October 24, 2021 Sermon
Sermon title: "Jesus Heals a Blind Man"
Scripture: Mark 10:46-52
((Other lectionary suggestions include Job 42:1-6 and 10-17, which sounds like a repeat of one of the Psalms, Psalm 34:1-8 and 19-22, and Hebrews 7:23-28, in which Jesus is thought of as a High Priest.))
Mark 10:46-52
The Healing of Blind Bartimaeus
46They 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. 47When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 48Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 49Jesus stood still and said, "Call him here." And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart; get up, he is calling you." 50So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51Then 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." 52Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.
As with so many stories in the Gospels, there is more than one level or layer in this story of Jesus healing Bartimaeus the blind man. First of all, Jesus asks Bartimaeus, "What do you want me to do for you?" My first wise-guy response is, "What do I want you to do for me? Isn't it obvious? I'm BLIND! I want to SEE!" But Jesus is much more clever than I, and so he asks that question. Bartimaeus may have simply been crying out for some spare change, so that he could live another day. And Jesus KNEW that! That's why he asked Bartimaeus what he wanted Jesus to do for him. Did you hear the Scripture reading? Bartimaeus shows that he already is a person of faith because when he gets up to go meet Jesus, he THROWS his cloak AWAY! He used his cloak to catch whatever coins people might give him, so in that very act, he is saying, "I don't want to beg anymore." What faith! He already believed Jesus would heal him even before the healing happened!
And Jesus is very wise in asking Bartimaeus what he wants. Bartimaeus could have said, "How about a shekel so that I can eat lunch today?" When Jesus puts the question to the blind beggar, it really is "The Hour of Decision" for him - as the Billy Graham broadcast used to call itself. And what Jesus wanted to find out was, Do you REALLY want to see again? Because if you do, you won't be able to beg anymore, and you'll have to take responsibility for your life, not depend on the kindness of strangers. So, Bartimaeus, Jesus is saying, Is that what you really want? Bartimaeus had made his decision earlier when he threw away his cloak: YES, Jesus! YES! And what does Jesus say? "Go; your faith has made you well."
What a great story! But there is also another level or layer going on here. The author of the Gospel of Mark puts this healing of the blind beggar story shortly after what we heard last week. Remember that? James and John had asked Jesus to grant that they essentially share power with him. They said, "When you are ruling in your kingdom, would you grant that one of us will sit on your right and one on your left?" These two disciples didn't get it yet. There was going to be no earthly kingdom in the way they understood the concept of "kingdom". In fact, serving and suffering would be involved. But they didn't get it yet.....in other words, they didn't SEE! And look at that: the BLIND beggar Bartimaeus SEES who Jesus is! Isn't that neat? Wasn't Mark clever to put those two stories together? James and John, favorite disciples of Jesus, who SHOULD have seen DID NOT. And poor old begging blind Bartimaeus DID see before Jesus ever gave him his sight!
There is yet ANOTHER level or layer in this story. Did you hear what Bartimaeus did when he was told, "Take heart; get up, he is calling you" He sprang up and threw away his cloak as he went to meet Jesus. What is that story saying to you and me? I think it's saying that when Jesus calls you, throw off everything that is going to hold you back. Throw off that security blanket....or, in this case, a cloak! By jettisoning that cloak, Bartimaeus was signifying that he was a New Creation. He was no longer Bartimaeus the blind beggar but Bartimaeus the disciple of Jesus who began to follow him on the way. The early Christians called their new faith the Way, and we notice what today's last words of the reading said: "....and followed him on the way." But think about it: what things or "stuff" are getting in YOUR way with your relationship with God and Jesus? Is there any forgiving you need to do? Are there any attitudes you need to change? Are there any prejudices that you need to address? Be like Bartimaeus: whatever your "cloak" is that is holding you back, throw it away and follow Jesus along the way!
As I was rummaging through some old stuff, I found my Minister's Annual Manual, which features insights from regular preachers in the pulpit, not necessarily religious scholars. A certain preacher named Mike Pancoast from Becker, Minnesota, has some good things to say about today's Scripture reading. One thing he points out is that while everybody else, including the disciples, wants this beggar to shut up, Jesus is the only one who hears his cries and asks for him to be brought in front of him - Jesus.
And the Rev. Mr. Pancoast says this: "Here is Bartimaeus, crying out to the only source of healing for which he might dare to hope. His cries become more plaintive and louder, all while anyone and everyone who might have even simply given him comfort do anything and everything but. And still Bartimaeus cries out. {{By the way, Mark Pancoast titles his sermon CRY OUT!}}....Call it hope. Call it faith. Call it desperation." Then he makes a little joke coming from the Simpsons. "Prayer", observes Lisa Simpson when she catches her.... brother Bart, praying with his proverbial back against the wall, "the last refuge of a scoundrel."
And Mark Pancoast continues: "But it's not just Bartimaeus's persistent and holy cries we are invited to notice; it is also the response of the one to whom he cries. Unlike everyone else around the blind man, unlike those presumably closest to him who have just become accustomed to his begging, unlike the disciples themselves whom I picture providing 'crowd control' instead of compassion,....Jesus hears; and Jesus engages; and Jesus answers." Of course he does. "Jesus cannot help but bring life to bear. Jesus speaks, and the eyes of the blind are opened; the lame are made to leap with joy; those once called unclean and outcast are now counted as blessed."
Rev. Pancoast says that this is the last healing Jesus will perform before his Crucifixion. I didn't know that. Here is the way he ends his sermon, and it's also how I'll end this one:
"Dear friends in Christ, we gather this day not to hear stories of a long-dead miracle-working healer named Jesus of Nazareth. We gather in sight of the cross from which Jesus' cries mingle with ours, even apparently at times unheeded. And we gather to hear again and again that Jesus' cries were indeed heard and addressed, opening not only once-closed eyes but now even the gate between death and life. So, cry out. Rail against the darkness, the disease, the death that seems to grip our mortal coils. Cry out in hope. Cry out in faith. Cry out even in desperation, knowing that God hears your cries and through Christ Jesus promises to answer those cries. Amen." Amen, indeed!
Pastor Skip
