These past 3 Sundays, we’ve listened to stories of 3 people who Jesus beckons to follow him, each with his own response and result. Let’s do a quick review:
Sunday, October 13, we looked at the rich dude, the wealthy young man who followed all the commandments and had everything he wanted except one thing: the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus said, give up everything and follow me. His response was to walk away, dejected. No Kingdom of Heaven for you, rich guy! Next time, why don’t you try to pass a camel through the eye of a needle!
Then, Sunday, October 20, we meet up with the Apostle Brothers, James and John: they give up everything they owned, and apparently, they have a hidden agenda. Jesus and the gang are all walking to Jerusalem and James and John want Jesus to promise that they get to sit to the left and right of him when they go to heaven. Can you imagine what the Kingdom of Heaven would’ve been like for Jesus if he said okay? James and John would be forever squabbling about who gets to sit on the right side! “I’m older! I get to sit on the right!” “Well, I’m more handsome; I feel entitled to the better side!” Etc. If Jesus had any control over that and promised them, it would’ve been the Kingdom of James and John and it wouldn’t be heavenly!
And today, we meet Bartimaeus, the blind guy who sits on the side of the road in Jericho. No money. Only the clothes on his back. His eyes don’t function, and yet, he sees more than any of these other guys. He calls out to Jesus, for his mercy (one of Jesus’s specialties), and the followers tell him to leave Jesus alone. However, Jesus has other ideas and heals him and, without being asked, Bartimaeus follows him. He doesn’t need anything else from Jesus. He doesn’t even require an invitation. He simply ups and follows him after receiving the healing touch of Jesus.
As Michaela Bruzzese notes, “With nothing to lose and everything to gain, Bartimaeus is free to be free, while the rich young man and the disciples are still possessed by their own ideas of who Jesus is and what kind of liberation he brings.”
Bartimaeus magnifies Jesus. He lifts Jesus up. He follows him faithfully. Quietly and with love. This is another way to be a Christian. An excellent way to magnify Jesus’s word. To serve God faithfully, and with humility. Not requiring fortune. Not requiring power or fame. Dedicating our lives to God. How? How do we dedicate our lives to God? Well, we could all become monks. Or travel into the hilltowns with Bibles in our hands professing the word at the top of our lungs. We could do that.
Or we could walk humbly with Jesus by quietly taking his commandment of loving our neighbor as we love ourselves seriously. How do we do that?
Let’s make this a Q&A. How do we live the love of Jesus in our everyday lives?
Feeding the hungry
Clothing the naked
Seeking justice
Lifting up the downtrodden
Praying
Practicing contemplation
These are all examples of living the way of Jesus. We’re all such creatures of habit. Let’s commit to creating a new habit in our lives. Take one of the actions that we came up with and commit to practicing it at least 1, 2, 3, 4 times a day or a week or a month. Let’s get up from the side of the road and walk humbly with Jesus. Amen.