Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 24, 2021 – Jeremiah 31:7-9; Hebrews 5:1-6; Mark 10:46-52

So, it looks as though Facebook has gotten itself into a bit of trouble. An internal memo has revealed that the company knew its algorithms were targeting teenagers, especially teenage girls, in such a way as to create controversy and havoc. And, pursuing that line of thought, it’s come to light that the algorithms are manipulated to draw us into controversy as much as possible, because the more hits the website gets, the more advertising dollars it can make. It's a difficult world that we live in, where people are encouraged to be at the height of tension.

I think today's gospel helps us to navigate through that. That's why I asked you to listen carefully to a couple of things in the story. The first thing to talk about is the strange way that the man is introduced. It said, “Bartimaeus, blind man, the son of Timaeus...” Now, most translators assume that Mark, because he wrote in Greek, was telling an audience that did not speak Hebrew that “Bartimaeus” simply meant the son of Timaeus. But, if he meant that, he would have said, “Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, that is, a blind man.” But that's not what he said.

So I looked up both in the Greek and the Latin. It turns out that the little syllable “Tim” is the root of any words connected with fear and being frightened, both in the Greek language and the Latin language. So what the author is saying is that Bartimaeus, a blind man, was a fearful son. A fearful son. Keep that in mind.

The second thing to notice is the confusion in the crowd. First they tell Bartimaeus, “Shut up.” Then they tell him, “Oh, go and see Jesus.” In Greek literature, in Greek drama, there's always something called the Chorus. That chorus is not like chorus lines in modern plays. It was a character in the play, and the purpose of the chorus was to tell the audience what was going on onstage, and to tell the chorus how they should think about what was going on onstage. And so it was like an interface between the actors and the audience, making it very interactive sort of play. That’s what Mark is doing here. Mark is using that device of Greek literature to tell us something. That there is a babble of voices surrounding Bartimaeus. Some of them are telling him to back off, keep quiet, not seek any change. The other voices are telling him that Jesus can help him, and he should go to Jesus.

The next thing to notice is what Bartimaeus does. He calls out, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.” Which means that he already knew who Jesus was by reputation. And knew that Jesus had a reputation for being a healer. This is not a stranger who has never met Jesus before, this is someone who has been following the story up until that point. And then the author tells us that he threw off his cloak. Why is that detail important? Because this man is marginalized by society. Because he has a terrible affliction. He is considered to be a sinner. And he is a beggar. The way begging worked back then is - all the beggar had was a cloak to keep him warm at night, and he would wander, sit on the cloak all day and beg. When nighttime came and it was time to sleep, he’d wrap himself up, wherever he was, in his cloak and go to sleep. A terrible way to live. But, by throwing off his cloak, he’s symbolically letting go of his only security, to go to Jesus.

And I said, notice where Jesus is. He was leaving Jericho. We don't care where he was going, or when he was leaving. But you gotta know that Jericho is the last stop on the way to Jerusalem. Remember the story of the Good Samaritan - a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. It's an 18-mile journey, easily a day's walk.

So, Jesus is on his way to the place where he's going to be killed, and Jericho is his last stop on The Way. When the blind man approaches Jesus, he says, “I want to see.” A very pregnant expression, “I want to see.” And after he begins to see, Jesus invites him to simply go on with his life, but the man decides to go on The Way. Having gotten back his full health, no longer a pariah in society, he decides to follow Jesus to the dangerous place where Jesus is going. That's the story.

Why was the story told that way? Because Mark was dealing with a church full of fearful people who were being bombarded on every side with contradictory information, both about their own faith, and about the place of believers in Jesus in the wider society. The church, at that time, was known in popular society as ‘The Way.’ But it's turning out that The Way is starting to be very dangerous. And so, the average Christian cries out to Jesus that he or she wants to see, wants to have insight into the present situation, and figure out what to do next.

That's how the story has an impact on us. We are surrounded by a babble of voices. Facebook, and the other iterations of the internet, are just one example of the way in which we are bombarded with contradictory information all the time. It sets us on edge, and it sets us against one another in a way that does not allow for consideration, courtesy, civility, or maturity. And so, we cry out, “Lord, let me see. I want to begin to understand better what this is.” But, if we do that, and Jesus allows us insight, chances are that life will be more difficult for us, rather than less difficult. Following the way of Jesus has its own challenges and problems. This is true in our society. It's true in our church. And it’s true in our individual lives. Sometimes we either are among the marginalized, or feel that way. And what our faith invites us to do is to let go of our security, go to Jesus, and simply say,”Lord, I want to see.”