“And throwing away his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus” (Mark 10:50)“What do you want me to do for you?” Twice now we have heard Jesus ask that question. Last week, he asked James and John, “What do you want me to do for you,” and they answered, basically: when you inherit the kingdom we know that’s coming to you, we want to be the closest to your awesome power and abundant privileges. We want the biggest share of your awesome power and abundant privileges. And of course, just a little earlier, Jesus had to tell them to receive him like a child when they all got to arguing over which one of them was the greatest.
Today, Jesus asks that question again, “What do you want me to do for you?” This time, he asks the blind beggar, Bartimaeus, who verbally answers, “let me recover my sight.” But truthfully, he answered Jesus when he threw off his cloak, his only means of shelter and support, and entrusted his entire life to Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of David. And so Jesus asks each one of us today, “What do you want me to do for you?” Will our answer be worthy of the question?
Our story begins as Jesus is leaving Jericho. He is only 15 miles away from his ultimate destination, Jerusalem, where he has told his disciples three times that he will be killed and that he will rise. And yet, he is still surrounded by many disciples and a great crowd. Notice that Mark separates the two. There are those who have followed Jesus from up north in Galilee for three years, waiting for him to come to God’s holy city and inaugurate the kingdom that will throw off the chains of Roman oppression, a kingdom in which his disciples expect to share in the power and privilege that comes with worldly empire. Then there is the crowd; curious, hopeful, skeptical, just looking for a great show; I’m sure that all those emotions were running through this great crowd.
Then Jesus passes by this blind beggar without a word. The disciples and the great crowd follow behind. And amid all their murmuring, Bartimaeus can make out the words, “Jesus,” and “Nazarene.” And he knows who Jesus is. He has heard people speaking of this Galilean prophet as they passed by him on the way to Jerusalem for the past three years. He knows what Jesus could do for him. Then he realizes that the first pair of footsteps he heard, before the clomping of the crowd, was Jesus himself! And so he shouts at the top of his voice, "Jesus Son of David, have mercy!" Bartimaeus knows the kind of power that Jesus has, for he calls him by the Messianic title of King David's son.
But does Bartimaeus understand Jesus's power any better than his disciples? For those three years and who knows how many years before that, he has sat on the road between Jericho and Jerusalem, day after day, with his cloak spread out before him, so that passers-by with some pity could drop coins, which he would then bundle together in that cloak of his and stumble his way to the market for food. He has probably learned how many steps he has to take before he turns right or left to get to the market. He probably knows how many steps it is to his favorite hole in the ground where he can wrap his cloak around him for warmth and get some rest. And he probably knows how many steps and how many turns to get back to his spot on the road between Jericho and Jerusalem, where he spreads out his cloak for another day of begging and alms. It’s a living. There’s security in knowing that as long as he stays there, he has as much assurance of food and shelter as anyone else has in this world. So does Bartimaeus have the faith to let go of his security? Does he really trust Jesus enough to let go of his cloak of alms? Does he have the faith to leave behind the home he knows, step by step? I think that's why Jesus passed him by. Does Bartimaeus really want the kind of healing that Jesus brings? Does he, or for that matter do we, really want to see our Lord going to die?
The answer is most emphatically: Yes! He doesn’t throw off his cloak. He throws it away, with his coins from a day’s begging flying in the air. And he stumbles toward Jesus. That throwing away of his cloak is really the answer that Jesus is looking for. Yes, Bartimaeus wants his sight back. But Bartimaeus knows Jesus can do much more. Bartimaeus knows that God made him for more than begging. He may not know what exactly it is that God made him for, but he trusts that with opened eyes, he will see the destiny that God has in store for him. That is the faith, the trust, that Jesus sees in Bartimaeus when he throws away his security blanket, which leads him to proclaim, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And leaving behind his cloak, his alms, his security, Bartimaeus does what no one else whom Jesus has healed has done; he follows Jesus into Jerusalem.
And so today, the Gospel asks us two questions. What is our cloak? And what do we want Jesus to do for us? Maybe you’ve excelled at a certain role in life: strong provider, successful entrepreneur. Maybe you’ve excelled at those roles so much that you’re confusing the role that you perform with who you are, the person that God made and loves regardless of what you do. Maybe you’ve accepted a relationship that is unhealthy, and yet you persist in it because it is at least familiar. Any habit, strength, role, or prejudice that keeps your head down, and your eyes focused on the day to day struggle to preserve that security blanket, that is your cloak. What do you want Jesus to do for you? Do you just want Jesus to preserve that cloak? Or are you ready for Jesus to tip your head up, so that your eyes can begin glimpse a new possibility, a future you cannot imagine but that God already sees?
If you want to follow Jesus, don't look down for him in your old cloak. He is ahead of you, and waiting for you as well. And so is Bartimaeus.
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