THIS WEEK’S GOSPEL: MARK 10:46-52 (MESSAGE)
They spent some time in Jericho. As
Jesus was leaving town, trailed by his disciples and a parade of people, a
blind beggar by the name of Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, was sitting alongside
the road. When he heard that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by, he began to cry
out, “Son of David, Jesus! Mercy, have mercy on me!” Many tried to hush him up,
but he yelled all the louder, “Son of David! Mercy, have mercy on me!”
Jesus stopped in his tracks. “Call him
over.” They called him. “It’s your lucky
day! Get up! He’s calling you to come!” Throwing off his coat, he was on his feet
at once and came to Jesus. Jesus said,
“What can I do for you?” The blind man
said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “On your way,” said Jesus. “Your faith has saved
and healed you.” In that very instant he
recovered his sight and followed Jesus down the road.
How many of you ever really ask for what you
want? For me, I think about what I want;
I obsess over it even. However, when it
comes to actually asking for it (whatever it is), I can’t seem to find the
courage just to ask. This may be
surprising to those of you who know me and know how important it is for me to
share how I feel and what I think. I've never been accused of being shy, but when it comes down to it and I have to
risk being rejected, I find it very difficult to express my wants, my needs and
my desires.
Have you ever felt this way? How did you resolve the issue? Did you just hope for the best and ask? Or
did you politic for it – you know, plant seeds, connect with allies, work the
angles? How hard it is to ask for what
we really want!
Now, if this is so hard for us, imagine what it must
have been like for Blind Bartimaeus. His
whole life hinged on someone hearing him, really hearing him, seeing him,
really seeing him and healing him, really healing him. His entire life had been spent waiting for
others to care for him, to show him compassion and to share their resources in
order to help him get through the day.
When he heard the crowd and Jesus on the road, he didn't cower. He didn't hedge his bets. He didn't wait to make the right connections.
He screwed up his courage and shouted, “Have mercy!” The deepest desire of his heart was to be
made whole and he pursued it without reservation. And Jesus hears him, sees him, loves him and
heals him. What courage! What joy!
Please join us this Reformation Sunday morning, October
28 at 10am in Christ Church when we engage all of this talk about looking, seeing,
shouting for and receiving mercy reflected in the lessons for the day. On the heels of our 50th Anniversary
Celebration, we hope that you will join us as we weave all these things all
together and move into the future rejoicing in mercy and in hope. See you at church!
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