The blind man is called Bartimaeus. He sits in the dust outside of Jericho. Dust and darkness. That’s what his life is. He longs to see again. He remembers days gone by, bright colors and sunny days and faces. The memories are distant for him, obscured by the darkness, but they are not entirely gone. Bartimaeus longs to see again. He knows there could be something else, something more than dust and darkness. He has heard people speak about Jesus, this man from Galilee who has been traveling in the area, making his way to Jerusalem. Bartimaeus has heard that this Jesus speaks about religion in a new way. He speaks about love and forgiveness and compassion. He brings healing and hope and wholeness. His words and his touch make people well. Jesus passes by the blind man Bartimaeus. As Bartimaeus becomes aware of it, he calls out for mercy, for healing. And Jesus hears him and responds to him and restores him. What happens when Bartimaeus can see again? He follows Jesus. He sees Jesus and he follows him. Call it a reformation. Bartimaeus was blind but then he sees. When he sees, he follows Jesus. So simple, yet so hard. There is a lot going on in Mark 10. The lectionary has taken us through the entire chapter over the past month: The Pharisees test Jesus with a question on divorce. Jesus’ own disciples try to prevent children from coming to him. A rich man walks away from Jesus because he finds the cost of following Jesus too demanding. The disciples named James and John bicker about who can be great, completely missing Jesus’ teaching about humility and service... You can find the rest of the commentary on our website.
John Wurster is pastor at St. Philip Presbyterian Church in Houston. | 
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