The Gospel of Mark presents to us the story of Blind Bartimaeus - which we will read this upcoming Sunday to celebrate the 5th Sunday of Lent.
Here in the midst of a crowd following Jesus, Bartimaeus calls out "Son of David - Have mercy on me". He is immediately told by the crowds and the disciples to be "silent". Jesus is speaking with the crowds and he should not be disturbed by the likes of some blind beggar! This does not deter Bartimaeus one bit - he has heard of the Nazarene and by calling him "son of David" publicly recognizes him as Messiah.
The interesting piece of this Gospel story, however, is that it demonstrates quiet faith as not being enough. Bartimaeus has faith in Jesus - but it is his persistence that changes his life. His faith is not silenced into shyness by the crowds around him insisting he be quiet - rather, his faith is persistent. Blind Bartimaeus speaks up and acts up. As people persist in telling him to be silent the louder he gets. Finally Jesus heals him and we are told that he follows Jesus. This is the outcome of persistent active faith.
I wonder if we could place ourselves in this story today. How often is our faith silenced by the crowds around us? Do we take initiative with our faith? Do we act up and speak up? And when we move our faith out of shyness, do we actually follow Jesus as we are told Blind Bartimaeus did?
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