“Every high priest is chosen from his fellows and appointed to serve God on their behalf, to offer sacrifices and offerings foe sins. Since he himself is weak in many ways, he is able to be gentle with those who are ignorant and make mistakes.” Hebrews 5: 1-6
Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting on the side of the road. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout: “Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me.” ,,,Then Jesus spoke: “What do you want me to do for you?” “Rabbuni,” the blind man said, “Master, let me see again.” Mark 10: 46-52
Readers of these Sunday reflections might well have come to understand that the writer of Mark’s Gospel was a very good teacher. To get a good appreciation of his expertise in that field, we need do no more than give our attention to Chapters 8-10 of his Gospel from which the gospel-readings of the last six Sundays have been selected. The exceptional skill of his narration and teaching can be seen in the manner in which he has related the story of how the Apostles failed to grasp Jesus’ attempts to explain to them that he was a Messiah whose greatness would be borne out through suffering, death and resurrection.
Let’s, then, look at how the writer of Mark’s Gospel shaped the story he was intent on telling. In recent weeks we have listened to/read three accounts (Mark 8: 31-33, 9: 30-32 and 10:32-34) of Jesus telling his Apostles of the violence that was soon to be visited on him, which would be followed by his resurrection. We have also heard how the Apostles were too dull-witted to grasp the message Jesus had repeatedly tried to give them.
It is vital for us to note that those three predictions Jesus made of the violence that lay ahead of him and his resurrection that would follow are sandwiched by Mark’s accounts of Jesus stopping to restore sight to two profoundly blind men (Mark 8: 22-26 and this Sunday’s gospel-reading, Mark 10: 46-52). The first of these two cures occurred when a blind man was brought to Jesus by friends, who believed that Jesus could and would reach out to him. The miracle that Jesus worked was done in two stages. Jesus intervened a second time when the man reported that his sight was partially restored. He could make out people, but they looked like trees walking. In response, Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes a second time. In the context of what follows, this healing that took place in two stages seems to be being used by Mark as an allegory referring to the several efforts Jesus had to make to get his Apostles to “see” and understand that he was a Messiah who was destined to suffer, die and be resurrected.
In the verses immediately before Jesus cured this blind man, we read that he had reprimanded his disciples for their inability to see the significance of his miracle of the multiplication of the loaves. He had told them that their perception was no better than that of the Pharisees and of the pagan governor, Herod. His reprimand was direct and stinging: “Have you no perception? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes that don’t see, ears that don’t hear?” (Mark 8: 17-18)
In the story of the cure of the second blind man, which rounds off this section of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus asked the exact same question as he had put to James and John when they were jockeying for position: “What do you want me to do for you?” The answer from James and John was full of self-interest. In marked contrast, Bartimaeus (whose name means honourable son) asked Jesus to have mercy on him by giving him the gift of sight. Ironically, sight was the very thing that the Apostles lacked. Moreover, Bartimaeus knew who Jesus was, addressing him as “Son of David”, the King of Israel whose priority was looking after the poor and needy. In his plea for mercy, Bartimaeus used the Greek word eleeo, the operative word we use at the penitential rite at Mass when we pray “Lord, have mercy” (in Greek Kyrie eleison). The irony, of course, is that Bartimaeus knew who it was to whom he was calling out. The Apostles were still a long way from really knowing who Jesus was and what exactly was his mission. Mark spells out the impact of this blind man’s encounter with Jesus in the final words of today’s gospel-reading: “…and he followed him (Jesus) along the road” (Mark 10: 52).
Jesus had repeatedly tried to explain to his Apostles and disciples that his mission was to usher in the kingdom of God, a way of living that called for living with integrity, treating all people with dignity, knowing that all are sons and daughters of God, created in the image of God to live lives that reflect the love of God planted in the hearts of all. Jesus explained that this “new way” meant living the spirit of the law as opposed to being slaves to the letter of the law. In God’s providence, the people of Israel were blessed with a priesthood bestowed first on Aaron who was succeeded by a line of priests who were appointed to the role by a selection process guided by God’s Spirit. The essential role or vocation of the priest, including high priest, was and still is to call people to live according to their responsibilities as daughters and sons of God. Priests, too, have a responsibility to live their lives with integrity, simply because they, too, have been created in the image of God to live the way of love. Part of Jesus’ mission was that he, too, was invited by God to follow the vocation of priest, as today’s second reading from Hebrews explains “according to the order of Melchizedek” – a way of being priest different from the priesthood of Aaron. Jesus understood that as an invitation from God, to whom he had learned to listen intently. That involved calling people to live in line with the new order of the kingdom of God, which was his mission to proclaim and explain. I suspect that Jesus would not have been especially pleased with the comparison made by the author of Hebrews between the traditional Jewish priesthood and the priesthood that God had invited him to live. The role of our priests today is essentially to call us all to live our lives true to the values of the kingdom of God, which Jesus lived and proclaimed. That surely involves letting ourselves be guided by God’s Spirit and living lives marked by reflection on the Gospel and ongoing discernment.
