They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" Jesus stood still and said, "Call him here." And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart; get up, he is calling you." So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man said to him, "My teacher, let me see again." Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

New York, N.Y.

United States

Vision is the art of seeing 

what is invisible to others.

~ Jonathan Swift

How you look at it 

is pretty much how you'll see it.

~ Rasheed Ogunlaru

Jeanne Canny led the discussion along with maps showing all the places visited in the book.

Ginny Boschen brought yummy cheese and Lurlie Bickford actually brought Cornish pasties!!!

Those who compare the age in which their lot has fallen 

with a golden age which exists only in imagination, 

may talk of degeneracy and decay;

but no man who is correctly informed as to the past,

will be disposed to take a morose

or desponding view of the present.

~ Thomas Babington Macaulay

Job 42:1-6, 10-17
Psalm 34:1-8 [19-22]
Jeremiah 31:7-9
Psalm 126
Hebrews 7:23-28
Mark 10:46-52

Job 42:1-6, 10-17

Then Job answered the Lord: "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. 'Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you declare to me.' I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes."

And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends; and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then there came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they ate bread with him in his house; they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him; and each of them gave him a piece of money and a gold ring. The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters. He named the first Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. In all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job's daughters; and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers. After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children, and his children's children, four generations. And Job died, old and full of days.

with

Psalm 34:1-8 [19-22]

I will bless God 
   at all times;
God's praise shall continually 
   be in my mouth.

My soul makes its boast 
   in God;
let the humble hear 
   and be glad.

O magnify God 
   with me,
and let us exalt God's name 
   together.

I sought God, 
   and God answered me,
and delivered me 
   from all my fears.

Look to God, 
   and be radiant;
so your faces shall never 
   be ashamed.

This poor soul cried, 
   and was heard by God,
and was saved 
   from every trouble.

The angel of God encamps 
   around those who fear God;
God's angel delivers them.

O taste and see 
   that God is good;
happy are those 
   who take refuge in God.

[Many are the afflictions 
   of the righteous,
but God rescues them 
   from them all.

God keeps all 
   their bones;
not one of them 
   will be broken.

Evil brings death 
   to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous
   will be condemned.

God redeems the life 
   of those who serve God;
none of those who take refuge 
   in God
will be condemned.]

or

Jeremiah 31:7-9

For thus says the Lord: Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, "Save, O Lord, your people, the remnant of Israel." See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, those with child and those in labor, together; a great company, they shall return here. With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back, I will let them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble; for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

with

Psalm 126

When God restored the fortunes 
   of Zion,
we were like those 
   who dream.

Then our mouth was filled 
   with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts 
   of joy;

then it was said 
   among the nations,
"God has done great things 
   for them."

God has done great things 
   for us,
and we rejoiced.

Restore our fortunes, 
   O God,
like the watercourses 
   in the Negeb.

May those who sow 
   in tears
reap with shouts 
   of joy.

Those who go out 
   weeping,
bearing the seed 
   for sowing,
shall come home 
   with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.

and

Hebrews 7:23-28

Furthermore, the former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office; but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he has no need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for those of the people; this he did once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests those who are subject to weakness, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

Mark 10:46-52

They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" Jesus stood still and said, "Call him here." And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart; get up, he is calling you." So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man said to him, "My teacher, let me see again." Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.