See like Bartimaeus

Jesus, teach me not to bug my parents unless I really need something! Amen.

A blind man named Bartimaeus heard Jesus passing by and yelled, "Jesus, have pity on me!" "Shut up!" people said, but he yelled more. Finally, Jesus said, "What do you want me to do for you?" "I want to see," said Bartimaeus. "Your faith has saved you," Jesus told him. Suddenly, he could see! So he got up and followed Jesus.

Every kid has tried one way of getting something you want: bugging your parents. The new Gameboy Advance SP is out, so you remind your parents every five minutes that Christmas is coming, it's the only thing you want and you're sure every kid you know will get one!

Pestering parents doesn't always work, of course: Gameboys are expensive, and parents don't like their kids playing with them all day instead of playing outside. But once in a while, bugging someone who can help you out is a good idea -- for example, in this week's Gospel (Mark 10:46-52).

Being blind in Jesus' time was hard. People didn't have seeing-eye dogs and computers to help them like they do today. Bartimaeus was poor and couldn't get around on his own. More than anything, he wanted to see. Bugging Jesus to help him seemed like a great idea!

Part of the reason that pestering doesn't work is that you're not always telling the truth. Is a Gameboy really all you want for Christmas? If you got one, would you share it with other people or hog it all the time? Would you still want to play outside?

Bartimaeus told the truth when he said he just wanted to see. When Jesus cured him, he could have said, "I'm going to get back at people who teased me, get a job, and spend lots of money and see the world!" Instead, he saw that the most important thing was right in front of him: Jesus. So Bartimaeus used his eyes to follow Him.

What would you do if bugging your parents for something worked?