The Daily Office · For longing
Have mercy
Mark 10:46–52
46And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.
47And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.”
50And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.
51And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.”
52And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
What's happening here
Mark is the shortest and fastest-moving of the Gospels, and the scene at Jericho is one of the only times he slows down enough to give a beggar a name. Bartimaeus — "son of Timaeus" — sits by the road, hears that Jesus is passing, and cries out with a two-word formula the church would later build into the most repeated prayer in Christian liturgy. The crowd tells him to be quiet. He shouts louder. Jesus stops.
The word that matters
Greek · have mercy — the imperative of mercy
Eleēson is the imperative form of eleeō, the verb behind "alms" and "almsgiving." It is not simply "be kind to me"; it is the full-weight request for the mercy a superior owes a supplicant, the word a defendant shouts to a judge. Bartimaeus's two-word cry — "Son of David, have mercy" — pairs a messianic title with the formal petition word. The early Greek church built it into the Kyrie eleison that has been sung in liturgy for seventeen centuries. The blind man on the roadside wrote the shortest and most durable Christian prayer.
Where else this shows up
Luke 18:13
The tax collector in the temple, standing far off, beating his chest: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." The same cry, shorter.
Matthew 9:27
Two blind men on another road with the same formula: "Have mercy on us, Son of David."
Psalm 51:1
David's Hebrew anticipation: "have mercy on me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness."
Across the whole Bible · longing
Passages found by what they mean, not by keyword. Open any of them on the canvas.
Psalm 42:1–4
As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me…
Psalm 84:1–2
How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
Psalm 130:5–6
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.
Psalm 63:1–4
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and…
Psalm 119:81–85
My soul longs for your salvation; I hope in your word. My eyes long for your promise; I ask, “When will you comfort me?” For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, yet I have not forgotten your statutes. How long…
Song of Solomon 7:10
I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me.
Song of Solomon 6:1
Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Where has your beloved turned, that we may seek him with you?
Job 5:8–12
“As for me, I would seek God, and to God would I commit my cause, who does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number: he gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the fields; he sets on high those…
Song of Solomon 3:1–5
On my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but found him not. I will rise now and go about the city, in the streets and in the squares; I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but found…
Psalm 143:5–6
I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
Psalm 119:174–176
I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight. Let my soul live and praise you, and let your rules help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.
Psalm 38:9–11
O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me. My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague…