3. THE BEST VERSION OF MYSELF: WANT

Tuesday, February 20th

Read Mark 10:46-52 (copied below).

Follow Jesus…

Of all the healing stories, I especially love the ones in which Jesus restores sight to a blind person. The idea of seeing lends itself to contemplative “seeing” and our longing to discern what God may be revealing to us. In this story, Jesus notices Bartimaeus, stops amid the crowd, and has the blind man come to him. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asks. Bartimaeus asks Jesus to let him see again, and he immediately regains his sight.

to be the best version of myself…

When I envision Jesus asking me, “What do you want?” my initial reaction is to respond, “I want to do your will.” But today I realize that my response is vague, generic, and in a way, safe. Yes, “to do your will” does help open myself to God’s guidance; Jesus has instructed us to pray, “Your will be done.” But in this Lenten time of reflection, “What do you want?” can be an invitation to more fully consider the deepest desires of my heart–all gifts from God–and to discern how these might align with what God wants, for me and for the world. The question invites me to be more courageous in doing the will of God, instead of merely trying to avoid sin.

for the world.

God, Infinite Love,
What would YOU want me to see? Please open my eyes and heart; reveal where your will and my hopes, desires, and even frustrations can come together in loving service. Show me the ways that my wants align with yours, the ways we might team together to make good differences in the world. Guide me to truly see. I want to live and serve in new ways–if these ways are your ways, too.

Our reading for Thursday (the 22nd) is John 8:2-11.

(Photo by Karen, searching the heavens.)

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(Mark 10:46-52 NRSVUE)

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.