Where I used to live—in Long Beach, California—at the side of a freeway offramp a few blocks from my house, right across the street from Home Depot… there was usually a homeless person, standing with a sign, asking for help. The spot they chose was right where all the drivers exiting the freeway had to stop and wait for the red light to turn green.
Most drivers did their best to ignore the person on the side of the road. Most drivers would pretend that person wasn’t there. They’d suddenly become very interested in something on their dashboard, or on the seat next to them—anything to avoid having to look at that homeless person, to see their face, to look into their eyes.
…And that’s exactly how I imagine things were for Bartimaeus.
In our Bible story today, Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, is sitting by the side of the road, waiting for someone to notice him.
Most people make a point of not noticing him. Bartimaeus makes people uncomfortable: his eyes that are open but which do not see, staring at nothing.
But it isn’t just his blindness. In the first century, anyone who is blind, or deaf, or lame, or afflicted with any sort of incurable disease, makes people uncomfortable.
Some wonder how it is that they are born with all their senses and abilities, while others are not. How easily it could have been them, and could still be them, if some accident or misfortune should befall them… They don’t like to think about that…
Others figure that any person so afflicted must have done something to anger God. That thought, at least, puts some distance between them and the person on the side of the road. It justifies their preference to pass by quickly, and turn their thoughts to something else.
Bartimaeus knows all this. He knows what people think. He knows that he makes them uncomfortable. He knows that they try to pass as quickly as they can.
He can feel the vibrations of their footsteps, which quicken as they approach, then relax a bit once they have passed.
That’s OK. He doesn’t need everyone to stop by and notice him. But it would be nice if one or two would pause long enough to drop a coin in his cup before they hurried away.
On this day, he can hear a large crowd coming out from Jericho. As the crowd approaches, he can feel the vibrations of many feet coming from the ground.
It’s harder for a large crowd to hurry by as it passes, because they’re all bunched together, and everyone has someone else in front of them, limiting how fast they can go. They’re all backed up… just like the cars at the red light on that freeway offramp.
Maybe that will help someone notice him, and put something in his cup. Maybe more than one “someone.”
But something else creates an even greater excitement in Bartimaeus. He hears people in the crowd mentioning the name: Jesus of Nazareth. Over and over, he hears that name, and Bartimaeus realizes:
Jesus is passing by! The one who has the power to heal! The one who has the power to restore broken people to wholeness!
If only he can get Jesus to notice him!
But how? Bartimaeus is sure that Jesus is surrounded by people, which will make it hard for Jesus to see anything or anyone beyond those traveling with him.
And even if Jesus does see Bartimaeus, would Jesus acknowledge him? Or would he, like everyone else, ignore him, and just keep right on going?
Bartimaeus starts shouting: “Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me!” (Say that with me!)
Some in the crowd try to silence Bartimaeus. “Hey, pipe down. Jesus has more important things to think about than you. He’s on his way to Jerusalem, to claim his glory, to claim his throne! So stop bothering him!”
But Bartimaeus yells even louder: “JESUS, SON OF DAVID!” (That’s a royal title, by the way. If Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem, to claim his glory, to claim his throne, what better way to address him? On the other hand, it is dangerous to use a royal title when addressing anyone other than Caesar or one of the rulers under Caesar. That kind of talk can get one killed. Calling Jesus “Son of David” in such a public setting is risky!)
But Bartimaeus is not dissuaded. He yells again, at the top of his lungs: “JESUS! SON OF DAVID! HAVE MERCY ON ME!”
Jesus stops. The entire procession stops. Everything comes to a standstill. All the voices are silent. The ground is still, no longer vibrating from all the footsteps.
Bartimaeus tries to swallow, but his mouth has gone dry.
Jesus says, “Bring him here.”
Suddenly, Bartimaeus feels several sets of hands grabbing him, lifting him up; and several voices say to him: “Take heart! Get up! He’s calling YOU!”
Bartimaeus gets up and throws down his cloak. The cloak is a symbol of his status as a beggar; since Jesus has taken notice of him, Bartimaeus is certain he won’t be needing that anymore. That’s how strong his faith is.
Guided by the crowd, he approaches Jesus. He hears Jesus say to him: “What do you want me to do for you?”
Upon hearing the question, Bartimaeus feels his knees go weak. He almost falls back to the ground.
Never, in his life, has anyone taken such notice of him, in such a positive, sincere way, asking him what they could do for him. Most people didn’t care about him. Even the ones who put coins in his cup; they never asked him what he wanted, they never looked him in the eye. They all just wanted to get on with whatever more important thing they were doing.
Not Jesus. Jesus’ question is sincere. Jesus notices Bartimaeus. Jesus feels compassion for Bartimaeus. Jesus addresses Bartimaeus as a holy, beloved, child of God. And Jesus waits for Bartimaeus to answer.
Bartimaeus says, “Teacher! Let me see again!”
Jesus says to him, “Go; your faith has made you well. Your faith has healed you. Your faith has restored you to wholeness. Your faith has saved you.”
Instantly, Bartimaeus can see.
And, having been noticed by Jesus, having experienced Jesus’ love and kindness and compassion, Bartimaeus then follows Jesus on the way; and that phrase—on the way—refers to the new life, the new way of living, that all those who worship Jesus are called to follow.
Bartimaeus follows Jesus on the way.
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When Jesus notices Bartimaeus, and stops to talk to Bartimaeus, and heals Bartimaeus, he doesn’t just give Bartimaeus the ability to see; he also gives Bartimaeus the ability to be seen.
Many in the crowd that follows Jesus have never really seen Bartimaeus before. Even those who have passed by him before—even those who have passed by him many times, who perhaps see him on a daily basis—have never really seen him before.
They always turn their faces away, passing by quickly on the other side of the road, doing all they can to not see Bartimaeus. They were blind to him… but now Jesus has opened their eyes, and now they see and notice Bartimaeus.
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Stories like this one are a challenge for me. Because I, like many others, am tempted to avert my gaze, to look away, and not notice those in need, especially when they appear before me when I’m not expecting it. I suppose if my attention were drawn to them only at times that were convenient for me, that would be OK. But that’s not how these things always happen.
It is not convenient for Jesus to stop and notice Bartimaeus, to talk with Bartimaeus, to hear Bartimaeus’ request, and to respond. Jesus is, after all, on his way to Jerusalem, where he is about to have the most important week of his life—the most important week in the life of any human who ever lived.
If anyone has a good reason to keep going, to not stop and notice some person on the side of the road, it’s Jesus.
Yet Jesus does stop. Jesus does notice. Jesus does take the time to help Bartimaeus see, and to help the crowd see Bartimaeus.
So, as we follow Jesus in our lives, I think one of the most important things we can do—one of the most important things that God calls us to do—is to stop and notice those who are sitting on the side of the road.
Who are the ones sitting on the side of the road? Who is it that is ignored by society?
Who is it that we try not to notice?
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When I was a college student, attending Disciples-related Chapman University, I spent every Friday afternoon helping to prepare food to feed the homeless. I’d walk a couple of blocks from campus to the home of a woman in her late 80s named Mary McAnena, who, with help from volunteers, prepared hot meals every weekday in her house for the 100 or so homeless people who gathered in the park nearby.
To some, Mary was a hero, or a saint; to others, she was a nuisance.
It started one day when Mary McAnena was walking home from church. She saw a young woman sitting on the ground, eating pork and beans out of a can with her hands.
I don’t know how I would have reacted. But Mary stopped and noticed that person, and offered her some food. And when Mary noticed others who were hungry and homeless, she began feeding them, too, and before long, she was fixing meals in her house every weekday, and transporting the food to the park a few blocks away to feed the growing crowd.
The city council, meanwhile, was trying very hard not to notice the homeless in their city. The council said that Mary was only encouraging them. They tried to get Mary to stop, but Mary refused.
Eventually a compromise was reached: instead of preparing the food in her home and taking it to the park, the city gave Mary space on city property in an industrial area a half mile away.
There, Mary’s kitchen, which was now developing into its own nonprofit organization, placed a mobile kitchen it had acquired, and continued feeding the homeless.
But the harassment from the city continued, even after Mary passed away at the age of 100. Mary’s Kitchen was eventually forced to shut down. The city again chose to ignore those sitting and begging on the side of the road.
But the volunteers running Mary’s Kitchen didn’t let that stop them. Two years ago they found a new location, a few miles away in the nearby city of Anaheim, just a few blocks from Disneyland. And the kitchen continues to operate today.
The story of Mary’s Kitchen, and the story of Bartimaeus, have a lot in common. Both stories involve noticing people who usually go unnoticed in society. Both involve people of faith going against the rest of society, and noticing those vulnerable persons on the side of the road. And both involve resistance from government leaders.
Because, remember, Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, the center of Roman and religious government. And in the story, Bartimaeus dares to call Jesus “Son of David,” a very political term.
We cannot hear this story, and ignore the politics involved.
And as Election Day gets closer, I cannot help but think about how the candidates we’re asked to vote for do—or do not—notice and give attention to the vulnerable people of our society; those who sit by the side of the road, who would like to join the procession, the march of society, but are unable to do so without assistance.
Which of our potential leaders will help us as a society stop and notice those who need our attention? Which of our potential leaders will help us show compassion to them, and offer them restoration and healing? Which of our potential leaders will open our eyes to the needs of the people around us, removing our blindness, and helping us to see?
The Bible talks an awful lot about showing justice to the poor, and hospitality to immigrants, and compassion to all sorts of vulnerable people… Will we notice them? Will we allow Jesus to open our eyes, so that we truly see them?
Because only when our eyes are truly open, and we see and notice those around us, will we then be prepared to follow Jesus on the way.
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