When blind Bartimaeus sat by the wayside begging, he must have been a sad spectacle to passers-by. We are not unfamiliar with his counterpart in modern times, and indeed his type includes many who believe they have been placed by the wayside of life because age or infirmity has labeled their case incurable.
To such as these Christian Science comes with a promise. Hope is no longer torn from their hearts, nor is spiritual understanding denied them. To those who wait patiently for healing and release from suffering, the Christ, as understood in Christian Science, comes today as it came to brave Bartimaeus as he sat by the wayside begging.
It comes with healing balm to those who sit at the foot of the mount of Beatitudes and are ready for the ascent. It comes to "the poor in spirit" who recognize their spiritual poverty and seek for spiritual treasures; to those who mourn because they seem to have lost God; to those who hunger for the bread of Truth and thirst for the water of Spirit. The cry for release goes out from many today who sit by the wayside. Their cry is heard because the Christ is present to heal, to save, and to redeem.
