It was the great mystic, poet, theologian,
social commentator, and Peanuts character Linus who said, “Happiness is
a warm blanket.” Surely Bartimaeus, the
blind beggar in today’s gospel reading, would agree. But whereas Linus used his blanket to produce
a feeling of security, Bartimaeus needed his cloak for to do so much more. It was a shield from the sun and covering in
the rain. It gave warmth on chilly nights
and cushioned the rocky ground on which he sat.
Somewhere in the cloak was a pocket to stow coins produced by begging. It would be hard to overstate its value to
Bartimaeus.
So it is worth noting that when Jesus calls him,
the blind beggar throws off his cloak and leaps up. It is hard to imagine why he would leave
behind something so important to him.
Given he is blind, there is a reasonable chance he will not be able to
find his way back to where he let it drop.
It is also likely in the commotion someone else might make off with it. Why would he do it? Why would Bartimaeus carelessly leave behind a
vital piece of property? Linus guarded
his blanket with the zeal of a bank guard.
We can understand Bart Simpson doing something this careless, but not a
beggar whose life depended on this possession.
Perhaps he was too excited to think
straight. Maybe the emotion of the
moment got the better of him. He just
sprang up and went to Jesus. Or maybe
Bartimaeus’ act is indicative of a deeper faith. Maybe he believes so deeply he was going to
be healed that he thinks the blanket will no longer be necessary. Given this possibility, the cloak represents
his old lifestyle of begging, which he will not need anymore.
Here is a third possibility. The name Bartimaeus means “son (bar in
Hebrew) of Timaeus.” Is Mark trying to
tell us who the beggar’s father is or perhaps is he trying to tell us something
else? Plato produced a work called Timaeus
some 350 years earlier. It is the philosopher’s
attempt to explain the origin and nature of the universe and the role of human
beings in it. To call a person Bartimaeus
is to identify him as an adherent to Plato’s school of thought. In fact, pupils were often said to wear the
cloak of their teacher. Is Mark telling
us the beggar sheds his cloak as a tangible sign of forsaking the Plato’s
outlook in order to embrace to the teachings of Jesus?
Did you notice how Bartimaeus addresses Jesus?
When Jesus asks the beggar what he wants, Bartimaeus answers, “My teacher, let
me see again.” “My teacher” – isn’t this
an indication Bartimaeus wants to see the world in a whole new way; not just
with his eyes, but also with his understanding?
“Go,” Jesus tells him. “Your
faith has made you well.” Bartimaeus
immediately receives his sight, but rather than leave, he follows Jesus on the
way. He has the physically ability to
see, but needs time with his new teacher in order to gain new insight and
perspective.
After this encounter Mark never again mentions Bartimaeus
by name, but does he disappear from the story?
Today’s reading takes place just outside of
Jericho. It is not a long walk from here
to Jerusalem. In just a day or two it
will be Palm Sunday. Within a week Jesus
will be crucified and buried. Mark adds
a rather curious detail to the scene of Jesus’ arrest the other three gospels
don’t mention. After all the disciples
flee, he notes this:
A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a
linen cloth. They [the arresting guards]
caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked. (14:51-52)
Is this young man Bartimaeus? Recent scholarship thinks it is. Why doesn’t Mark identify him by name? Because he is no longer a son of the Timaeus
philosophy. And what about the linen
cloth? If Bartimaeus had been a beggar
and if he left his cloak on the roadside, it is likely he did not have much to
wear, perhaps only a linen cloth to wrap around his body.
Before new converts were baptized the
early Church had them engage in a
catechumenal process – a time of teaching where they were taught the essentials
of the faith. Once prepared for baptism,
candidates were led to a body of water and stripped of their clothing. Nothing from a person’s old life was to be
carried into the new life of following Christ.
Candidates were thrust under water three times, once in the name of the
Father, then of the Son, and finally of the Holy Spirit. This was not gentle dabbling with a few drops
of water. It was a near drowning that
brought a person as close to death as possible in order to emphasize sharing in
resurrected life with Christ. The newly
baptized person emerged from the water and was clothed immediately in an all-white
linen. It symbolized the washing of sins
and the beginning of a new life in Christ.
Bartimaeus, following Jesus closely
throughout the events of Holy Week, learns firsthand what the Christian faith
and life is all about. In Mark’s gospel
the young man disappears from the story naked and, we assume goes through his
own process of dying even as Jesus is tried and crucified. On Easter morning a group of woman go to
Jesus’ tomb to anoint his body with burial spices. They are shocked to find the sealed tomb
open. Listen to how Mark tells the story
from here:
As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a
white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed;
you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter
that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he
told you.” (Mark 16:5-7)
In this account the young man is now wearing a white robe, symbolizing
he has entered fully into new life with Jesus.
He is sitting of the right hand of where the body had been laid. Do you remember last week’s reading where
James and John ask to sit at Jesus’ side in glory? Do you remember how Jesus said it was not for
him to grant, but that there was one for whom it was prepared? Bartimaeus was the last person Jesus healed
and last to follow him on the way, but the first person to proclaim Jesus’
resurrection. He becomes a tangible
embodiment of Jesus’ teaching that the last will be first.
And notice what he says to the women:
“Look” at the place
where they laid him.
Go to Galilee and
there you will “see” him.
There is a strong visual element to his directions. It is as if seeing is very important to him,
perhaps the final clue that Bartimaeus and this young man are one in the same.
Mark did not weave all of this into his gospel as an intriguing literary
exercise. He wanted to entice his
readers to ask key questions of themselves.
If the cloak represents the old life of begging – a life of
hopelessness and despair Bartimaeus had to shed – what is it you need to get
rid of in your life in order to move into new life with Jesus? It could be a relationship or a habit or a
vice or job. Whatever it is for you, it
is emblematic of all that holds you back and all that holds you down.
And what if Bartimaeus’ cloak represents more than an old way of
life? What if it represents an entire
worldview or ideology not oriented around the Gospel as made known through the
life and teachings of Jesus? What will
it take for you to see the world in a whole new way?
Today we are told there is no objective truth. Each of us, we are told, must find our own
way. It is your job to construct a
reality that works for you. Much about
modern technology provides us with the tools and resources we need to pursue
this task with greater or lesser vigor depending on our interest. We are even encouraged to pick and choose
elements from various worldviews that tickle our fancy.
Jesus did not come to give people interesting tidbits to add to
their stew of ideas and philosophies. He
came to proclaim God’s Good News:
· God created all
that is and creation belongs to God.
· Each person is unique
and special because each person bears the image of God. Thus, each one of us is capable of producing incredible
beauty.
· And while we have
immeasurable value and potential, each one of us is also flawed. We create brokenness with God, with one
another, with creation, and with ourselves.
· This brokenness
that flows from our flaws is not the final word. God’s love is unfathomable, unshakeable, and
unbreakable.
· Jesus embodies the
depth of God’s love by embracing all who seek God, especially those rejected by
others – the lost, the last, and the least.
· Jesus demonstrates
the certainty of God’s love by carrying it all the way to the Cross and
forgiving those who crucified him.
· By rising from the
dead, Jesus assures us that new life is possible for all who turn to him and
embrace his way of life.
· All who turn to
Jesus are empowered to live as he lived through the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit.
· The Holy Spirit
guides us into community with one another and Christ-like compassion for all.
· It is in this
community that we engage two practices central to Jesus’ hope for the world:
baptism as a way to initiate people into the life and work of Jesus and
Eucharist as a way of experiencing Christ’s presence through a community meal.
This is the worldview Bartimaeus grew to
embrace after he left his cloak behind.
It is the most beautiful way to “see” the world I know of. It is a beautiful outlook that beckons each one
of us to shed our old cloak and follow Jesus on the way.
