Fr. Leo Pabayo SOME healings that Jesus did were the healing of blind people. Last Sunday’s Gospel reading is about the healing of a blind man. In one earlier healing the name of the man healed is not given. But in last Sunday’s Gospel reading name of the man healed is given. The writer of the Gospel narratives, in the present case, St. Mark, does not waste words. He writes only details that are relevant to the message of salvation that he wishes to convey. We can discover this message if we meditate on the reading and allow its meaning into sink into our mind and heart. In last Sunday’s Gospel (Mark, 10, 45-52) the name of the man healed is given because it is meaningful in relation to the saving message of the story. This is also true with the other details that are included in this story. The reading depicts the man to be healed, Bartimeus by name, as sitting by the roadside. He is there not only so that he can beg from the people passing by but because he is waiting for the coming of Jesus the Lord. He is like those characters in the parables who heeded the word of Jesus when he told them to be watchful. “So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time? “Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so.” (Matthew, 49-51) If they are watching and waiting they will eventually be saved. The time for this came for Bartimeus when Jesus came from Jericho to his town. As Jesus comes “with a sizeable crowd with him he began to cry out, ‘Jesus son of David, have pity on me’.” He calls Jesus “son of David.” This implies that he is familiar with the prophecies that the Savior will be a descendant of King David. He must have been meditating on these prophecies. The crowd of people do not realize the great importance of this occasion for Bartimeus. They scold him and tell him to stop shouting and to keep quiet. Hearing the call, Jesus stopped and said “Call him over”. The verse that follows is very interesting and meaningful. After telling him to keep quiet, the people now tells Bartimeus, “You have nothing to fear from him. Get up! He is calling you.” Why would they say, “You have nothing whatever to fear from him”.  There are two possible reasons for saying that. One is that they have come to know Jesus as merciful and one whom they could always rely to heal. The other reason is that although he badly needs the help of Jesus something in him was also afraid. It is in his character to be afraid. He therefore needed to be assured by others. “You have nothing whatever to fear from him”. If he could help it he would probably prefer a healing from a distance like the centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant boy but said, “Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof but only say the word and my servant shall be healed.” This man Bar Timeus or “Son of Timeus” was probably well known already in the Christian community when this particular incident was recalled by St. Mark when writing his Gospel. It might even have been the community who gave him the name Bar Timeus. The word “Timeus” is like the Latin word “timeo and timere” which mean afraid. This Latin word is the origin of the English word “timorous” or “timid”. He has the tendency to be afraid. It seems to have been the practice in the early Christians to adopt names that give more meaning to their Christian calling. They might have followed this practice after Jesus changed the name of Simon Bar Jona and gave him the name Peter. He gave this name to Peter when he appointed him to be a rock of strength in heading the Church that he founded. “From now on your name is Peter which means rock. Upon this rock I will build my Church.” In the case of the episode about the healing of the blind man it is logical that that he was given by the Christian community the name Timeus because he was a man who tended to become afraid but after the episode of his healing by Jesus he overcame his fear and became a model of trust and faith in Jesus. To get back to his initial meeting with Jesus:  when he was given assurance that he needs not fear because Jesus was calling him, he was emboldened and he threw aside his cloak and came to Jesus. The cloak is also a significant detail in this episode of healing. The cloak is a symbol of his insecurity. He cloaked his fear and insecurity. It was like a security blanket the child Linus carried in the comic strip “Peanut.” I had a friend in the seminary who always wore a jacket whenever he went out of the house although it was not cold. He probably felt insecure about his health, perhaps because when he was a child he might have gotten sick of pneumonia or malaria. The jacket makes him feel secure from the cold. At this meeting with Jesus, Bartimeus threw aside his cloak. His encounter with Jesus made him feel secure. He has nothing to fear now. Jesus asks him, “What do you want be to do for you?” Obviously, Jesus knew what he really needed. He was a man blind who wanted to be cured of his blindness. But Jesus asks him just the same “What do you want me to do for you?” This tells us that if we want some grace in life we should desire it. We must really want it and pray for it. With that desire the realization of our desire begins or is done. In this case when Jesus says to Bartimeus “Be on your way, your faith has healed you,” immediately his received his sight. This Gospel narrative is also telling us about the interplay of fear and faith. These are the two most basic attitudes in our life. Our problem or problems in life and the problem or problems in our society and the world, whether it is about economic problem or political problem, or problem of religion or racial prejudice, personal relationships, etc. can be traced back to fear. The good news of salvation tells us that the solution to such problems will ultimately be found in trust and faith in God and in one another.