“I Want to See!”

One of my favorite cameo characters in the Gospels is Bartimaeus, the blind man. Jesus heals many people and many of them go unnamed, but not Bartimaeus. St. Mark identifies him as “Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus.” I love his spunk, his lack of decorum, his insistence, and his desire to have an encounter with Jesus so that he could be healed of his blindness.

Yesterday’s Gospel reading was from Mark 10:46–52 (NABRE), and it tells the story of Bartimaeus’s encounter with Jesus.

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,
Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,
sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say,
“Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.”
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
But he kept calling out all the more,
“Son of David, have pity on me.”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called the blind man, saying to him,
“Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.”
Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.”
Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way.

Against all opposition from the crowd who tried to shut down Bartimaeus, he finally gets an audience with Jesus who says to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” Bartimaeus replies to Jesus, “Master, I want to see.” And Jesus says to him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Bartimaeus not only received his sight, but immediately began following after Jesus. In the process he left behind everything, his cloak, his begging, and his blindness.

I heard this passage expounded upon yesterday by Fr. Vincent Guest at St. Luke Catholic Church in Stratford, New Jersey, where we were visiting for the annual “White Mass” to honor the medical professionals. Our own Bobbie Bradley, Director of the St. Peter Senior Center, was being honored as one of two recipients of the St. Luke Award. A busload of parishioners from St. Peter’s, mostly seniors, were present to celebrate with Bobbie. There was one person strangely absent, our dear friend Frank. Several asked about Frank throughout the day commenting on how much we missed him.

Last night just before Charlotte and I retired for the evening we were notified that Frank had suffered a massive stroke and had died Sunday morning. Our hearts were filled with sadness for our loss, but we couldn’t help but focus on his gain. This morning I crossed the street to attend 6:45 Mass. I serve as the lector on Monday mornings. I couldn’t help but think about Frank, that today I wouldn’t see him in his customary pew. I wouldn’t see him stop and pray at the front of the church for his beloved Rita who died less than two years ago. I wouldn’t get a chance to shake his hand after Mass and hear his genuine words wishing me a good day.

Reading the passage from Ephesians and the Psalms was more difficult than usual. Hearing our priest pray for the peaceful repose of his soul made it even more real. Yet in that moment in the liturgy when the celebrant leads us to respond:

V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with your spirit.

V. Lift up your hearts.
R. We lift them up to the Lord.

V. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
R. It is right and just.  

It hit me in that moment how interconnected we on earth become with heaven in the celebration of the Mass. Tears flowed as imagined my friend Frank now on the other side, yet still part of the great body of worshipers before the throne of God.

Frank’s heart prayer was the same as Bartimaeus, “I want to see!” Not only did he want to see his dear Rita again, he wanted to see Jesus. Today we pray for the peaceful repose of Frank’s soul. May he rest in peace!