There are several remarkable things about this story. Firstly, the scene is just when Jesus is leaving Jericho. Jericho is about three hours’ walk from Jerusalem, up a great, rocky canyon. When you leave Jericho you know you are just about coming to Jerusalem. It is the last village on the way, and (as we heard in last week’s gospel) the excitement of what is to happen in Jerusalem (the great revelation of Jesus’ glory at the Passion) is already upon those who are journeying with him; the cured beggar dances on the way with them. Secondly, the beggar is the only person in Mark to call Jesus ‘Son of David”, drawing attention to Jesus’ messianic ancestry and preparing for his messianic entry into Jerusalem. Thirdly, in Mark Jesus says ‘Your faith has cured you’ only twice. The first time was to the woman with a haemorrhage, who had shown her faith with great courage by daring to touch Jesus’ garment in the crowd. Now Bartimaeus shows the same stubborn courage in carrying on shouting despite the attempts to silence him. So both these people show with their courage that they really do put their trust in Jesus and are confident that he will help them. If our faith is to save us, it needs to be real, courageous and stubborn. Lukewarm, tentative faith is not enough. How do we show our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus?