Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“For Thou art the enlightenment of those who lie in darkness, and from Thee cometh every good deed and every gift. Amen.”
This is the concluding prayer of the much longer prayer of St. John Chrysostom before reading Sacred Scripture. It is a prayer directed to the Lord Jesus Christ Who alone is the Light of the world, the very One Who enlightens every man coming into the world, as the Evangelist and Theologian, John, declares (Jn. 1:4-5, 9; 8:12; 12:46). Although others may, in fact, reflect light, it is nonetheless Jesus Christ, incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, Light of Light, true God of true God, Who is Himself the Light of divine revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of God’s people, Israel (Nicene Creed; Nunc Dimittis). “The Light of Christ illumines all men” (Presanctified Liturgy). His light divides truth from deception, good from evil. Jesus Christ the Gladsome Light of the Father exposes the darkness of this world, lays bare false pretenses, strip us bare. All of this so that He might bind us up and heal our souls and our bodies. He is the great Pillar of fire by night and luminous Cloud by day which led ancient Israel through the Red Sea waters and into the wilderness to the Mountain of God (Ex. 13:17-14:31).
This same Jesus now comes nigh unto the city of Jericho where human blindness meets the Light of God. We know this blind beggar from St. Mark’s Gospel as “blind Bartimaeus,” which is to say, he is the blind “son of Timaeus” (Mk. 10:46-52). Here, in this man, Christ God will prove that He is, in truth, “the enlightenment of those who lie in darkness” and that from Him “cometh every good deed and every gift.” Like all beggars, this man is impoverished. But, his, sadly, is a double tragedy: not only is he forced to beg due to his impoverishment, but he is blind, thus adding insult to injury. He is compelled by his condition and circumstances to sit in oblivion and put himself at the mercy of any and all who might pass by that way. Thus, this is how he comes to beg “mercy” from our Lord, to beseech from Him alms. But, somehow, this time, this Man, is different. He knows because he “sees.” He seeks not money – the standard in almsgiving – but rather he seeks from this Jesus more than money. He desires true mercy. He yearns for that which alone the Lord Jesus has the power to bestow. “’What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?,’” Jesus asks. “’Lord, that I may receive my sight.’”
Ironically, it takes a blind beggar to reveal Jesus, to see in his soul and spirit that which the large entourage was oblivious to, if not obtuse! “’Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me!’” How does this blind beggar know these things except that the Spirit of God witnessed to his spirit of just Who it was passing him by, and this same Spirit constrained him to cry out and not to be denied (Rm. 8:16; 1 Cr. 2:10-11)? How does he know this Jesus of Nazareth is, in fact, the Son of David – a Messianic title and expectation? The crowd doesn’t even honor the Lord with such! And, besides this, he calls him “’Lord’” – a title rich in divinity. By his very request, this blind beggar “sees” more in Jesus than all the rest and knows him to be more than an ordinary man. To what others who have passed by him daily had he prayed, “I want to see. Restore my sight!”? But, to this Jesus he pleads, he beseeches, “’Lord, that I may receive my sight.’”
The crowd, we know, seeks to discourage the voice of this soul crying out in the wilderness of his darkness. For what reasons, we don’t know, except perhaps their faith and insight was far weaker than this man’s. Why they were following this Jesus of Nazareth, who knows? Were they paparazzi? Were they the groupies? For whatever reasons, they seek to shut him down, to silence his plea for mercy. What callousness was theirs! They had in their midst the very One Who could pour out true alms upon this benighted soul, and they ordered him to be quiet, to “hold his peace.” Here was a true inquirer into the Faith, and they ordered him to be still! May God have mercy on us if ever we dare to do the same to anyone who comes seeking Jesus of Nazareth, whose curiosity compels him or her to ask, “What does this mean?” God forgive us for our callousness and lack of empathy.
But, this soul refuses to be deterred. Like the old widow at the beginning of this chapter who would not be satisfied until her prayer had been heard, and this by an unjust judge! (Lk. 18:1-8), this man prays and does not lose heart. Grace is passing him by! What would he do if he neglected so great a salvation (Hb. 2:3-4)? What would we do if we let the Saviour of the whole world pass us by and not beseech His mercy? Grace, dearly beloved, may not pass us again! And, then, what shall we do? Now is the day of salvation, beloved (Is. 49:8; 2 Cr. 6:2)! Now is the day of grace! Now is the day of mercy! Carpe diem! Seize the day!
But, alas! I fear many of us don’t know Who this Jesus truly is. We treat Him as just another teacher, philosopher, do-gooder. We see Him as just another man whereas He is God-in-the-flesh, Emmanuel! Lo, “’the people who sat in darkness [have seen] a great Light; and to them that sat in the region and shadow of death, Light has sprung up’” (Is. 9:1-2; Mt. 4:15-16). Our blindness is great! Our needs overwhelm us! Our sins defeat us! But, we do not implore the God of all mercies, “Lord, save me! Lord, help me! Lord, heal my addiction to pornography! Lord, take from me my irascible temper, my gluttony, my foul tongue that speaks the Name of our God so flippantly, my unbelief, my anxieties and worries, my discontent and thanklessness! Why do we not ask God for these things when He asks us just as He did the blind beggar, “’What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?’” We ask not because we do not know just Who this Jesus truly is – the One sent into this darkened world to save and heal and restore.
Or, we ask amiss (Jm. 4:3). We want God’s healing, but for what purpose, to what end? So that we can go right back out and continue our lives as though God hasn’t touched us, hasn’t changed us, hasn’t intervened in our lives? It seems the newly healed blind beggar wanted to become a true follower – a true disciple – of Jesus Christ. For “immediately he received his sight and followed [Jesus], glorifying God.” Here is the only real reason to be healed, to be saved, to be restored: to follow the Son of God and Saviour of the world Who alone gives Light and Life, and so glorify our heavenly Father. And the people – the very ones who sought to silence this bothersome beggar – now they “saw it, [and] gave praise unto God.” This is why God has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light – that we may proclaim His praises (1 Pe. 2:9-10) which leads others to faith in this God, to put their hope in Him, and to love Him above all else.
Our Lord comes to enter into a living relationship with us all. But, we must reach out to Him, lest He pass us by. He awaits to hear our cry for mercy and delights in doing so. Today is the day, beloved. What are we waiting for?
Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
PROPERS:
1 Tm. 1:15-17
Lk. 18:35-43