So why didn’t Bartimaeus go home? This blind beggar sitting by the Jericho road apparently was a common sight, because the crowd knew his name, this “son of Timaeus.” Bartimaeus was bold enough to ignore the bullying of the crowd that tried to silence him as Jesus is passed by. He had the courage to keep yelling, and he gets Jesus’ attention. Jesus cures him and says, “Go your way, your faith has saved you.” If I were a blind beggar who had been at it for a time, I would have had lots of fantasies about what I would do if I were cured, kind of like the fantasies we entertain about winning a lottery. So when Bartimaeus won the lottery by getting his sight, why didn’t he go on his way? It seems that Jesus was more than a gift giver for him. Jesus was “the one,” the meaning in his life. Jesus was “the way,” his way. “Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.” What is even more remarkable is that “the way” Jesus was walking was toward Jerusalem, and we all know what happened there. In Mark’s Gospel, discipleship is a main theme, and discipleship includes persecution and the cross. I wonder what happened to the disciple Bartimaeus when he got to Jerusalem? Was he there when they crucified the Lord?
— Blog entry by Sister Mary Garascia