Suggested Scripture: Mark 10:46 – 52.
Mark 10:46-47 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
The spiritual depth of a mind which suddenly bursts into blossom, and breathes the air of life-giving exuberance, finds masterful expression in the poem ‘The Everlasting Mercy’, by the long- time Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, John Masefield. He writes:
“O glory of the lighted mind.
How dead I’d been, how dumb, how blind.
The station brook, to my new eyes,
Was babbling out of Paradise,
The waters rushing from the rain
Were singing Christ has risen again.
I thought all earthly creatures knelt
From rapture of the joy, I felt”. (2)
Through the use of imaginations, yours, and mine, I endeavour here, to also capture the glory of the lighted mind.
To this end, I invite you to accompany me along the Jericho Road, where blind Bartimaeus sits, carrying out his life’s assignment of begging. I will, for this purpose, assume the identity and the character of Bartimaeus himself.
Bartimaeus has endured his blindness for almost thirty-three years. That fact soon relegates him to the bleak company of the poverty-stricken, and to the swamp of easy despair. However, Bartimaeus’ appearance, on this day, is an eloquent testimony that unconditional love and genuine respect are with his going-out and his coming-in every day.
At this moment, someone of a compassionate heart sits alongside Bartimaeus playing, as it were, the role of a” GOOD SAMARITAN.” He joins Bartimaeus on his mat and gives full attention to every word.
” It is a painful experience to live among people and never be able to see them. But that can never compare to choosing blindness when a traveller’s’ path intersects that of another who wears the garb of a poor beggar, or choosing blindness because one holds some position of honour and considers the beggar undeserving of human dignity.
I thank God for people like you who use their eyes the way tha0t God intended. You and I often share the same eyes,” Bartimaeus offers with a grin of approval. “I feel that you would exchange eyes with me if my life depended upon it.” He concludes.
“I have never seen your face. But now, I will describe the face I see, with the eyes of my soul! Your eyes shine with the gentle light of compassion. You saw me sitting here day after day, alone. Your longing heart begins to leave its signature upon your face. You notice that my mat might be big enough to share. And so, we are together again. I see a compassionate, caring, loving face, not with these eyes for they cannot see, but with the eyes of my soul, I know a brother who loves me!
I will show you how God brought me to experience ‘the glory of the lighted mind”. The details of my birth have always been a frequent topic of conversation with me. I came from God in answer to the faithful prayers of my loving parents. There was just a small mishap in my journey from Heaven to them. Somehow, someone overlooked turning on the switch that would bring light to these orbs of promise, so I am here – and I am blind!
I have never seen the colour green, Yet God has been with me and has made me “to lie down in pastures green.” I have never seen the reflection of the trees in a quiet stream, Yet God used my parent’s eyes, and together, we rejoice beside the still waters”. I have never witnessed the glory of the temple, yet I know that God ” restores my soul.”(see Psalm 23)
I can recite the biography of many, just by reading the sound of their footfall! I know when they see me here, and then pass by on the other side of the street. The thing most difficult for me to understand is that many of them are on their way to worship God, but they do not see another’s longing soul, nor think that by sharing their God with another, they may receive a double blessing”.
The sound of approaching feet stirs within Bartimaeus the melody of ‘ The Hymn To Joy.’ ” Surely,” he thinks,” this must be the occasion of the arrival of God’s glorious kingdom.”
” O Bartimaeus,” the co-occupant of his mat interjects with uncontrollable excitement, “Jesus, the Light of the world is coming this way.”
Bartimaeus’ turns his blind eyes in the direction of the approaching sound, but sees only shadows. However, the passion behind the good news delivered by his friend, made it seem to Bartimaeus that this friend had lent him his eyes. Even with eyes untrained to see the visible, he, SAW Jesus!
Not “all earthly creatures knelt from the rapture of the joy he felt. Some of those present in Jesus’ travelling company had no understanding whatsoever of the glory of the lighted mind, and the promise of being made fully alive. The harsh response from the crowd demanding Bartimaeus’s silence inferred that God had no time to deal with any critical matter which contributed to a person’s inability to be fully alive. However, the rich blessings he had already received were, for Bartimaeus, but the guarantee that more and even greater miracles are always a part of the glory of the lighted mind.
We arrive now to consider the reason for your participation in this imagined scene. There are millions of people whose need it is, to be made more fully alive; to discover a consuming purpose for even being here.
Like the unknown person who told Bartimaeus, “Jesus is here, and He is calling for you,” all such people will be called great in the kingdom of God.
As we experience the glory of the lighted mind, we recognize that the people calling for help are our brothers and sisters, children of the same God. We must take care of each other for His Sake.
A Prayer To Follow This Meditation
Gracious Father,
whose glory forever remains, to see Your children on earth, become fully alive. We praise You for the perfect Love that enlightens human minds. To see with eyes of faith, the smiling Face Of God, through the sky window of the earth, is the fulfillment of every person’s need.
We praise the Love that sent Jesus to be this world’s light. We pray now that You will fix His Light firmly within us to be the sure beacon that will lead us each towards the fulfillment of Your Glory.
Give us, keen minds to learn early the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is generated by the world,
for the world; Wisdom is of God and comes from Heaven to make the world
God’s Kingdom. Wisdom is God’s gift to those whose minds are keen to trust in You with the faith of a child.
As well, equip us with loving minds, that we may understand that great achievements can follow love and kindness. Within each of us, O God, you have left a blank, meant to be filled with LOVE. You have equipped each of us, from Your storehouse with just what Your Love requires to help another person become fully alive, for Your glory; “Thus the whole round earth is bound by golden chains about the feet of God”.(3)
Give us, always, minds for Praising Thee, our God, from the dawning of the day until the setting of the evening star, we pray in the Name of Christ, our Lord. Amen
Hymn: Amazing Grace – Andrea Bocelli (click on the link below)
EDITORIAL NOTES
- Scripture references are from the NIV translation
- John Masefield in The Everlasting Mercy. HTTPs://www.bartleby.com/236/337.html
- Alfred Tennyson in “The Passing Of Arthur” https://www.bartleby.com/246/392.htm
- Photo from the public domain