Sermon for St Edward’s 27/10/24. Reading: Mark 10:46-end
Now this passage in Mark follows directly on from last week’s, and last week we heard James and John asking Jesus for positions of authority, they wanted to sit on his right and left in eternity. Pretty arrogant really, and Jesus gently tries to say to them you have no idea what you are even asking. Still they say yes we can do it! Needless to say the other disciples with whom they are in a key friendship group are pretty annoyed by these two wanting to one up themselves, and Jesus has to give them all a bit of a talking to. You need to be servants he says, as we heard Gill share last week.
So coming straight after that they head into Jericho and we see the story of sight impaired Bartimaeus who is begging by the road side.
If you were physically impaired in those days, life was hard, especially if you didn’t have family to help support you. Sometimes disabilities meant people were viewed as if they had character flaws as well as physical differences. Some were thought of as unclean or that a disability was a punishment from God. Thankfully those days are long gone! But the fact that Bartimaeus was sitting at the roadside and was begging indicates the life he had, perhaps he had to beg to survive. He was probably a social outcast in some way.
And yet he knows who Jesus is, he has heard about him, he knows Jesus carries power and authority, he calls out his family line, Son of David, and he knows Jesus is merciful – ‘have mercy on me’ he shouts out. And Jesus hears and is drawn to him, ‘call him to me’ he says. No mean feat actually, for one who could not see and there is no sign people helped him they just said get up, go to him. Bartimaeus sprang up and came to Jesus.
And then there are a few things we need to note here. Firstly Jesus asks him “What do you want me to do for you?” He doesn’t assume.
So often as Christians, when we are faced with those who are sick or have disabilities, we assume that they want to be different or they want to be “healed”. We shouldn’t assume that someone is lesser in any way because they have what we call a disability. In fact sometimes people with “disabilities” are much more able in other areas. Those who are sight impaired often have increased other senses for example.
A friend of mine died this week, I didn’t know him well but we had connected online, in the world of Christian Twitter. Dave was sight impaired and was very vocal about it online, he was a campaigner. He ran online worship for those who couldn’t get to church long before the pandemic and suddenly everyone was online. You may have heard of him through ‘Disability and Jesus’ or ‘The Ordinary Office’ where he sought to put together worship that was accessible and inclusive to all. Dave used it find very frustrating the use of the word ‘blind’ in every day speak, or even in the bible when people are referred to as blind in a spiritual sense. He didn’t want it to be seen as something negative or an insult. And it wasn’t that he was grumpy about it. Angry sometimes yes but he had an amazing sense of humour. Dave was born without sight, someone with what society would say is a disability and yet it shaped his life to be a force for good in the church, a prophet for his time.
We must not assume about others’ lives.
And we should always ask how others want us to pray for them. Not having sight or not being able to walk is just as much a part of someone’s identity as being able to see or walk.
Jesus asks, so we should too. And I love this about Jesus, he wants to know what Bartimaeus really wants for himself, he gives him agency we might say.
And in this case Bartimaeus does want his sight, he says: “My teacher, let me see again”
Teacher – again he knows who he is. And he asks to see again which indicates he could once see, perhaps he had been ill or had an accident that has caused him to lose his sight.
And Jesus restores his sight saying “your faith has made you well” – your faith. Not my supernatural power but your faith, again giving the man responsibility and agency in his own life. And as a result Bartimaeus follows Jesus on the way – which could mean that he literally followed him or that he from then on followed Jesus’ teaching which was referred to as ‘The Way’
Bartimaeus gives us a stark contrast to the disciples of last week doesn’t he? When Jesus asked what they wanted they asked for power and authority, they squabbled amongst one another, they didn’t get what Jesus was about. Bartimaeus however recognises Jesus as Son of David, he simply asks for mercy and when Jesus asks of him what do you want, he just wants to see again. And then, when he restores his sight he follows him.
So what do we learn of this for ourselves?
Firstly, Jesus hears us when we cry out. When we call on him he is always listening to our pain, our needs, our desires, just as he heard Bartimaeus call out even amidst the crowd and the noise. He hears us. In the OT we read the story of Hagar who calls God El Roi – the God who sees, who sees her in her pain. Who sees us in all we face.
And be relentless in our calling out, in our prayers, our seeking of God – Bartimaeus didn’t give up because there was a crowd or because people told him to be quiet, he knew what he wanted and he carried on even louder. Dave didn’t give up when people told him he was too much, or that he needed to do things a different way, he did what God called him to.
Be relentless in your faith because Jesus sees us, and hears us.
But Jesus requires us to do something too – to be people of faith. He called Bartimaeus to come to him, a man who could not even see, who presumably had to follow the sound of his voice to come to him. Following Jesus isn’t easy, sometimes we need to take a step forward, a step of faith, a leap of faith perhaps, even when we can’t see the way ahead, because we know it is where Jesus is calling us to.
Have you ever felt God was showing you something to do but you didn’t know why or where the journey would end? I am sure you all have your own examples but I felt like that being called into ministry. It felt like God was calling me but I thought: why would God call someone like me? I mean “really God??!” I had to take little steps forward in faith, trusting the Lord all the way.
And then God asks us what we want or what we need. Of course the Lord always knows the desires of our hearts but God is not a dictator, God is a God of love who wants the best for us, wants us to be happy and fulfilled. I am sure there are times when God intervenes and says: you know I know you asked for that but maybe it’s not a good idea… but the point is we come to God with our prayers, in faith, asking of what we need and God hears us.
I think if we are honest, sometimes it can take real courage to want things to be different. Now I’m not talking about disabilities now, but generally speaking, ask yourself, are there times you have actually got used to being in a dark place or feeling like a victim? How hard is it to see a way out of that or to see a way for things to be different? Do we actually want to change? Do we feel like it is too much to ask? Or too much for what we can bear? It can be overwhelming at times to see beyond our own circumstances, I know that. We need courage to be able to hope for change, to see things differently.
But Jesus says it is our faith that makes it all work. As he said to Bartimaeus – your faith has made you well. We know that we are seen and heard. In all we face. El Roi sees us and leads us on.
Today is Bible Sunday. A day set aside in the church calendar to celebrate God’s word – of course we do this every Sunday, if not every day! But it reminds us that what we read in the Bible is true, the God we read about can be trusted.
We believe and trust in him, the one who sees us. In all things.
Amen
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