Our modern life is often fast-paced with responsibilities we can’t shed. Sometimes, we can get so busy with work, family, church, our kids’ sports, and other extracurricular activities that we miss out on fundamentals that should be important in our lives. We hear people say, “you have to stop and smell the roses,” but really, who has time for that?
Then all of a sudden, we get blindsided by something unexpected. We lose our job, suffer a physical or emotional injury, confront illness, or like all of us now, endure through this pandemic. Then we undergo isolation, whether through outside forces or personal circumstances, and we become separated from others. But it is in this isolation and slow-down of life that we fall back on a basic necessity that we often skip when all is well, and we live life full steam ahead. It’s the basic necessity of reflection.
The need to reflect on one’s life reminds me of the story of Bartimaeus. Looking at Mark 10:46-52, we can read how the story of Bartimaeus unfolds. Jesus and his disciples are in the city of Jericho, and upon their departure, a crowd forms and follows them. A blind beggar hears from the crowd that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by, and he calls to Jesus from the side of the road. He calls out to him by saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Though the crowd rebukes him, he again calls out, and Jesus responds by healing him, announcing, “your faith has healed you.”
All the synoptic Gospels record the story of Jesus healing the blind, and yet the story of Bartimaeus being healed was significant enough for Mark to write down his name. Some theologians believe that his name was recorded because after being healed, he immediately followed Jesus, and he may have been instrumental in the early years of spreading the Gospel. Whatever the reason, he was important in many ways.
In the Book of Mark, the story of Bartimaeus is the first public acknowledgment of the messianic identity of Jesus. This is revealed to the disciples just two chapters earlier when Jesus asks them, “Who do you say I am?” and Peter responds with, “You are the Messiah.” But even then, some of the disciples still display difficulty in understanding who Jesus really is. We can see from Scripture that James and John quarrel regarding heavenly seating arrangements just a few verses before the story of Bartimaeus.
Bartimaeus was blind. During that time in history, the blind may have had no choice but to beg for their means of living. He was in social isolation because of his blindness, separated from others. He lived on what others gave him, even the stories of a prophesied Messiah. Yet, it was in that life of isolation, that endless span of hours, of days, of years in darkness where he could only reflect on his predicament as well as on all the stories he had heard, that he was able to understand who Jesus was.
Unlike the Pharisees who were blind to the prophecies of Jesus, this blind man understood that Jesus was the promised Messiah, not with what he saw, but with what he had heard about him. Reflecting on all the various stories and understanding the Jewish scripture that was most probably told to him, Bartimaeus came to the only conclusion that this Jesus was in fact the prophesied Messiah, the descendent of David. This is evident even though in verse 47, “he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth,” (a title signifying one’s home location and a title becoming famous through his teachings and miracles), Bartimaeus “began to shout, ‘Jesus, Son of David,” (a title signifying God’s promise to David that one of his descendants would be the Messiah of Israel). He believed and took a leap of faith, calling out, “have mercy on me,” hoping that his conclusions were true.
It’s also significant that this event takes place in Jericho. We know this place because of the stories of Joshua’s conquests from the Old Testament. In Joshua 6, the great wall of Jericho stands before the Israelites, and the Lord instructs them to march around the walls in order to conquer the city. Joshua and the Israelites obey, and it is an act of faith that delivers the city into their hands.
Bartimaeus’ blindness was a great wall in front of him, isolating him from the rest of his fellow men. In his reflective isolation, he believed that Jesus was the prophesied Messiah and acted on this belief by asking Jesus to have mercy on him. Bartimaeus, though he was rebuked and told to be quiet, stepped forward and asked for healing from the wall that was before his eyes. His belief that Jesus would heal him was an act of faith.
In our moments of isolation brought on by outside forces or by ourselves, let us take time in reflection. Bartimaeus likely spent years reflecting on Jewish scripture while he was blind and begging, and he called out to his God to save him. For Christians, prayer is our “calling out” to God as well as our time to reflect on our lives in relation to our God and our fellow man. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 instructs us to “pray without ceasing” which doesn’t literally mean to pray night and day (although, you can if you want to), but what it is asking us is to have the attitude of prayer in our minds all the time, always talking to God, always in self-reflection of our actions, thoughts, and words. For me, it helps me recognize my place in this world and my position in Christ.
My hope is that we all spend time in prayer, especially now during this pandemic crisis, the wall separating us, reflecting on the truth of His words and of His promises, reflecting on our walk of faith, and asking God to have mercy on us. Above all this, I hope we’ll pray:
Pray that God would provide healing for those afflicted and provide protection for those who are healthy.
Pray for those in the front line, pray for the doctors, the nurses, the medical staff, the first responders.
Pray for those in the food industry, as well as those who sustain that infrastructure, who often go unappreciated and unnoticed.
Pray for the scientists and their work on a vaccine.
Pray for our leaders to make wise decisions and to heed future warnings.
Pray for countries that do not have such healthcare and other infrastructures.
Keep in mind that effective prayer leads us to action. Let us not only pray but also support those in need and those who are taxed beyond their means in any way we can (make masks, send donations, reach out, provide practical assistance, and convey our gratitude and love). Have we not been put on this earth for such a time as this? Let us do what we can with what God has given us.