In Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, we have someone who must

already have heard something about Jesus,

and now finds Jesus passing fairly close.

Bartimaeus knows his situation isn’t great.

He shouts out: Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me.

He appeals to Jesus for help: have pity on me.

On Thursday the St William’s book club discussed,

Mercy: The Essence of the Gospel and the Key to Christian Life.

by Cardinal Kaspar.

Pope Francis,

in his first Angelus address as Pope, on St Patrick’s day in 2013,

said ‘that book did me a lot of good’ because it says

‘mercy changes everything’.

Pope Francis is confident we should all spend time reflecting on this.

He has declared a year of mercy, which starts on December 8th.

In English the word ‘mercy’ now

mainly suggests setting aside a justified punishment.

That is an impoverished sense: one we must broaden,

if we are to enter fully into the year of mercy,

and if we are to see how it is

‘the essence of the gospel and the key to Christian life’.

The translators of the Jerusalem Bible must have agonised

about exactly this difficulty over the word ‘mercy’

when they were working out how to present today’s passage to us.

Mark’s gospel was written in Greek

and the Greek word translated ‘pity’

is one we do actually use in our liturgy: it is ‘Eleison’.

We sing Kyrie Eleison: Lord (Kyrie) have mercy (Eleison).

So, our translators could have had Bartimaeus say:

Jesus, have mercy on me.

I think they didn’t because they were worried

that the word ‘mercy’ had become too narrow.

I do hope that, by the end of the year of mercy,

will have an expanded and enriched sense

of both the word and the concept of mercy:

a sense that encompasses giving as well as forgiving;

that understands mercy as responding to a person’s deepest needs:

that is what Jesus does.

Returning to Bartimaeus,

knowing something of Jesus,

and knowing his situation isn’t great,

he shouts out for mercy.

As we pray with this gospel, we can make his words our own,

calling out in our hearts:

Jesus, have mercy on me

What did Bartimaeus hope to achieve? Probably he didn’t know.

Others seem to be embarrassed at this display

and try to stop it, but he persists.

This is a lesson for our own prayer;

we should persist in seeking mercy.

From Bartimaeus’ prayer, his calling out to Jesus for mercy,

his relationship with Jesus moves on,

Jesus calls him over.

Now it seems there is some reluctance from Bartimaeus,

he was comfortable enough shouting out,

but is less comfortable with the situation developing.

He is fortunate that those around him encourage him to be brave and go forward.

Then Jesus asks:

‘What do you want me to do for you?’

words that Jesus speaks to every one of us

when we turn to Him in confidence asking for mercy.

‘What do you want me to do for you?’

Jesus invites Bartimaeus to identify what is holding him back.

He does, and Jesus responds

Go; your trust, your confidence, in me

brings healing, brings wholeness, brings salvation.

And then, and this is very important,

Bartimaeus doesn’t ‘go’. Instead he follows Jesus,

who is just about to enter Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

Bartimaeus’ journey with Jesus,

the opening of his eyes to the mercy of God shown in Jesus,

continues into Holy Week.

The mercy of God is visible in Jesus,

who we meet in word, in sacrament, and in others.

Trusting in the mercy of Jesus brings healing and wholeness.

We rejoice in what the Lord has done for us.