How Badly?

“On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say, ‘Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.’ And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, ‘Son of David, have pity on me.’”

Mark 10:47-48

While blind Bartimaeus was begging by the side of the road, Jesus began to pass by. Upon hearing that it was Jesus passing by he did all he could to get close to Him. The more he called out to Jesus the more those around him told him to be quiet and go away. Perhaps they didn’t want to miss the chance of seeing Jesus themselves and so they pushed Bartimaeus down. How often do we do that in today’s world? Put out and quiet the voice of the poor and disadvantaged so that ours may be heard and answered?

We do not need to compete to see who can scream the loudest so that God can hear us. God hears both the quiet and the loud, those who scream and those who whisper. We do not need to feel that somehow if we do not make ourselves known publicly that our prayers will not be heard. But we do need to make ourselves and our prayers known to God.

How badly do we want to encounter Christ? How badly do we want to be touched and healed by God? Badly enough to be put down by the world and cast aside by others? Our relationship with Jesus is everything. Without that we have nothing. It may sound radical and crazy, but it is the truth. If our relationship with God is not at the top of our priority list, all the other things on that list will not come to be. It is God who gives to us all that we need and even all that we desire in life. So, if we do not know Him and do not have a relationship with Him, what will life even look like?

Blind Bartimaeus knew that if he got the chance to encounter Christ his life would change drastically and so he risked his well-being and his life and pushed himself into the crowd. He could have been trampled upon or even dragged away violently by some angry mob wanting to get ahead. Yet he knew that a life having encountered Christ was worth the risk because he could either live out the remainder of his life blind and unseen by others, or he could encounter Christ and be seen by God out of which life will never be the same. Initially, Bartimaeus did not even ask to see again. He simply said “have pity on me.” When Jesus calls to him and asks him what he wants Him to do for him, he said “Master I want to see,” and Jesus tells him that his faith has saved him. Bartimaeus was blind no more. It was out of that encounter that Bartimaeus was able able to ask and receive. It is the case with us too. Do we strive to encounter Christ?

As Christians we strive to live out our baptismal call to bring Christ to others while encountering Christ in the other. How are we doing? How seriously do we take that call? How badly do we want to be known and seen by Christ? He’s waiting to encounter you. Take a chance and go to the side of the road amidst the crowd and cry out to God. Go into the noisy chamber of our hearts that are filled with worries and anxieties and weighed down by our insecurities and weaknesses because Jesus is waiting for you there. Call out to Him, and do not be afraid.