A woman showed symptoms of a serious internal disorder. She consulted her family doctor, who referred her to a specialist. The specialist, a hematologist, hinted ominously that she had a dangerous condition. Her condition was so delicate that an ordinary cough, or a sneeze, might trigger irreversible and fatal internal bleeding. Surgery was advised. The woman entered the hospital for a high-risk operation.

Prior to the operation, the surgeon began to read the customary document of consent for surgery. The woman interrupted him abruptly. "Don't bother to read it, Doctor," she said. "Just show me where to sign."

The woman was a believer. She knew the meaning of faith. She applied it to her situation. She knew that the hospital where she was confined was respected nationwide for its success in treating her type of ailment. She was impressed by testimonies to the skills of the entire staff, from patients recuperating in her room. All that she observed and heard gave substance to her hope for recovery. As she awaited the unsettling unseen and unknown - few of life's experiences exceed the bleak uncertainty of a major operation - she had all the evidence she needed to convince her that she could entrust her very life to the medical and surgical teams. She entered the operating room calmly, and emerged cured.

Was it not thus with Bartimaeus? He had never met Jesus. But the stories that circulated so wildly and widely spoke of a person with the compassion and skills of a great physician. He was not known to have turned anyone away. Rich and poor were alike to him, it was said. He had restored hearing to the deaf, speech to the dumb, health to lepers and the lame, and - to Bartimaeus - most wonderful of all, sight to the blind. Some of Bartimaeus' most generous givers claimed to have been cured by the man. It all had the ring of truth. Would Bartimaeus have made more than a feeble effort to reach the Master if he had not been certain that his sources of information were trustworthy? They added substance to his hope for healing, and offered all the evidence he needed to convince him that it was within the power of Jesus to give him his sight.