Dear Friends,

I have been reflecting on the story of Bartimaeus following its reading a few weeks ago in our lectionary and have been fascinated by this short story in the gospel of Mark. Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus is identified as a blind beggar who was sitting on the road side amongst the crowd of people who were following Jesus. Bartimaeus was listening to all that was happening around him, paying attention to all the sounds and smells and the jostling of the thong of humanity in his midst. The crowds, however, appeared to be blind to his presence, the presence of someone who was poor and dirty, disempowered and disenfranchised by the culture of the day.

However Bartimaeus was no wallflower, he raised his voice to be heard above the crowd, and he threw off his cloak, his most valuable possession, not even thinking that he may never find it again. Jesus listened and heard the cries of this blind man and Jesus responded. I find it intensely interesting that Jesus did not turn to Bartimaeus and just heal his blindness, assuming this must be what he wanted. Jesus did not automatically give Bartimaeus his sight, or a new cloak, or a job, or a token for the local soup kitchen. Jesus asked this man, a voiceless blind man who was never heard, “what do you want me to do?”

In our rush to “help” it is all too easy for us to forget to ask, “What do you want me to do?” and to give what we want others to have, based on our value systems and our own cultural norms. I suspect that the more we ask our neighbors how they would like us to respond to their needs we might be surprised at what they have to say. In listening we might also have our eyes opened a little, we might realize that our neighbor has a voice that needs to be heard, and has something to share. Our calling to participate in God’s mission of reconciliation is one of listening and hearing as to how we can all be mutually supportive of one another as equal parts of the body of Christ in the world. After all none of us has perfect sight, “we all see in a mirror dimly”, and we all need the benefit of the insights of the larger community.

Thank you all for keeping the church informed of what you are hearing and seeing around the world.

In Christ, David.

The Rev. David Copley
Mission Personnel Director
Mission Leadership Center
The Episcopal Church Center
815 Second Avenue
New York NY 10017-4503
Tel: 1-800-334-7626  /  212-922-5461 
Fax 212-682-5594 cell 646-643-0959
dcopley@episcopalchurch.org