Read Luke Chapter 18 (you can use a Bible you have, or follow the link)

In this chapter we meet a number of folk… a widow and a judge, a Pharisee and a Tax collector, little children, a Rich man and a blind beggar. In parables and encounters with Jesus we find different responses to the things of the Kingdom. And as we might expect, it’s not always as we might expect! The outcast and vulnerable come off better than the rich and notable.

Here on the way to Jerusalem and towards the cross, Jesus passes through Jericho and meets the Blind beggar – who in Mark’s gospel is called Bartimaeus. The name means son of Timaeus. I have sometimes wondered if 30 years earlier as Mary and Joseph made the journey to Bethlehem (passing through Jericho) they might have encountered Timeaus and his blind son…

With love, truth and light… this Advent

Donald