Oh The Things You'll See

Gospel: Mark 10: 46-52

The very first experience of people having their eyes opened didn't go too well.  It was Adam and Eve after eating the forbidden fruit.  They saw what they really did not want to see, and in a way they really became blind, unable to see the original goodness of God and creation.  But is there a cure for this malady that we all have, this blindness to God's goodness?

In today's Gospel the blind Bartimaeus begs Jesus to heal him of his blindness.  This encounter will be the final one before Jesus heads for Jerusalem to face arrest, trial, torture, and death.  This is what Bartimaeus will see if Jesus performs this good deed for him, so Jesus wants to make sure this is what he really wants:  what do you want me to do for you?  Do you really want to see all this?

The voices of the world seek to prevent this from happening, but Jesus and Bartimaeus ignore them.  For we do indeed want to see this path of Jesus, for through it the entire world will be healed of this blindness.  Through the death and resurrection of Jesus our sight of Eden will be restored; we will see the goodness of God and creation once again.  So we say with Bartimaeus: Lord, I want to see.