Turning to God and following on the Way!
In today’s Gospel we meet a blind man by the name of Bartimaeus. When he met Jesus, his prayer was ‘Lord, that I may see’. It is a prayer which we can all make our own because in many ways we too are blind. Jesus wants to open our eyes too!
Blind Bartimaeus took a risk. He heard that this Messiah, this Jesus, was approaching, so he took the risk of calling out to him. Others tried to quiet him, but what he lacked in eyesight he made up for in lungs. He just called louder. According to the Gospel reading, Jesus heard Bartimaeus, and then told the people to call him. At first Bartimaeus must have hesitated, but then he took a step of trust in the Lord. Throwing off his cloak, he went to Jesus. Throwing off his cloak might not seem significant to us, but it meant everything to Bartimaeus. Considering that Bartimaeus’ cloak was his mat, that he spread before him when he begged, his bed, his warmth, his security blanket, his one possession. To let it go was to let go of everything he depended on and to place his trust in Jesus. Bartimaeus let go and let God be his everything. And God rewarded his trust, his faith, with sight.
Like the man born blind in the ninth chapter of John, Bartimaeus wasn’t just given his eyesight. He saw God. Jesus told him to “Go your way; your faith has saved you, but Bartimaeus didn’t go. Instead he followed the Lord on the way!
Conversion means “turning to God” whether it be for the first time or whether it be after a period sluggish and half hearted service.
We must strive, honestly, to see ourselves as we really are – weak and selfish, but loved by God, and made for the eternal glory and happiness of heaven.
We were created for eternal happiness with God in heaven. Everything else must take second place in our lives, because if we lose heaven, we will be losing everything —
Now many of us think that we are good parent if we have our children in a lot of activities, or in the best schools. Activities are important, schools are certainly necessary, but Christian parenting is essential. Throw off the cloak of trying to keep up with the Jones family in being “super involved parents” and trust God. He’ll help you raise your children. The closes thing to a handbook on raising children is the Bible.
Perhaps some of us older people think that we can find the fountain of youth if we could only find the right doctor. Yes, we should take care of our bodies, they are given to us by God, but only for a time. Our trust should not be that our bodies won’t fail us. Our trust should be in our Lord, and Savior, that our souls will be saved for all eternity.
I’d like to conclude with a story about a man named Nicholas who lived on a lovely island in the Mediterranean Sea. He loved the island so much that when he grew old his greatest joy was walking along the water, looking at the sea, the beaches, the rocks, the whitewashed houses. When the time came for Nicholas’ life to end, he asked his sons to carry him outside and lay him on the ground. As he was about to die, he reached down and clutched some earth in his hand. Nicholas died a happy man.
When Nicholas reached the gates of heaven, God appeared to him in the guise of an old man with a long flowing beard. “Nick” said God, “you were a good man on earth, come into the joys of heaven.” As they were about to enter the gates, God saw that Nicholas had soil in his hand, so He said, “Nick, you must let that soil go.” “Never” said Nicholas. So God departed leaving Nick standing outside the pearly gates, clutching his dirt.
When hundreds of heavenly years had gone by, God came to Nick again, this time in the guise of Nick’s beautiful granddaughter. She stepped outside the pearly gates and called “Grandpa, grandpa, I love you so much and miss you so much I wish you were with us in heaven.” At that Nick’s heart melted. He gave his granddaughter a big hug and the soil of his island slipped through his fingers. Then he walked through the pearly gates with his granddaughter.
The first thing that he saw was his beautiful island. To enjoy the wonders of God’s love we have to totally trust in Him!
Bartimaeus serves as a model for us who are spiritually blind and whose lives lack direction. Through faith we can have purpose, energy, and direction in our lives. An enthusiastic following of Jesus will result in a happy and fulfilled life, now and forever.