10/26/03
Take Heart - Mark 10:46-52
(view lectionary notes for this text)
This short selection that we hear today from the gospel of Mark is one of those passages that practically moves me to tears each time I hear it and really listen to it. It's such a short reading, and yet within its few verses we get such a clear picture of what it means to receive God's grace. A blind man, Bartimaeus, is sitting by the roadside begging, on the road where the disciples and Jesus are passing on their way out of Jericho. The blind man, knowing, apparently, about Jesus already, shouts out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." But many, in the midst of the hubbub and confusion of the crowd tell him to be quiet. Bartimaeus doesn't listen to them, however, but persists, crying, we read, "even more loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me." Jesus "stood still," hearing the man's cries, and tells the crowds to call the man before him. And then the beautiful words: "take heart, get up, he is calling you," the crowds communicate to blind Bartimaeus. In joy, the beggar leaps up, and presents himself to Jesus. "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asks. Isn't it obvious already? "Let me see again, my teacher," he responds. Jesus declares that the man's faith has made him well. The man's sight is restored, and he follows Jesus on his journey.
You might be wondering, though, despite the moving nature of this passage, why we today focus on healing, why we today will have a healing service, when today we also begin our stewardship campaign. Why don't we talk about the money, hear another one of those passages from the 40% I mentioned last Sunday where Jesus talks to us about how hard it is to handle our riches? What does one have to do with the other, if anything? Not that we'd be complaining, really. Who wants to talk about money, anyway? Who wants to go through the hassle of hearing how much money we don't have in the church, of feeling guilty for how little we give compared with what we should be giving and could be giving. In fact, enduring the stewardship campaign can make us feel like all we ever hear about is what the church is demanding of us, what the requirements are for good moral behavior. All of the oughts. We ought to be giving more, we ought to be serving more, etc., etc.
Actually, it is at exactly this point, when we are wondering what more, what else God will require for us in our Christian life that this gospel text meets us today. Exactly when we wonder what God will ask us to do next, that we find Jesus meeting Bartimaeus on the road to Jericho. So, let's dig deeper.
When Bartimaeus makes his request to Christ, he calls Jesus 'teacher', and though we are familiar with the title today, it was not often used by those addressing Christ in the gospels. But Bartimaeus recognizes that Jesus can not only heal him, but he can also learn from Jesus as well. Perhaps, he can learn how to see. "Repeatedly Jesus sought to teach the disciples about his saving Passion, death, and resurrection; but repeatedly they demonstrated that they had not learned his lesson, that they could not see. Jesus says Bartimaeus' faith "saved him"-that is, made him truly whole, as God intended for him to be."(1) Today when we hear the world 'salvation', we have a lot of added connotations that we understand as part of the meaning of the word. We think of going to heave, we think of eternal reward, we think of freedom from our sins. And indeed, the word came to have these meanings in Christian thought. But the word at its most literal translation in the New Testament means something like safety, health, restored to wholeness. Bartimaeus does not just receive his sight. He receives wholeness.
Wholeness is certainly a word we can connect to healing. We seek to be made physically whole, spiritually whole. But it's also a word that ties into our stewardship. Do you remember the children's sermon last month about the Hokey Pokey? What's that last verse? Put your WHOLE self in. Stewardship requires our wholeness too. More than just our money, God has asked us to be whole in our stewardship. In the scriptures we read that we are stewards of the whole creation, the whole world that God created and all that is in it. We are stewards of our time - how we prioritize our lives and how we spend our days. We are stewards of our gifts and talents, how we will use the graces with which God has blessed us. To be made whole, to be saved, we are called to a kind of stewardship and responsibility that affects every area, every corner of our lives.
Now, it seems, we're back to square one, though. Here we go again, and it's worse than we thought. God doesn't only want our money, but our time and our energy, our skills and our talents, our full attention. And what does this have to do with Bartimaeus? We've forgotten him already in our overwhelmed state of affairs. Here's the twist: We're so used to hearing what Jesus demands of us, what God demands of us. We're not surprised by God's demands, we just feel inadequate. But today, in our text, Jesus asks Bartimaeus, and asks us, "What do you want me to do for you?" It's right there, in verse 51. Jesus comes to Bartimaeus and says, "What do you want me to do for you?" Sometimes, in the midst of all these demands on our lives, we forget that it is God who is the giver, that God comes to us and asks, 'how can I help?' What exactly is it that you want from God? What is it that you are seeking? What do you need Christ to do for you? Many a teacher has uttered the phrase to students, "the only stupid question is the one that is never asked." Jesus is asking us what we are asking for. Do you seek to have your eyes opened? Do you seek salvation? Do you desire healing and wholeness?
"Take heart, get up, Jesus is calling you." This is the message that the crowds deliver to Bartimaeus, and this is the message that God conveys to us today. Take heart, get up, Jesus is calling you, seeking to heal you. Take heart, get up, God comes to ask what we need. Take heart, get up, we are called into ministry, to be whole-person stewards of all that God has given us. Take heart, get up, our faith can save us, our faith can help us to see things clearly. Take heart, get up, Jesus Christ can open our eyes. Take heart, get up, Jesus is calling us to follow him on the way. Amen.
Benediction: The Lord who heals all your iniquity bless and keep you; the face of the Lord who heals all your afflictions shine upon you and be gracious to you; the light of the countenance of the Lord who redeems your life be lifted upon you and give you peace. Amen.
Endnotes:
(1) From Abingdon Worship Library/CD-Rom for Year B, Sunday October23-29 inclusive)