Please read the passage before the homily.
Once upon a time there was a rich man who asked Jeus what he should do to enter the kingdom, and Jesus told him to sell what he had, give to the poor, and follow Jesus. The young man went away sad because he had great riches.
Meet today Bartimaeus. His name means “Son of an unclean person”. He is blind, but he can see that Jesus is more than a healer. He calls out to Jesus as “Son of David”. The Son of the Unclean calls out to the Son of David. The filthy and blind beggar recognizes the holiest one who has the rights of a king.
The rich man had gone away sad because he could not give up what he owned. The blind beggar throws away the only thing he owned, his cloak, and runs to Jesus. The rich man wanted to know what more he had to do; the beggar gives up everything to follow Jesus.
The early Christians were known as the followers of the way. Mark tells us that Bartimaeus “immediately received his sight and followed Jesus on the way”.
We were once Bartimaeus, Children of the Unclean. We called out to the Son of David and Jesus cured us and cleansed us of our filth. Why, then do we not follow Jesus on the way?
Wealth does not disqualify us from Christ. Our handicaps and poverty do not disqualify us. The sins of our past do not disqualify us. Nothing disqualifies us. Jesus passes by, sees us, hears us, and says, “Call that person.”
We say that we want to see. Jesus responds that our faith in him has enabled us to see who Jesus is, the reality of Jesus, the truth of Jesus. All that remains is that we follow Jesus on the way.