Bartimaeus, the blind man, sits at the roadside begging. Maybe he has done it for years? We might expect him to have lost hope. Life must have been drudgery. But like a dying fire there is still an ember glowing in him. He has heard of this prophet who travels the roads of Judea and now he is passing along his road. He wants to meet him. ‘Perhaps he can do something for me?’ He cries out to Jesus three times for help.
The people tell him to keep quiet. He is causing a disturbance. But their cautions only make him bolder. Then Jesus calls him and asks him what he wants. He throws off his cloak and goes to Jesus and asks, ‘let me see again.’ And Jesus heals him with the words, ‘your faith has saved you.’ And the man, we are told, followed him along the way.
A familiar gospel story? Yes, but one charged with meaning. 90% of Zimbabweans are sitting by the roadside. Employment figures today are the same as they were in 1970. Our economy has shrunk by 60% in the last decade. Ten years ago we were the 117th most corrupt in a survey of 182 countries, far down the table. In 2010 we rose to be the 48th most corrupt among the same 182 countries and in 2011 we became the 28th. Where are we in 2012?
We too have had people telling us to keep quiet, not least our own government. But we too are becoming bolder. A poor man’s cloak was his one possession: a surety by day and a blanket by night. The Lord told Moses to make sure no man was without his cloak at night (Ex 22:25). But Bartimaeus threw off his cloak in his eagerness to go to Jesus. Are we too not called to leave what we think gives us security and reach out to what gives us hope?
Post published in: Opinions & Analysis