A farmer purchases an old, run-down, abandoned farm with plans to turn it into a thriving enterprise. The fields are grown over with weeds, the farmhouse is falling apart, and the fences are collapsing all around. During his first day of work, the town preacher stops by to bless the man’s work, saying, “May you and God work together to make this the farm of your dreams!” A few months later, the preacher stops by again to call on the farmer. Lo and behold, it’s like a completely different place — the farm house is completely rebuilt and in excellent condition, there are plenty of cattle and other livestock happily munching on feed in well-fenced pens, and the fields are filled with crops planted in neat rows. “Amazing!” the preacher says. “Look what God and you have accomplished together!” “Yes, Reverend,” says the farmer, “but remember what the farm was like when God was working it alone!”

The story of Bartimaeus is a story about the power of human faith and positive thinking. Faith shapes how we interact with one another and the world at large. Several attempts have been made throughout history to narrowly define who belongs in God’s Kingdom. These attempts were also used to keep social outcasts and the powerless in line. For example, many times when African-American slaves came to Christ they had to declare that their decision had nothing to do with the desire to be free from slavery.God places a very high value on the marginalized people of the world. In the Book of Jeremiah, He promised to gather them up -and that promise was fulfilled by giving sight to Bartimaeus. We are called to get to know people and what they REALY want and need so we can help them solve their underlying problems. We need new eyes to see the invisible ones as God sees them. Even in physical blindness, Bartimaeus was able to see what is often not seen by other eyes that function quite normally. Bartimaeus had listened to the testimony of the sacred Scriptures and to what they had to say about Jesus and what He would do at Jerusalem to gain forgiveness and entry into Paradise for all sin-tainted human beings.

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