The Bartimaeus Effect
And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; Be Raised. He is calling you.’ So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man said to him, ‘My teacher, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your fidelity has preserved you.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.”
The story of Bartimaeus from the gospel of Mark is a common tale. In fact, I think we encounter this story all the time as we journey through this world. I think that you and I, above all else, are like Bartimaeus, sitting on the sidelines of truly living the lives we have been given.
I think that we live this story everyday.
Know this. This story of Bartimaeus, this story of you and me, is a metaphor about how we encounter the world. The status quo, the powers, world in its fallen state, whatever you want to call it, has us believe that we can do nothing to change the way things are in the world. The world is what it is; hard, calculated, fixed. We are to play our part. Perhaps if we work hard enough we can make it through alright, remain in good standing. If we play by its rules we are rewarded.
Wealth, statues, success.
These are the promises of the world. But they are deceiving.
The truth is this. We are taught on the sidelines, watching the world go by, trapped by our own outstretched hands, waiting for crumbs to fall from the table. Sure, we get enough to get by on, but we are rarely fully alive. We rarely live into our true blessed, created-ness. Yes there are success stories, but they bound by the rules of the world. Break them and it’s back to the sidelines, waiting for scrapes from the table.
We live this story every day.
