The Cloak
When Bartimaeus hears that Jesus is calling him, he sheds his cloak.
They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, 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
When he throws off his cloak, Bartimaeus is figuratively abandoning his protection, his security, his disguise.
Mark is subtly showing us that we need to be willing to let go of our masks and pretenses in order to truly follow Jesus.
The fact that Bartimaeus was not born blind, but became blind later in life, could represent our descent into sin. We don't start out turning away form God, but learn to do that later on, when we focus on our own desires.
So, this story could represent the steps we need to take to move back toward God and away from our own selfishness.
Call out. Be willing to give up everything. And run to God.
Bartimaeus is an example of the path to redemption any of us can take, if we are willing.
What is it that cloaks us, shelters our true self from the world, keeps us hidden?
Maybe it is time to throw it off and stand up with Jesus.
More to come...