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus.
Do you hear what is being said?
Bar Timaeus.
We all know enough Hebrew to realize the word Bar means “son of.”
Bartimaeus wasn’t a name it merely meant son of Timaeus.
The person the story is about was not only sightless. He was also nameless.
There every day, but not known.
There every day, but hardly seen.
There every day, but easily forgotten or overlooked or ignored.
So, tonight as we remember Jesus and what he did…
Healing.
Teaching.
Touching the untouchables.
Feeding.
Forgiving.
Challenging those who would lock God into a place or a people or a list of rules.
Let us also remember that he gave sight to the blind.
Not just to Bartimeaus.
But even…
Maybe even especially, to you and to me.
Bidding us and sometimes begging us to open our eyes and to see…
Those who are too easily forgotten.
And too often overlooked.
And too quickly passed by.
To see and to name those who are demonized or categorized or brutalized for whatever reason.
Because, as Jesus reminds us…
They do, in fact, have names.
The do deserve to be seen and known.
They are, in fact, our sisters and brothers.
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