Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost; 24 October 2021; Proper 25B (RCL); Job 42:1-6; Psalm 34:1-8, 29-22; Hebrews 7:23-28.
In my mind, the prose ending of the Book of Job almost undoes the terrible beauty of the poetic chapters. Apparently, the poet(s) inserted the poem into the middle of an existing prose tale, which follows a familiar pattern — the righteous one suffers and is vindicated at the end. The poem completely subverts the expectation of the prose tale. God appears, and the righteous one is left speechless before the majesty of God. And then, Job’s fortunes are restored. I hope the poet(s) intended irony by returning to the prose tale.
Job, of course, all along had been demanding an audience with God, at which he could lay out his case. God does show up, but turns the tables on Job: You will answer me. God then describes the terrible beauty of creation, and asks Job if he is capable of that. Job’s reply is powerful. I had heard of you with the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you. I repent in dust and ashes. Job never acknowledges any sin, and God never accuse Job of any sin. Job repents of his hubris. All his friends had thought that Job’s calamities were the punishment of sin, and God scolds them for assuming so. That would mean that Job was worthy of God’s attention, orchestrating such a punishment. Job’s repentance is the recognition that he has never been at the center of God’s attention — except that God does show up! God answers even in the midst of calamity.
Job’s vision is restored. He can step back from his own perspective, and now see things from the divine perspective, even if he cannot understand what he is seeing. So, he repents in dust and ashes.
Bartimaeus is the only character in Mark’s Gospel who, Mark tells us, follows Jesus on the road. This episode comes immediately after the episode with James and John, and just so we make the connection, Jesus uses exactly the same vocabulary when he asks Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?” as he used when he asked James and John the same question. These two episodes form a hinge in Mark’s Gospel, a demarcation.
Bartimaeus (and I think Mark is intention in his reference to Plato’s dialog, The Timaeus) asks Jesus that he might see again, or look up. The word means both things. Jesus replies, “Go, your faith has saved you.” But unlike others whom he has healed and sent away, Bartimaeus follows Jesus on the Way. He sees what James and John do not — that the throne in Jerusalem will be the cross.
The baptismal imagery adds to the complexity of the story. Jesus does not call Bartimaeus directly, but instructs the crowd to call him. The crowd calls him: Take heart; be resurrected; he calls you. Bartimaeus throws off his cloak, and encounters Jesus in the middle of the crowd. In baptism, converts were stripped and then given new clothes. We all encounter Jesus in the midst of the community of the baptized.
It takes a restored vision to see Jesus in community, and to see the divine energies in creation. Baptism gives us new eyes to see, and in eucharist and prayer, we train our vision more and more to see the divine love in Jesus that carries us along the road to God.