Restoration
When he heard
that
it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have
mercy
on me!”. Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the
blind
man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you.” Throwing his cloak
aside,
he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for
you?”
Jesus asked him. The blind
man said,
“Rabbi, I want to see.” Mark 10: 47, 49-51
Bartimaeus, the blind beggar of Jericho, is one of my favorite
characters.
I suppose what I like about him is what Barak Obama calls audacious
hope.
He hears that Jesus of Nazareth is nearby and he sets up a
racket,
calling out:
"Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!"
People around him tell him to shut up; but no way, he just shouts all
the
louder,
"Son of David, have mercy!"
Don't you just love someone who is willing to throw all caution to the
wind
for the sake of reaching out in hope.
No matter that he is told to be quiet. After all, what does he have to
lose
anyway; he is just a poor beggar, so what does he care what other
people's
opinions are? Jesus is near and he is not going to waste this one
opportunity,
so he does the only thing he knows how to do: he starts shouting at the
top
of his lungs.
"JESUS, SON OF DAVID, HAVE MERCY!
I wonder if he was a quiet beggar when Jesus was not around. You don't
have
to go to a third world country anymore to meet beggars. We have them
here
on the streets of Victoria, in fact right in front of our largest
downtown
Presbyterian church, there is almost always someone begging, and the
church does have an outreach to them. Some downtown beggars whisper as
you walk by, "spare some change?" Others are not so timid and
assault
your ears with their pleas. I have to admit that here in Victoria I am
not
so fond of noisy beggars. I guess I prefer them on the pages of
scripture
rather than in real life. And I guess that probably applies to a
lot
of things in scripture--we prefer to read about it and sanctify it in
scripture,
but would be much less comfortable embracing it in living flesh.
And it reminds me that asking for sight could be a dangerous thing--you
never know what you might see, and that you might then become
responsible for what you see.
But before we start getting uncomfortable with that notion, lets go
back
to the pages of the Bible.
With Bartimaeus we have a very simple story. We read of a man who is
blind
and now begs. One day he hears that Jesus is at hand and he gets
totally
stirred up and starts calling out to Jesus to have mercy.
Jesus hears him.
OK, I have to stop for just a brief moment and say that you don't need
to
shout to get Jesus to hear you.
Bartimaeus' shouting was his way of showing that he was totally serious.
Jesus always hears people who are totally serious no matter how much
volume
they use.
Hearing the man, Jesus says, "call him". I find that interesting.
Bartimaeus
calls, and Jesus has his friends call back.
There is an idea for a sermon, "when Jesus calls back."
Bartimaeus hears and goes to Jesus.
"What do you want?" asks Jesus.
Now you have to imagine how a blind beggar would reply: I don't mean
the
words, I mean the way he would say it: "Rabbi, I want to SEE again!"
I want my life back.
And Jesus gives it to him saying, "Go, your faith makes you well."
I often wonder about what the next day looked like for people
like
Bartimaeus. You know, the next day once Jesus is gone, how does
Bartimaeus
live his life? The root word here for "well" is the same root as the
word
for salvation, but it has many uses. It means to heal, to save, to
rescue,
to restore.
I like idea of "to restore".
That's what Bartimaeus wanted--to have his sight restored, and with it,
his
life.
In Bartimaeus' case we know that he became a follower of Jesus, quite
literally.
Mark says he followed Jesus along the road--a road that incidentally
was to take them to Jerusalem and to Calvary's cross.
What about others in the gospels--the lame man lowered through a roof
by
his friends. Jesus forgives his sins and heals his paralysis. He heals
many
who come to him in trusting ways, and some who do not.
The lame man by the pool seems to have little faith, so I wonder what
happened
to him. In fact Jesus later warns him to be careful about how he lives,
so
healing is not a guarantee of God's permanent favor.
The soldier who asked for his servant to be healed had much faith. I
wonder
how this soldier's life was different afterward.
And the lame man through the roof is there because of his friends'
faith.
Does this spark his own faith? I hope so.
A timid woman in a crowd quietly just reaches out to touch Jesus
cloak
gets healed too, but Jesus notices her and acknowledges her too. I
guess
even the timid are noticed when they reach out even a finger in hope.
I am glad, because in truth I think I am more like her than I am like
Bartimaeus.
I am not a shouter, but am more of a whisperer.
Strange for a preacher, but that's life.
I am certain of one thing, though.
I am sure that every day he awoke to sunshine and the faces of people
around
him, Bartimaeus offered thanks to God.
He trusted Jesus to be God's source of mercy when he needed it most,
and with his restored sight, he saw in Jesus something far more
compelling than just a healer.
Isn't that just like Jesus, too.
To those who can see and who are willing, He offers so much more than
what we bargain for.
What's also interesting is that in the same chapter, Mark tells the
story
of a rich young man who comes to Jesus for advice, but because he was
rich
and felt he had too much to lose by trusting Jesus implicitly, he
walked
away without having found what he looked for.
It is a matter of recognition.
Bartimaeus, even in his blindness and poverty, recognized that Jesus
was
what he needed and did what he needed to get Jesus attention.
The rich young man who was neither blind nor poor just could not see
Jesus
as the complete answer. He saw Jesus as potentially having some wisdom,
probably
even hoping Jesus would offer him a gem of truth that he could treasure
for
ever.
But the cost was too much and he did not see in Jesus something that
was
worth the price.
This poor blind beggar really should be the poster boy for what our
faith
is all about.
Did he become a wonderful upstanding member of the community?
Who knows?
Whatever direction his life took it would be filled with challenges
just as ours are.
But what he does show us is that he knew two things:
1. He needed help.
2. He knew where to turn for help.
Sharon Howell writes in the daily devotional, "Disciplines" of her
experience
as a student chaplain in a mental hospital.
A few weeks into the semester we complained that we were uncomfortable.
Chaplain
Kapp listened and kept pushing us about own own discomfort. We finally
admitted
that we felt inadequate to relate to those we were encountering. He
kept
sending us back into the hospital wards with the same assignment.
At last we confessed our attitude and our fear. We had come to the
state
hospital feeling superior and whole and healthy. We discovered our own
weakness
and woundedness in the midst of entering into relationship with those
who
could no longer live without imposed structures, boundaries, and
constant
support. When we learned to check our all-knowing self-importance at
the
door and enter into relations based on honoring the other, we
discovered
God's overwhelming grace. It is often difficult for us to acknowledge
and
name our weaknesses or woundedness. 1
How true. Like the rich young man, we may enjoy and appreciate Jesus,
but do
we really see Him as the only hope we have for wholeness? Are we
willing
to shout it out, or even to timidly reach out hoping he will reach back?
I suppose it is all in recognition:
Recognition of our need and recognition of the fact that He is our hope
and
will call back to us when we call out to Him.
Then its up to us whether like Bartimaeus we follow him or not.
Preached October 25, 2009
Dr. Harold McNabb
West Shore Presbyterian
Church
Victoria, British Columbia
Notes
1. H. Sharon Howell, "Out of Weakness, Strength and
Service."
printed in Disciplines, A book of
daily
devotions, Upper Room books, 2009
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