Ramadan Post Six: What can I do for You?
The Scripture:
Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man Bartimaeus (that is, the son of Timaeus) was setting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you!” Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he recieved his sight and followed Jesus along the road.”
Mark 10: 46-52
The phrase the arose during lectio:
What can I do for you?
Some thoughts:
This is my sweet Jesus. He hears us, calls us to him, and asks us — without assumption– what is most important to you? What can I do for you?… Then he heals us.
I gathered these images because I was thinking about how gentle and loving Jesus feels to me (most the time). When I showed it to Rose, she said, “Oh look! Is that what you are doing now?” And so it has a meaning I wasn’t even intending, because that is what we are doing now — making a nest. Our nest if for people whose answer to the question “What can I do for you?” is “Give me a place to call home, a place of peace and rest.”
Dear Rachele,
I love this post. It makes me a little sad though. I think of Jesus saying foxes have holes and birds have nest but the son of man has no place to rest his head. Or I think of the dove released from Noah’s hands on the ark and its finding no place to settle.
Often, I ask the Lord for comfort and rest, but sometimes I want to give him a place to rest his head. I want to be a temple in which the holy Spirit can rest.
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