Jer 31:7-9; Heb 5:1-6; Mk 10:46-52
Today's
Gospel describes Jesus' final journey to Jerusalem through Jericho, an ancient
city, fifteen miles away from Jerusalem. Jericho was the first city conquered
by the Israelites when they entered Palestine. It was a city of great wealth
and remarkable beauty. Great numbers of merchants and Jewish priests made their
homes in this pleasant city. Jesus was on his way to the Passover. When a
distinguished Rabi was on such a journey he was surrounded by his
disciples.
The Mosaic Law required every Jewish male over the age of twelve and living within fifteen miles of Jerusalem to attend the Passover. It was practically impossible. Hence, those who could not fulfil this obligation would often line the roads to Jerusalem to greet the crowds of pilgrims as they passed toward the city. Beggars also capitalized on the increased traffic through
the city to beg for money. At the northern gate sat one such blind man known as Bartimaeus.The story of
Bartimaeus is the last healing miracle recorded in the Gospel of Mark.
While the majority of those who received healing in the New Testament are
not mentioned by name, in this case, the beggar's name is given as Bartimaeus.
When the people told Bartimaeus the news of Jesus' passage through the city, he
began to shout his remarkable prayer of faith: "Jesus, Son of David, have
mercy on me." Jesus was surrounded by a large crowd. Amid the noise and
dust, people were jostling for attention, and beggars cried out for alms. In
spite of this tumult, Jesus heard one voice crying out through the noise of the
crowd. In spite of the crowd's objections, Jesus stopped and, recognizing
Bartimaeus' faith, he called him.
This story has
many lessons that we should practice in our lives.
First of all,
there is the persistence of Bartimaeus. He was utterly determined to meet
Jesus. Nothing would stop him from it. In the mind of Bartimaeus it not a
wistful sentimental wish, but a desperate desire, and it is that desperate
desire that gets things done.
In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea
to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However
bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an
impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be
done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.
Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge.
He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be
done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion
and persuasion, he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming
engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.
Father and son began to work together. The project started well, but
when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the
life of John Roebling. Washington was also injured and left with a certain
amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to talk or walk.
Everyone said, “Crazy men and their crazy dreams." "It's
foolish to chase wild visions."
In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had
a burning desire to complete the bridge. As he lay on his bed in his hospital
room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the
flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the
trees outside for just a moment.
It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an
idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the
best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication
with his wife.
He touched his wife's arm with that finger, indicating to her that he
wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping
her arm to tell the engineers what to do.
For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on
his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular
Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one
man's indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by
circumstances.
"Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the
world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and Determination alone are
omnipotent. The slogan "Press On" has solved and will always solve
the problems of the human race." Calvin Coolidge.
When things
go wrong as they sometimes will.
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill.
When funds
are low and the debts are high.
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is
pressing you down a bit.
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is
queer with its twists and turns.
As every one of us sometimes learns.
And many a
failure turns about.
When he might have won had he stuck it out:
Don't give
up though the pace seems slow –
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is
failure turned inside out –
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you
never can tell how close you are.
It may be near when it seems so far:
So stick to
the fight when you're hardest hit –
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.
- Author
unknown
The second
message is: Bartimaeus' response to the call of Jesus was immediate. In the
Gospels we see that many were called by Jesus. Jesus called the young man
who approached him, to leave all his belongings and follow him. But the young
man went away sadly. Jesus message was addressed to many directly and
indirectly to follow him. But the response except a few men was negative. This
call of Jesus has continued throughout history. But the response of the
majority is, "Wait until I have finished my work." But Bartimaeus did
not waste time to think, he reacted promptly. Certain chances happen only
once. If we do not act on the moment the chance is gone, perhaps never
to come back. Sean Connery missed out on $400 million by not taking the role of
Gandolf in Lord of the Rings. (He was promised 15% of the Worldwide Box Office
Receipts if he took the role - which would have earned him the biggest payday
of any actor. But he turned it down, because he said he couldn't understand the
script.) "Opportunity does not knock, it presents itself when you
beat down the door."
Thirdly,
Bartimaeus knew precisely what he wanted. This is a great problem of modern
man. We do not know what exactly we want in our lives. Our goals are vague
attractions.
From the
book What they don't teach you at Harvard Business School by Mark
McCormack:
In the book
What They Don't Teach You in the Harvard Business School, Mark McCormack tells
a study conducted on students in the 1979 Harvard MBA program. In that year,
the students were asked, "Have you set clear, written goals for your
future and made plans to accomplish them?" Only three percent of the
graduates had written goals and plans; 13 percent had goals, but they were not
in writing; and a whopping 84 percent had no specific goals at all.
In the
bestseller "Goals!", Brian Tracy teaches you how to identify
in the clearest term the things you want out of life, then how to make the plan
to help you achieve those things. Brian Tracy says there are four reasons why
people don't set goals:
- They don't realize about the
importance of goals. If the people with whom you spend the most time —
family, friends, colleagues, and so forth — are not clear and committed to
goals, there is a chance that you will not be, either.
- They don't know how to set
goals. Some set goals that are too general. These are, in reality,
fantasies common to everyone. Goals, on the other hand, are clear,
written, specific, and measurable.
- They fear failure. Failure
hurts, but it is often necessary to experience failure in order to achieve
the greatest success. Do not unconsciously sabotage yourself by not
setting any goals in which you might fail.
- They fear rejection. People
are often afraid that if they are unsuccessful at achieving a goal, others
will be critical of them. This is remedied by keeping your goals to
yourself at the outset; let others see your results and achievements once
you've accomplished your goals.
Let us make a
habit of daily goal setting and achieving, for the rest of our life.
Let's focus on the things we want, rather than the things we don't want. Let's
resolve to be a goal-seeking organism, moving unerringly toward the things that
are important to us. Let us pray to have a clear vision of Christian values and
priorities that we may become true disciples of Jesus like Bartimaeus.
Having received his sight, he followed Jesus. He began with a need,
went on to express his gratitude, and finished with loyalty.
May God help
to follow this perfect example of discipleship.
Satish