- The third kind of binary or disposition is the soul generous and determined, that of those who decide to renounce all attachment, not caring about having or not having anything, because what really interests them and moves them to one or another option, is only what is for the greater glory and service of the Lord .

And it is here that we reach the last stage of this itinerant school in Mc 10. Jesus will find a character who in the eyes of the world and the three previous characters is a nobody, Bartimaeus a beggar and blind, he is not a rich man , is not a respectful Pharisee, nor the disciple of privileged position. He is a nobody that everyone wants to shut up but his faith makes him scream louder. Be a beggar (in Greekprosaitēs, προσαίτης) and also blind (tufos,τυφλός) was a total disgrace because they are considered extremely weak and miserable people, they are not autonomous people and they completely depend on charity, a charity that is sometimes conspicuous by its absence because, as we read in the text, they really do not care at all: "many they rebuked him to keep quiet" (Mk 10,48).

Jesus does not give alms to this blind man... he calls him. And in this call Jesus does not ask for ANYTHING, he does not expect anything from him, Jesus is there EVERYTHING FOR HIM, everything will depend on his ambition, how far he wants to go, maybe he will negotiate with him a coin or maybe he will risk everything for him. all. Sometimes we think that God is coming to take us away, strip us or rob us like the first characters who negotiated because perhaps like them our hands are still very full of rice or bananas, like the apes we talked about two weeks ago, or we are fond of our cheeses and we create strategies and justifications to maintain them, but perhaps we are already at the perfect point on the road, outside of Jericho, ready to find the Master. It all depends on how honest we are with ourselves.

Bartimaeus had gone blind, the gospel does not tell us as in other cases that he was blind from birth, this condition led him to be a beggar sitting by the side of the road, he recognizes his situation of total poverty, he knows that life has gone depriving you of your goods and you have nothing to lose. When life beats us down and we fall like a coconut, because we had climbed to the top of the palm tree! When the hurricanes arrive that destroy everything and we have no choice but to hug the palm tree to save our lives because everything was carried away by the current! When we have been ruined, in material, spiritual, and moral misfortune, there where we can humbly admit that we have nothing to defend because in front of the mirror of our eyes, when we are alone with ourselves there is nothing we can hide because we know how miserable we are! It is there Jericho. Do you have any Jericó that you still don't accept?

On this side of the road to Jericho, where we beg for a little affection to be valued, recognized, loved and where we settle for any crumb, we see Bartimaeus who, however, has not lost something: hearing. Bartimaeus does not see, but he HEARS, and he has a discerning ear, very discerning. In the midst of a multitude of noises, he knows that Jesus is passing by and without mincing words, in full voice and despite the bitterness of the people who want to silence this useless beggar, SHOUTS, because he also has a tongue left to shout , has the courage not only because he no longer has anything to lose but because he knows he can win, and he screams and screams and screams; and his cry is deafening because in it is a request that does not leave the heart of the Lord immune Jesus Son of David have mercy on me!, show me mercy have mercy on me (eleson me ἐλέησόν με) and repeats it to exhaustion.

And we, do we get tired? Or does shame make us keep quiet and in the end proud?

I remember as a child, after making my first communion, I didn't want to go to confession anymore because I always said I fall into the same sin, what's the point? But I did not realize, except with the passage of time, that this acknowledging my sin and exposing it with shame before myself and before the missionaries who knew me, which was turning me into that Bartimaeus who by dint of shouting my misery was breaking my pride and self-sufficiency and receiving grace, made me stronger and stronger to overcome that same misery.

And how wonderful when thosemissionaries Knowing me, however, they said to me like the crowd to the blind man, after Jesus calls him: Courage, get up, he calls you! And not only do you get up with the courage to move on, but you are able, like the blind man, to jump and throw off your cloak to come to Jesus (Mc 10,50).

Bartimaeus only had his mantle left, perhaps gnawed, dirty, old, but it covered him and was the only possession that no one could take from him (according to the biblical texts of the AT because it would deserve divine rebuke) but he threw it away, he stripped himself because the teacher the Son of David called him. I cannot imagine that moment when the blind man is in front of Jesus without being able to look at him but listens to his voice, perhaps he asked him to touch his face to imagine it better, perhaps it was enough for him to hear that voice who was not indifferent to his cry and stopped to call him, that voice full of mercy and not rebuke... perhaps the blind man cried when he heard Jesus ask him: what do you want me to do for you?

He did not call him to give him a handout but to ask, as is his custom and his method: ask to get the best out of us, what do you want me to do for you? and Bartimaeus does not doubt: Let him see! Nothing more and nothing less. Do you think I can do this? Well, this will be done but according to your faith! This is indeed a challenge for us, faith will be the thermometer that will do it, but it could not be possible if Jesus were not there to make them understand. And he sets an example for all listeners, the characters of Mc 10 and the crowd that follows him but only to the outskirts of Jericho.