The trajectory of Mark’s gospel is so very interesting. The central section of Mark’s gospel focuses on Jesus’ teaching about discipleship, and it is book-ended by two stories of Jesus healing persons who are blind. Today’s story of blind Bartimaeus, is the second of the bookend stories and it marks the end of the discipleship section. It also presents one of the key points in Mark's gospel. This story unlocks the gates to Jerusalem and what is to come as Mark continues the Jesus story. This book end story of Mark’s discipleship section is the gateway into the last week of Jesus’ life and, the question we are being asked is, “Do you really want to see?”
Jesus asks Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?” Some commentators say this is a rhetorical question because Bartimaeus is blind and what he wants is obvious. However, it’s not that simple. Jesus is essentially asking Bartimaeus and each one of us, “Do you really want to see?” This passage needs to be read on two levels: yes, it’s about physical blindness, but it’s also about spiritual blindness. And when it comes to spiritual blindness, I’m not so sure that we really want to see because, once we do see, we cannot unsee, and our lives become forever changed.
In his book, The Naked Now, Richard Rohr describes three ways of seeing and viewing reality. He tells of three different men who stood by the ocean, all looking at the same sunset. One man saw the immense physical beauty and enjoyed the event in and of itself. This man was the "sensate" type who, like 80 percent of the world, deals with what he can see, feel, touch, move, and fix. This was enough reality for him, for he had little if any interest in larger ideas, intuitions, or the grand scheme of things. He saw with his first eye, which was ok, and it was good.
A second man saw the sunset and he enjoyed all the beauty that the first man did. However, like all lovers of coherent thought, technology, and science, the second man also enjoyed his power to make sense of the universe and explain what he discovered. He saw with a second eye, he saw more than the sunset. He thought about the cyclical rotations of planets and stars. Through imagination, intuition, and reason, he saw with his second eye, which was even better.
Finally, the third man saw the sunset, knowing and enjoying everything both the first and the second man did. But, in his ability to progress from seeing to explaining, to what some might even call "tasting" or absorbing, this third man saw so much more. He remained in awe before an underlying mystery, coherence, and spaciousness that connected him with everything else. He saw with real depth. Rohr says, “He used his third eye, which is the full goal of all seeing and all knowing. This was the best way of seeing.”
“Third eye seeing” is seeing at a deeper level. It’s seeing spiritually, it’s seeing with the eyes of Christ. Describing people who see at this level, Rohr writes the following:
They do not reject the first eye; the senses matter to them. Nor do they reject the second eye, but they know not to confuse knowledge with depth. They know not to confuse mere correct information with transformation of the consciousness itself. This deeper seeing builds upon the first two eyes but it goes further. It happens whenever by some wondrous “coincidence” our heart space, our mind space, and our body awareness are all simultaneously open and non-resistant. It’s a moment of deep inner connection. It pulls you, intensely satisfied, into the presence of God. It involves both profound joy and profound sadness. When it happens, you either want to write poetry, pray, or be utterly silent.
The first eye was the eye of the flesh and of the senses, the second eye was the eye of reason, and the third eye was the eye of true, deep understanding, connecting all that exists.
When Jesus asks, “What can I do for you? Do you want to see?” this is what he’s asking: Do you want to see at this deeper level? Do you want to see spiritually? My guess is that you’re all saying, “Of course we do! Why are you asking such a stupid question? Who doesn’t want to see a sunset in all its fullness?” But, it’s not that simple. Seeing in this way involves more than sunsets….
To see at this deeper level requires seeing everything, not only the beauty and wonder, but also the suffering and pain. Remember, looking at today’s gospel, from this point on we move toward Jesus’ death. And, one of the deep truths of life is this – you can only appreciate how precious life is to the extent that you know the reality of death. To see at this level is to see with the eyes of Christ. It’s to see not only the good things about our history as a country, but also the tragedy and sin of slavery and the way the sin of racism is still present in every system and structure. It’s to see not only the gift and blessing of vaccines, but also the deaths of over 730,000 people in this country alone whose lives have been lost to Covid 19, and the families that have been forever changed by that loss. It’s to see not only the beauty of our world, but also the harrowing fires and hurricanes, and the complicit role we have played and are playing in climate change. It’s to see the way racism, Covid-19, and climate change affect the most vulnerable, and then realize we must face these issues and address them.
Jesus pushes seeing to the social edge, to the places where we see those who are most vulnerable. Richard Rohr puts it this way – “Can you see the image of Christ in the least of your brothers and sisters?” In fact, Jesus uses that as his ONLY description of the final judgment: nothing about commandments or accomplishments. It’s simply a matter of our ability to see: “Can we see Christ in the least of our brothers and sisters?” They smell. They’re a nuisance. They’re on welfare. They’re a drain on our tax money, my tax money. We say these kinds of things far too often. Rohr concludes, “When we can see the image of God where we don’t want to see the image of God, then we’re seeing spiritually.”
So many of the problems in the world are due to our short sightedness as people. From individuals to governments, without deeper seeing it is difficult to move beyond ego, beyond the desire for control, and beyond public posturing. Everything gets divided into liberal versus conservative, Democrat versus Republican, us-versus-them. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the “us-versus-them” way of seeing, and the divisiveness that results, is the cause of most of the discontent and violence in this world. Without an ability to see more deeply, we have no big picture to guide us for the long term.
Bartimaeus teaches us the only way to see at a deeper level involves risk, it involves becoming vulnerable. When Bartimaeus throws off his cloak, he risks everything. He bets everything on God. One commentator puts it like this: “Leaving his cloak on the ground is like leaving your car running in a crowd in some inner city while you duck into a shop.” To throw his cloak on the ground is to give up the only security he’s ever known. His cloak was his bed at night, his protection from the rain and cold. To throw off his cloak is to throw off all that kept him safe. It means throwing off his old life so he can receive the new life that awaits him. To throw off his cloak is to become vulnerable so that God can restore his vision.
New vision sounds wonderful but is it worth the risk? Is it worth the risk of allowing ourselves to be vulnerable by giving up the ways we protect ourselves? To throw off our cloaks is to make the ultimate statement of faith. It’s to give up an old way of seeing things, trusting that God will give us the ability to see in a new way. Not a way that’s easier, but a way that’s clearer and truer and more faithful, a way that leads us to wholeness.
Someone once asked Helen Keller, “Isn’t it terrible to be blind?” She replied, “It’s more terrible to have eyes and sight, and not see.” To see means to look beyond appearances into the depths of the way things really are. It means to recognize God: God before us, God beside us, God inside of us, and the God who calls us into a journey toward wholeness. It means to be free, free like Bartimaeus. Free to follow God wherever God leads.
Jesus asks us “What can I do for you. Do you want to see?” May we have the faith to say, “Yes, help us to see deeply, open the eyes of our hearts!” Then, may we go out to share what we see, to share God’s healing love for the sake of our children, for the sake of our broken, hurting world.
