Jesus asks a question in this Sunday’s Gospel (Mark 10:46-52) that may sound familiar since we heard the same question last Sunday.
In last week’s Gospel, James and John came to Jesus and asked him to do something. Jesus responded, “What do you wish me to do for you?” James and John replied, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.”
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, cries out, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” Jesus asks him, “What do you want me to do for you?” Bartimaeus responds that he wants to see.
Jesus asks the same question in each Gospel, but his response is different.
Jesus refuses the request of James and John. He tells them that greatness in his kingdom comes not through holding positions of power, but rather through being of service to others.
However, Jesus grants the request of Bartimaeus. Jesus tells him, “Go your way, your faith has saved you.” Immediately, the eyes of Bartimaeus are opened.
The question that Jesus asked James, John, and Bartimaeus is one that we might imagine the Lord asking us each time we pray: “What do you want me to do for you?”
When we pray, we lift our hearts to the Lord, and we give him thanks for our blessings. But if we are honest, we often spend more time telling the Lord what we want him to do for us.
For example, we may ask the Lord to bless us with happiness, to show us the purpose and meaning of our life, to heal us of a certain disease, to guide us in dealing with family issues, to watch over our relatives and friends.
We may ask the Lord to advance our careers, to bless us with financial success, to help us overcome a particular addiction or sinful habit, to protect us from harm, to show us mercy, to grant us and our loved ones eternal life—our list of requests is endless.
We are more than ready to tell the Lord what we would like him to do for us.
As we know, sometimes the Lord answers our requests as he did in the case of Bartimaeus. But sometimes, the Lord seems to refuse to do what we ask, as happened with James and John.
But there is one request that we can make with the assurance that the Lord will do as we ask. It is the request made by Bartimaeus: “Master, I want to see.” Jesus not only gave Bartimaeus physical sight, more importantly he gave Bartimaeus spiritual sight.
Bartimaeus was able to see the face of Jesus and able to recognize him as his Savior and Lord. That is why we are told that after his eyes were opened, Bartimaeus began to follow Jesus “on the way.” He became a disciple, a follower of the Lord.
We make many requests of the Lord, but perhaps the most important thing that we can ask Jesus to do for us is to open the eyes of our mind and heart. Then like Bartimaeus, we will be able to recognize Jesus as the Holy One in whom we discover the meaning and purpose of life and the way to eternal life.
© 2024 Rev. Thomas Iwanowski