What would you do if failure didn't matter? What would you endeavor, dare, or try? What mission would you attempt, what venture would you risk; what great deed would you undertake?
Last week we read in (Mark 10: 35-45) a response from Jesus to James and John that was identical to his response to Bartimaeus: "What do you wish me to do for you?" However, the contrast in attitudes between Bartimaeus and the “Zebedee brothers” is striking. Bartimeus being made aware of Jesus presence cries out two times from the depth of his faith and humility, "Son of David, have pity on me," "Son of David, have pity on me.” While James and John, came to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you…grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left."
So, how do we react when we hear these two appeals? How are they different; how are they very similar?
Would you, like Bartimaeus in our Gospel (Mark 10: 46-52), have the courage to shout out for healing even though the people around you try to shush you into silence? I wonder, could it be that Bartimaeus was so used to failure and disappointment that he saw no reason not to try one more time? He, as opposed to James and John, were not part of Jesus’ inner circle… but was he?
Would we be able to silence the hushes of our false self and surrender to God as Bartimaeus did? What about James and John? They may have missed the point in that they felt that they were privileged to be part of Jesus’ inner circle. But how was their faith different from the blind man?
So often we hesitate to ask God’s help because whether great or small, our needs seem so hopelessly impossible or so ridiculously insignificant that we just don't even try. Yet the promise of the Gospel is that we are free... free to risk, to dare, to love, to live, to work, to dream, and yes… free to fail, because we have God's promise that there is no small gesture and there is no impossible deed, and that the God who raised Jesus from the dead will also bring all things – even our failed efforts – to a good end. And yes, we are all part of God’s inner circle.
So, if we’re going to risk anything that matters, not failing is not an option. Risk entails failure. Change entails failure. Creativity and innovation and experimentation all entail failure. And if we forget that, we will either never try anything that matters or end up sorely disappointed.
The difference between Bartimaeus and James and John is significant. Jesus in both cases asks, "What do you want me to do for you?" James and John want earthly preferment; Bartimaeus wants to see. This section in Mark's Gospel began with the healing of a blind man. Being cured of blindness is a symbol that means coming to understanding. Along the journey from Cesarea Phillipi, Jesus has been instructing his disciples in what it means to follow him, but they repeatedly don't get it. Bartimaeus not only "sees" Jesus as Messiah, but he also follows him on the last stretch of the journey to Jerusalem, the place of crucifixion.
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