What to Do with a Miracle?

They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, 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 faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way. – Mark 10:46-52 (NRSV)

Each morning, Bartimaeus would rise and find his way to a spot along the road where he would do the day's begging. He passed within reach of hundreds of people, dozens of homes, through different neighborhoods without knowing much about the events of these peoples’ lives. He was, no doubt, necessarily concentrating on his own need to make it safely to his workplace. He was blind. How blind am I, in the course of rushing from appointment to appointment, to what is going on around me and in the lives of others?

But today Bartimaeus was in luck. Jesus was approaching. Bartimaeus shouted out and made himself known. He didn’t hold back his feelings despite the crowd trying to shut him up. Jesus had just, by chance, made a sudden, surprise appearance in his life. Their paths were crossing and Bartimaeus recognized this crucial opportunity for what it was. What do you do when Christ suddenly crosses your path...in an idea, in a gesture, in a word that cuts straight to your heart? Do you swallow words you long to speak? Do you hold back a flood of tears? Do you sit back quietly and wait for the moment to pass so as not to cause a scene or draw attention to yourself? Which opportunity will be the last to come along? How many times will I sit and wait for the moment to pass rather than stepping up, speaking out, seizing the opportunity that might never come again?

“Son of David,” Bartimaeus calls Christ. This was not nearly correct, not even close to a full understanding of all that Jesus was, but it was enough. Our knowledge doesn’t have to be perfect, or even accurate. It is faith and desire in the moment, and not how readily we can quote scripture and say the proper words in the proper order, that matters. We should never let our lack of knowledge keep us from approaching Christ in prayer, in praise and worship, in reading scripture. Imperfectly prepared as I am, do I have faith enough to invite God in right now?

“What is it that you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked, even though he could see that the man was blind. Jesus knew what his needs were. Still, he had Bartimaeus name his infirmity out loud. This is what it means to confess before God. Do I want the cure badly enough to seek it out and openly name what's wrong with me?

Bartimaeus, upon receiving his miracle, followed Jesus. Many did not after being healed. They experienced God’s healing power and then went back to their ordinary lives, content that they had won some improvement. Think of all the mind-blowing opportunities they missed out on by dropping back out of the picture! When we experience the Holy in some dramatic way, and then just go home to our ordinary lives, that feeling begins to fade. We can tell over and over again that one story of a time when we experienced a miracle. We can confine God’s work to one or two easily managed occurrences, or we can allow the maker of that dramatic change into our lives and follow along the way, truly becoming a disciple and a witness to countless wonders. Will I limit God to a few crisis moments in my life, or will I open my life completely to challenging, miraculous, spontaneous power beyond my control?