I always love a good redemption story, one where a character gets another shot at doing the right thing or who, through a series of events, learns a valuable lesson and then goes on to better days.

Anakin Skywalker, aka Darth Vader, is forgiven by his son, Luke, and then is redeemed.

The Grinch learns that Christmas is not about gifts and decorations and is redeemed.

George Bailey sees what the world would have been like without him and learns to truly appreciate all he has been given and is redeemed.

Or how about Professor Severus Snape, Oskar Schindler, Ebeneezer Scrooge, Phil Connors, Simba, Boromir, Captain Barbossa, Bucky Barnes, Doc Oc, Kylo Ren, Jerry Maguire, Jack Campbell…

You don’t recognize all of these characters but trust me, every one of them started off one way in their story but ended up in a completely different place. A much, much better place.

Today’s Gospel has two characters you could add to that list.

First, there’s Bartimaeus, a blind beggar sitting by the side of the road who encountered Jesus. Jesus asked him this question: “What do you want me to do for you?” Bartimaeus said he wanted to see and was cured. Redemption… boom.

But there is another character in this story who is also redeemed and this one is more subtle; you could surely miss if you weren’t paying attention. That character is: the crowd.

When Bartimaeus calls out for Christ, the crowd chooses to silence him, tells him to stick a sock in it, presumably feeling that he was completely unworthy of Christ’s attention, of belonging, of being healed, of redemption.

Unworthy.

But, then, Jesus asks them to intervene on his behalf, requesting that the crowd call out to him, beckon him, welcome him. So, upon his command, they did. In fact, they did more than call out, they actually encouraged him, saying: “Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”

The crowd, initially resistant to helping the blind man, assisted Christ and, therefore, the man. The crowd is also redeemed in this story.

And you and I are in this story too. We are part of this crowd and I believe that this crowd is our Church. Christ asks us as his Church to intervene for him, to call out to others and invite them to join us, to welcome those who we might initially feel are unworthy. And, like the crowd in today’s Gospel story, we might not always get it exactly right at first. In fact, we might fall down and need to be redeemed ourselves. But we are the Church of Christ and so we are always open to the possibility that Christ can use us as he pleases. We are meant to be worthy tools in his capable hands. Without Christ, we are nothing.

I wonder how, all these many centuries later, we might learn from this early church who encountered Bartimaeus and then who, upon instruction from Christ, supported him, encouraged him, and welcomed him.

Bartimaeus gained his sight in this story and so too did the crowd.

Is there someone in your life who could benefit from your encouragement, your welcoming, your invitation? Even if that someone seems a lot like the pre-redemption Bartimaeus rather than the post-redemption one?

And I really appreciate Jesus’ question in today’s Gospel: “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus steps forward toward us and as the Good Shepherd will always seek us out. But his question suggests that he is asking us to do something too, to declare, to name it, to have some measure of clarity around what it is that we truly desire.

During prayer, imagine that Jesus is standing before you, looking into your eyes, and asking: “What do you want me to do for you?”

As for me, I’d like my own story to be one of redemption.