Believing and Being Seen to Believe

Lectionary 30 – Pentecost + 23

Year B

27 October 2024

Job 42:1-6, 10-17

Psalm 34:1-8 (19-22)

Hebrews 7:23:28

Mark 10:46-52

O Jesus Christ, teacher and healer,

you heard the cry of the blind beggar

when others would have silenced him.

Teach us to be attentive

to the voices others ignore,

and, by the power of the Spirit,

respond in your name to heal the afflicted

and welcome the abandoned;

for your sake and the sake of the gospel. Amen.

________________________________________

When I was thinking about today’s sermon, I not only looked at the readings assigned for today, but I also contemplated the time of year.

In the calendar, today, the Lutheran Church celebrates the Reformation. Today they recall the steps Martin Luther took to try to address and redress the abuses of the Church toward its own people.

At this time of the year, we see the efforts of the early reformers to bring the love of God, the love found in the gospel, into all lives and hearts, and this brings me back to today’s gospel.

In the gospel, we see Bartimaeus, or more specifically, we don’t see him.

You see, Bartimaeus is a blind man who begs at the gate of the city of Jericho.

He’s there every day, day in, day out, he’s found there, sitting by the side of the road, wrapped in his cloak, his begging bowl before him.

No matter the weather or the day there he is: invisible to most of the people because he’s always there.

But this hasn’t always been the case.

Before he lost his sight, he had a life, and a trade. He saw the love of his spouse. He watched his children learn, play, and grow. But something happened, he lost his sight, and the only thing left to him to earn a bit of money was by begging at the gate of the city.

The gospel tells us: “As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. 47When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’” (Mark 10:46b-47)

He's heard of Jesus, as he sits by the gate to the city, and here he recognizes someone who has the ability to allow him to not only see and be seen, but to once more watch his children play. In Jesus he sees the person who is able to allow him to see the love of his spouse, and to see the beauty of the sunset, once more.

He believes.

He has faith in Jesus’ ability to heal him, and to let him have his life back.

But there’s a glitch.

To the people of Jericho, he’s invisible and someone who is invisible has no voice.

They don’t see Bartimaeus as an individual. Instead, they see, when they bother to look, “the blind beggar … sitting by the roadside.” (Mk 10:46b)

So, when this blind beggar, hearing Jesus and the crowd pass by calls out causing the people to try to silence him. He seizes the moment when such change is possible, such an outcome is able to happen, and the people try to keep him quiet, in the background, voiceless.

“47When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ 48Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’” (Mk 10:47-48)

“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (vs 47b)

Bartimaeus calls out.

He begs, not for money, today, but for an opportunity that will not come his way again.

He pleads with the one who is sent into the world to change how we not only see ourselves, but each other, as we look at the world through the eyes of Christ.

So, given that today we remember the Reformation, how do we see the world around us?

How are we seen in, through, and by the world?

Are we such fixtures in our life that we’ve become invisible to the world? Standing on the outskirts as life happens all around?

Are we stuck in the patterns that the world dictates until any sudden change brings repressing and harsh words?

But to stay in the patterns and the roles dictated by the world has the ability to stifle us. It takes away our voice, our actions, and it silences us in our lives of faith, all the while supressing the love and grace of God for all the world.

One of the world’s favourite bible passages is John 3:16. It tells us: “16 ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16)

On its own this is a very stern and commanding verse. It demands that we believe. But this isn’t God’s intent, as we see in verse 17, which tells us: “17 ‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (Jn 3:17)

And this brings us back to Bartimaeus. It brings us back to the efforts of the Reformers to bring us into the light of God’s love.

When the world makes such demanding assertion as we see in John 3:16, we forget the people who are involved.

In John 3 we see Jesus on the rooftop, in the night, with Nicodemus, a leader of the people. Nicodemus is a voice on the ruling council, and he’s come in the night to understand his life of faith and to seek wisdom.

And Jesus tells him “16 ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

17 ‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (Jn 3:16-17)

Jesus came to show us how to live in God’s love and how, in that love, we fulfill God’s law.

The people of Jericho know that Bartimaeus sits at the gate and begs. They probably get a sense of self-righteous fulfillment from putting the occasional coin into his begging bowl or making sure that he receives the occasional support from a community food bank, or hamper program.

But instead of accepting his place as an object of society, Bartimaeus challenges their perceptions to reclaim his identity and his place in society, and he has the faith that through Jesus this is, indeed, possible.

So, he calls out.

He refuses to be silenced.

“48Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ 49Jesus stood still and said, ‘Call him here.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; get up, he is calling you.’” (Mk 10:48-49)

When we stand up, when we come before Jesus not only do we challenge the ways of the world, but we have faith that with God, with Jesus all things are, indeed, possible.

Bartimaeus desires his sight back and he believes this is possible through Jesus.

Luther believed there was a way to be church that lifted up all people and introduced them to the love and grace of God found in the gospels, in the New Testament.

How are we able to step outside of the roles that society has and continues to dictate to each one of us to bring the love of God to those who beg for God’s mercy?

Bartimaeus gives us his example. “He began to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ 48Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ “ (Mk 10:47b-48)

He takes the ire of the community to not only get Jesus’ attention, but he also shows that he’s not part of the landscape. Rather, he’s a fully functioning member of the community.

And when he gets Jesus’ attention, Jesus’ response, has everyone all around him, today, surprised.

“51Then Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man said to him, ‘My teacher, let me see again.’ 52Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.” (Mk 10:51-52)

What kind of faith did Bartimaeus bring to this experience?

In truth only Jesus fully knows, but we can go by what we see taking place.

This blind man has faith that Jesus is the Messiah. That he is the one who believes that Jesus is able to return him to a state of being able to see the world around him once more.

“52Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’” (Mk 10:52a)

When we take Bartimaeus’ example to heart, we embrace the idea that through God all things are possible, when we believe that through God all things are, indeed, possible.

At the same time, we are able to look back through our own history as the Christian community. We are able to see the efforts of the Reformers to correct the abuses of the church of their day. We are able to embrace their desire for all people to experience the love of God.

With faith and belief at the heart of our actions not only will we not be silenced by the world, but we will see the will of God made real in our lives, in our hearts, and in the world all around us.

Amen.