Sermon – Vision Problems Rev. Sandy Lacey October 27, 2024
For those of you who are parents, I wonder if you might be similar to me in that you have won the “worst parent in the world” award on at least one occasion. And no, I am not talking about the times the kids give us that designation because we insist on something ridiculous that “no other parent in the world does,” such as demand to know where they are and who they are with at midnight during their high school years. No, I am talking about the times we actually earn the award because we neglected something that we should not have. Paul was in middle school and among his many complaints at the time, he whined about not being able to see road signs that were a certain distance away. We brushed off his complaint; after all, he had never complained about being able to see the blackboard in any of his classes at school. One night, however, we were outside at our home in South Alabama, talking about the many beautiful stars in the night sky. Mike was pointing out the constellations and Paul said to me, “are there any stars out, Mom, cause I don’t see any.” Mike and I looked at each other and realized we were idiots. Instead of shushing him in our minds, we should have asked him better questions that would help us understand that he really was near-sighted and needed glasses. For context in today’s Gospel passage in Mark, last week we heard from two of Jesus’ disciples, James and John. They asked Jesus to grant something for them and Jesus asks them, “what would you like me to do for you?” Their response, as you may remember from last week was, “grant that we may sit next to you, one on the right and one on the left, when you come into power.” Jesus used their request to (once again) teach the disciples about what it means for him to be the Messiah. He reminded them that his kind of power will mean losing his life, and if they are to be his followers, the same will be true for them. Today’s passage is right after that lesson and right before Jesus and his followers make their triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Mark’s Gospel includes today’s Bartimaeus story in a section that deals with physical and spiritual blindness. It begins with restoring sight to the blind man at Bethsaida in chapter 8; then Jesus foretells his suffering, rejection, and death and Peter rebukes him (also in chapter 8); then in chapter 9, Jesus discusses further his upcoming suffering and death while the disciples are afraid to say anything this time; then the disciples argue among themselves about who is the greatest in chapter 9; then we have James and John’s request in chapter 10 to be seated next to Jesus; and now Bartimaeus requests healing of his blindness.[1] Bartimaeus may have been blind, but he sure seems to have seen Jesus more clearly than the disciples. He was an outsider because of his ailment, probably always sitting near the city gate begging for food. It is likely that people considered him a nuisance and probably would throw him a few coins here and there to get him to be quiet. It is unusual that we know his name because often the people on the margins of that culture remain nameless in the stories we read. Blind Bartimaeus is sitting by the road as usual, but he hears that Jesus of Nazareth is walking by, so he starts shouting. We do not know how he knows of Jesus, but word of Jesus’ miracles and healings must have traveled fast. And Bartimaeus does not shout just anything, but he calls Jesus the King. “Son of David” was a political and religious title, referring to Jesus being the King of Israel. It is no wonder the crowd tried to keep him quiet. (They did not want the Romans to take notice and decide the crowd is planning a political uprising.) People always want to shush the outsiders, the desperate, the lonely. We try to shush them because we do not like to be reminded of our privilege and our responsibility because of that privilege. We have important things to do, important people to visit, and there is not enough time or resources to spend on the outsiders, the desperate, the lonely. After all, if we spend our time and resources on them, it will make it difficult for us to reach our goals. Plus, you know, we are unlikely to get anything in return. Those poor people will never become pledgers. They are unlikely to serve on the Faith Formation committee or any other committee for that matter. Our resources are limited so let’s use our resources on people who give back, or at least make us look good. We’ll just throw a few of our leftovers to the outsiders/the desperate, and then we can feel good about reaching out to the lost in our community. But if they start making noise or, heaven forbid, if they band together and demand notice; if they want more than what we are willing to give, we must shush them and tell them they need to be grateful for anything they receive. That was the way then and oftentimes, more than what we like to admit, that is the way now. The disciples had places to go, people to see, and kings to overthrow. And we have places to go, people to see, and budgets to meet. But what about what we have been learning these last few weeks from the Gospel of Mark – Jesus says we are here to serve the lost, the outsiders, the desperate, the lonely. Jesus says we are to do so even if it means we end up giving our lives away. The last will be first, Jesus says, and we better get our priorities straight. Blind Bartimaeus was an outsider and he refused to be shushed. Good for him. He knew who Jesus was and that he could change his life. “Have mercy on me!” he says. So, while the disciples and everyone else shushes him, Jesus stops in his tracks and calls him forward. Why? Was it his desperation? Was it his refusal to be shushed? Was it Jesus’ compassion for the least and the lost? Was Jesus appalled at the disciples’ behavior toward this man? Why did Jesus allow this interruption on his journey? And didn’t the disciples change their tune when Jesus calls for him! Jesus asks the same question of Bartimaeus that he asked his two disciples earlier in the journey, “What do you want me to do for you?” This time the response is a good one, “Rabbouni – my teacher, I want to see again.” And Jesus does just that – he restores his sight . . . and the man follows him on the way. Similarly, in our O.T. lesson today, Job responds to God by saying that he has been blind to how God works in the world, but now he sees. He repents (which means, he “turns around,”) and he leaves his lament of dust and ashes to praise God and recognize God’s awesomeness. He has received his sight once again. Other than restoration of sight, Mark’s Gospel has another theme. There is a contrast between the insiders and the outsiders all throughout Mark’s Gospel. The insiders of religion – the chief priests, the Pharisees, the Saducees, the people in power – don’t get it; they do not understand who Jesus is and what God is really about. The insider disciples have their own difficulty. They simply do not understand Jesus and his ministry even though they are learning from Jesus every day. They plod through the Gospel, following Jesus, but often ask stupid questions, close their ears to Jesus’ message, and miss the point. The outsiders, however, in Mark’s Gospel, they get it. They understand who Jesus is and what he is about – beginning with the man possessed by demons, to the actual demons themselves, to Gentile women, to blind, deaf, and hungry people – the outsiders in Mark know who Jesus is and they call him by name and they call him by his appropriate title. Mark seems to make a special effort to demonstrate for us just how blind the insider disciples are in comparison to those who are on the outside looking in. For Mark, blind Bartimaeus is not as blind as Jesus’ disciples. I suspect that some things never change and there are many times in which we disciples get it wrong today and are blind to who Jesus is and what he would have us do. When are we like James and John, requesting places of power and privilege while ignoring or shushing those shouting for mercy from the margins of our culture? Who do we not want to hear from? Over the five years I have been here, I have heard some of us from this church lament that we are not known in the city of Rockledge. Can you imagine the best way to be known in this community? Is it to be known as a church that serves and reaches out to others? Friends, there are a lot of outsiders who are feeling desperate, angry, threatened, and who are in need of the kind of restored sight that only Jesus can give. We have a mission and there is work to be done. We are responsible for recognizing the lost and desperate as they call out for God’s mercy. We will surely miss the point if we shush them or ignore them. Instead, we are responsible for hearing them and for standing alongside them. We must be willing to be interrupted from our own agendas and we must be willing to bring them to Jesus. We know who Jesus is. He is the one who makes the blind to see. There are no insiders and outsiders in Jesus’ eyes – we are all one in Christ’s name. Can you not see it? AMEN.
[1] Victor McCracken, “Theological Perspective” in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year B, Volume 4. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009.) p. 212.
For those of you who are parents, I wonder if you might be similar to me in that you have won the “worst parent in the world” award on at least one occasion. And no, I am not talking about the times the kids give us that designation because we insist on something ridiculous that “no other parent in the world does,” such as demand to know where they are and who they are with at midnight during their high school years. No, I am talking about the times we actually earn the award because we neglected something that we should not have. Paul was in middle school and among his many complaints at the time, he whined about not being able to see road signs that were a certain distance away. We brushed off his complaint; after all, he had never complained about being able to see the blackboard in any of his classes at school. One night, however, we were outside at our home in South Alabama, talking about the many beautiful stars in the night sky. Mike was pointing out the constellations and Paul said to me, “are there any stars out, Mom, cause I don’t see any.” Mike and I looked at each other and realized we were idiots. Instead of shushing him in our minds, we should have asked him better questions that would help us understand that he really was near-sighted and needed glasses. For context in today’s Gospel passage in Mark, last week we heard from two of Jesus’ disciples, James and John. They asked Jesus to grant something for them and Jesus asks them, “what would you like me to do for you?” Their response, as you may remember from last week was, “grant that we may sit next to you, one on the right and one on the left, when you come into power.” Jesus used their request to (once again) teach the disciples about what it means for him to be the Messiah. He reminded them that his kind of power will mean losing his life, and if they are to be his followers, the same will be true for them. Today’s passage is right after that lesson and right before Jesus and his followers make their triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Mark’s Gospel includes today’s Bartimaeus story in a section that deals with physical and spiritual blindness. It begins with restoring sight to the blind man at Bethsaida in chapter 8; then Jesus foretells his suffering, rejection, and death and Peter rebukes him (also in chapter 8); then in chapter 9, Jesus discusses further his upcoming suffering and death while the disciples are afraid to say anything this time; then the disciples argue among themselves about who is the greatest in chapter 9; then we have James and John’s request in chapter 10 to be seated next to Jesus; and now Bartimaeus requests healing of his blindness.[1] Bartimaeus may have been blind, but he sure seems to have seen Jesus more clearly than the disciples. He was an outsider because of his ailment, probably always sitting near the city gate begging for food. It is likely that people considered him a nuisance and probably would throw him a few coins here and there to get him to be quiet. It is unusual that we know his name because often the people on the margins of that culture remain nameless in the stories we read. Blind Bartimaeus is sitting by the road as usual, but he hears that Jesus of Nazareth is walking by, so he starts shouting. We do not know how he knows of Jesus, but word of Jesus’ miracles and healings must have traveled fast. And Bartimaeus does not shout just anything, but he calls Jesus the King. “Son of David” was a political and religious title, referring to Jesus being the King of Israel. It is no wonder the crowd tried to keep him quiet. (They did not want the Romans to take notice and decide the crowd is planning a political uprising.) People always want to shush the outsiders, the desperate, the lonely. We try to shush them because we do not like to be reminded of our privilege and our responsibility because of that privilege. We have important things to do, important people to visit, and there is not enough time or resources to spend on the outsiders, the desperate, the lonely. After all, if we spend our time and resources on them, it will make it difficult for us to reach our goals. Plus, you know, we are unlikely to get anything in return. Those poor people will never become pledgers. They are unlikely to serve on the Faith Formation committee or any other committee for that matter. Our resources are limited so let’s use our resources on people who give back, or at least make us look good. We’ll just throw a few of our leftovers to the outsiders/the desperate, and then we can feel good about reaching out to the lost in our community. But if they start making noise or, heaven forbid, if they band together and demand notice; if they want more than what we are willing to give, we must shush them and tell them they need to be grateful for anything they receive. That was the way then and oftentimes, more than what we like to admit, that is the way now. The disciples had places to go, people to see, and kings to overthrow. And we have places to go, people to see, and budgets to meet. But what about what we have been learning these last few weeks from the Gospel of Mark – Jesus says we are here to serve the lost, the outsiders, the desperate, the lonely. Jesus says we are to do so even if it means we end up giving our lives away. The last will be first, Jesus says, and we better get our priorities straight. Blind Bartimaeus was an outsider and he refused to be shushed. Good for him. He knew who Jesus was and that he could change his life. “Have mercy on me!” he says. So, while the disciples and everyone else shushes him, Jesus stops in his tracks and calls him forward. Why? Was it his desperation? Was it his refusal to be shushed? Was it Jesus’ compassion for the least and the lost? Was Jesus appalled at the disciples’ behavior toward this man? Why did Jesus allow this interruption on his journey? And didn’t the disciples change their tune when Jesus calls for him! Jesus asks the same question of Bartimaeus that he asked his two disciples earlier in the journey, “What do you want me to do for you?” This time the response is a good one, “Rabbouni – my teacher, I want to see again.” And Jesus does just that – he restores his sight . . . and the man follows him on the way. Similarly, in our O.T. lesson today, Job responds to God by saying that he has been blind to how God works in the world, but now he sees. He repents (which means, he “turns around,”) and he leaves his lament of dust and ashes to praise God and recognize God’s awesomeness. He has received his sight once again. Other than restoration of sight, Mark’s Gospel has another theme. There is a contrast between the insiders and the outsiders all throughout Mark’s Gospel. The insiders of religion – the chief priests, the Pharisees, the Saducees, the people in power – don’t get it; they do not understand who Jesus is and what God is really about. The insider disciples have their own difficulty. They simply do not understand Jesus and his ministry even though they are learning from Jesus every day. They plod through the Gospel, following Jesus, but often ask stupid questions, close their ears to Jesus’ message, and miss the point. The outsiders, however, in Mark’s Gospel, they get it. They understand who Jesus is and what he is about – beginning with the man possessed by demons, to the actual demons themselves, to Gentile women, to blind, deaf, and hungry people – the outsiders in Mark know who Jesus is and they call him by name and they call him by his appropriate title. Mark seems to make a special effort to demonstrate for us just how blind the insider disciples are in comparison to those who are on the outside looking in. For Mark, blind Bartimaeus is not as blind as Jesus’ disciples. I suspect that some things never change and there are many times in which we disciples get it wrong today and are blind to who Jesus is and what he would have us do. When are we like James and John, requesting places of power and privilege while ignoring or shushing those shouting for mercy from the margins of our culture? Who do we not want to hear from? Over the five years I have been here, I have heard some of us from this church lament that we are not known in the city of Rockledge. Can you imagine the best way to be known in this community? Is it to be known as a church that serves and reaches out to others? Friends, there are a lot of outsiders who are feeling desperate, angry, threatened, and who are in need of the kind of restored sight that only Jesus can give. We have a mission and there is work to be done. We are responsible for recognizing the lost and desperate as they call out for God’s mercy. We will surely miss the point if we shush them or ignore them. Instead, we are responsible for hearing them and for standing alongside them. We must be willing to be interrupted from our own agendas and we must be willing to bring them to Jesus. We know who Jesus is. He is the one who makes the blind to see. There are no insiders and outsiders in Jesus’ eyes – we are all one in Christ’s name. Can you not see it? AMEN.
[1] Victor McCracken, “Theological Perspective” in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year B, Volume 4. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009.) p. 212.
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[1] Victor McCracken, “Theological Perspective” in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year B, Volume 4. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009.) p. 212.