30th Sunday - Fr. Leo
There is a lot of symbolism in our gospel today.
First, Bartimaeus is blind. We don’t now if he was blind from birth, or became blind. Either way, he lives in darkness. It’s hard for us to imagine what it would be like not to see at all. Life would be very different for each of us, and there would be many beautiful things sight enjoys that would be denied us.
Even for people who are color blind, to be able to see the world in color is overwhelming. There are many clips of young people receiving glasses so they can see in color for the first time. The reaction is overwhelming and accompanied by tears expressing the deep down gratitude that is beyond words.
But our Bartimaeus is completely blind and calls out to Jesus saying, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” Those around him are trying to quiet him, but he calls out all the louder. I think there is symbolism here too. The world would like to drowned out or discourage our believing and calling on the name of the Lord. Here, Bartimaeus keeps pleading for Christ.
Jesus hears him and ask what he wants. Bartimaeus declares he wants to see, so, Jesus immediately grants him sight, a miracle. But what is more, he becomes a follower of Jesus, so he has gained the sight of faith as well. More symbolism.
What we can take away from this gospel, is that we all need better sight. In this life, there is a certain amount of spiritual blindness for us to overcome. So we continually seek the Lord to heal us. So Bartimaeus’ perseverance is the lesson we can take with us this morning. The Hesychast tradition is all about this. Their prayer is the constant mantra of, Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me.” A shorter and effective version is simply, “Jesus, Mercy.”
The book, “The Pilgrim Way,” beautifully describes this spiritual practice and shows with practice how it becomes a rote prayer constantly being prayed in our deepest self. It keeps us close to God and God close to us and is a continual source of blessing. Through this practice we come to see the Lord in ever profounder ways.
Sit quietly some time this week, close your eyes and pray deep in your heart, “Jesus, Mercy." Pray it over and over in peace, and you can coordinate it with your breath as well. When you inhale pray “Jesus” in your heart, and when your exhale pray, “Mercy.” Keep it simple!