What do you want me to do for you?

 “What do you want me to do for you?”   Can you imagine??  What would be YOUR response to that question if that happened to YOU?!  Let’s think about that for a second.  Say you go to the Perpetual Adoration Chapel.  You genuflect and lower your head toward the floor as a sign of reverence, and when you straighten up, Jesus is standing there in front of you!  Before you’ve even had a chance to pray for whatever is was that brought you there, Jesus asks:  What do you want me to do for you?  What do you say?  What do you do?  How do you answer?  Let’s look to the Gospels for help.

    In the Gospel last Sunday, James and John asked Jesus to do what they requested of Him, and Jesus asked them:  What do you want me to do for you?  Their answer?  When you come into your glory, we wish to sit, one at your right, and the other at you left.  A selfish request, no? The Gospel said that the other apostles became indignant at these two for making such a request.  It became a teaching moment for Jesus, as he responded that anyone who wishes to be first must be the slave of all.  Not exactly the answer James and John were looking for.  Actually, the Gospel from the week before carries the same message.  The rich young man runs up to Jesus and asks what he must do to have eternal life, telling Jesus  that he has kept all of the commandments since childhood—no doubt hoping that he has already done enough.  But when Jesus tells him that he must go and sell his belongings and give the money to the poor, the man goes away sad—apparently not willing to part with his worldly possessions. So although Jesus does not ask  “what do you want me to do for you,” it is clear that the man wanted Jesus to promise him eternal life—which Jesus did not do.  So the young man leaves—selfishly not wanting to part with his “stuff.”

Then finally we come to Bartimaeus.  So Jesus is heading through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem, sizeable crowd in tow, when this beggar along the roadside calls out:  “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!”  Folks try to shut him up, but he only cries the louder:  “Son of David, have pity on me!”  At this point he is risking being beaten or stomped or worse by continuing to harass Jesus when he’s been told to be quiet.  He persists.  Jesus stops.  “Call him.”  So members of the crowd—the same crowd that was threatening him with bodily harm if he didn’t stop yelling at Jesus—these men go to Bartimaeus all happy and supportive of him all of a sudden and tell him:  “Take courage, get up.  Jesus is calling you.”  (SIDE NOTE) Let me just point out that we see this happen all the time in our own lives.  People acting a certain way; taking a certain position because they think that’s what society wants, or what will benefit them the most…but as soon as they perceive that they’re in the minority, or that the “in crowd” disagrees with them, they do a complete 180.  You can just see it, can’t you?  One minute they’re yelling angrily at Bartimaeus, telling him to be quiet; the next they are all smiles as they help him up.  He’s no longer a trouble-maker, because Jesus is interested in him, so they suddenly are, too.  Hypocrites.  Ok, so back to the story…Jesus asks him:  What do you want me to do for you?  And Bartimaeus says:  “Master, I want to see.”  “Go your way, your faith has saved you.”  And he immediately gains his sight and follows Jesus.

    In the preceding two Gospels, Jesus is approached by persons of status with their requests—a rich man, and two of his hand-picked favorites, James and John.  Remember, this is happening as Jesus is traveling to Jerusalem to be crucified; so James and John have been at his side for three years; these are 2 of the 3 that Jesus takes with him when he separates himself from the others.  They clearly are two of Jesus’ closest friends.    Yet in both Gospels, Jesus does not grant the people what they seek.  But here’s this low-life beggar…and by the way, in those times, beggars were very common.  One estimate I read said that Jericho had a population of roughly 5000, and had as many as 500 beggars!  So they were everywhere.  But this one beggar is singled-out from the hundreds of beggars, and Jesus miraculously cures him of his blindness.  Bartimaeus’ request was selfish, too, wasn’t it?  He wanted to see.  But what did he do once Jesus granted his request?  Remember, this is a man who was totally dependent on others.  He could do nothing on his own.  Whether he ate or not depended upon the generosity of others.  So when Jesus granted him his sight, and told him:  “Go on your way, your faith has saved you” what did he do with this sudden, newfound freedom?  He gave it away.  He could have done anything he wanted; gone anywhere he wanted; seen anything he wanted; --but he instead, he chose to remain dependent upon someone else—Jesus.  He rejected the call of the world, to focus on the call of his Savior. 

  So, back to the Chapel.  Jesus, standing in front of you, asks you:  “What do you want me to do for you?”  What will your answer be?  Will you be like the young rich man, and stay attached to your worldly possessions?  The world tries to keep us in the dark; blind to what is good, what is true, what is right, what is holy.  The world says we should focus on what is important to US—that’s what we should strive to attain.  The world wants to hide the light from us—the Light that is Jesus Christ.  Politicians, judges, public officials, the members of the crowd that followed Jesus—they try to manipulate the world so that is serves them and their interests; reflects what they wish the truth would be for their own perceived happiness.  But the truth cannot be changed—and cannot be hidden from those who earnestly seek it.  Jesus is the way, and the truth, and the light.  It is in Him, and Him alone, that we find true happiness.  So, even though none of us will probably ever have that close encounter with Jesus in the chapel, every time we pray, Jesus asks us: “what do you want me to do for you?”  Would that we each could answer like “enlightened” Bartimaeus:  “Master, I want to see.”  See, so that we could know the truth, live the truth, and in turn spread the truth to others, so that, unblinded by worldly things, we might ultimately see…the face of Jesus in paradise.