Blindness 102515
A conversation this week
about Christian Education and formation, and the announcement about my
retirement, two things that got me thinking about our ministry together. We’ve been together for almost 30 years and
much of my work has been about those two things…..then it dawns on me our life
together is also about in-formation and trans-formation. So today I want us to walk through this Bible
story in the light of I, F and T. Some
of you are here interested mostly in I: in your head learning, always seeking
more knowledge so you’ll get smarter and look impressive; some are here yearning for F: spiritual
deepening and growth; some of us have an
even deeper yearning to make a difference: T: of our own lives, of our society
and world. Its all short notes, so you might really have to pay
attention….you can pay attention at whatever depth you care about, I, F, or T.
They came to Jericho.
As he and his disciples and a large crowd were
leaving Jericho,
I We’re at a turning point, both in Mark’s
gospel and in the geography of the middle east.
Jesus has spent the first half of the gospel in Galilee, rural,
agricultural, simple. Jericho marks the
beginning of the end for Jesus….its a short trip now to Jerusalem, urban, corporate, powerful.
F Jesus doesn’t stay long anywhere. He is always on the move, journeying with
purpose, what does that say to our comfortable settledness? And I wonder: Where might we be in the
crowd….curious, hanger on, disciple, critic?
T What do you, or we, need to leave behind, to
truly be on the way with Jesus?
Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was
sitting by the roadside.
I this blind man is named….unusual. and twice named. Must be important. Naming is key. Name the person you’re talking to and you truly
acknowledge them; Name your fears and you’re on the way to overcoming them;
name your need for forgiveness and reconciliation is possible. Naming matters. My story of the man at Goodman/490 He’s blind and begging and sitting by the
side of the road….handicapped, he is separated from society, and from inclusion
in community. Having no safety net reduces such people to begging.
F Who doesn’t even know your name, or who
treats you as if you’re invisible? what
needs to be named in your life? And
maybe toughest of all: what are my blind
spots? Catch ourselves when we hear
ourselves say, I just can’t see…such and such
T who do you picture today in such a
situation? Do you know their name? what needs to happen to transform your
“seeing” that person?
When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he
began to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’
I word has evidently got around. This guy may be handicapped but he’s not
stupid. And in hope and desperation he
takes a risk
F Does it really occur to us that Jesus might
be close enough to call to? Or do we
just sit on the edge of the faith life and hope I get tossed a coin here and
there? and how about the way I regard
those with handicaps or who are different?
FB post re language…..
T transformed lives come about when we risk.
Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he
cried out even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’
I Then as now, people will tolerate beggars,
or the poor, or the handicapped or the LGBT community as long as they keep
quiet and stay out of sight. But when
they get noisy, the supposedly sighted, the privileged and the powerful move to
shut them down.
F When stuff bubbles up in our souls, do we
squash it down sternly so it doesn’t make trouble, or are we willing to pay
attention….
T our culture is full of people calling for
mercy. In what way do we as Christians, or as a congregation,
perpetuate the status quo when it comes to the marginalized people of our
village, city, nation. If we can name
that, we can be changed, tho it’s not yet a given.
Jesus
stood still and said, ‘Call him here.’
I Jesus stopped. The first pastor I worked with here, Walt
Barger, used to say that the interruptions become the agenda. That’s the Jesus way. And Jesus puts others to work, probably the
same ones who’ve been trying to keep him quiet and out of sight.
F Jesus has come calling us out of our need, that we’ve
either been quietly hiding at the side of the road, or have been screaming loud
and clear. God does indeed pay
attention. Do we?
T who do you know who is
unnoticed and needs drawn into community?
Bring a friend last week doesn’t need to be a special occasion….its a
way of life
And they called the blind man, saying to him,
‘Take heart; get up, he is calling you.’
I how fickle humans are! One minute you’re trying to shut some group
up until the tide seems to turn and you turn with it….
F encouragement is one of the spiritual gifts
God gives; it would be worth thinking about who has said words like this to
you…and to whom you might say such words
T change means
action. When we change our minds, when
we get new insights, does it make any difference?
So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and
came to Jesus.
I such is his confidence that he will be helped
by Jesus that he can set aside what a colleague called his ‘cloak of
invisibility’, that which protects him from the weather and keeps him out of
sight of the head turning passersby.
F what do you use to blend in, to make sure you
don’t stand out as a person of faith?
Jesus calls us to cast it off and get moving towards Jesus
T there are cultural systems and powers of
privilege that keep the poor and different hidden. Bus lines and schedules that prevent
movement between poor and rich areas of our county are but one example….what
would it take for you to ‘see’ someone who’s been marginalized by our society’s
structures.
Then Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to
do for you?’
I remember last Sunday, Jesus asked James and
John the same question. This week in
our Way of Forgiveness group we had an exercise in which we were to imagine God
asking us, what is your heart’s desire?.
And here it is again. Must be
important; must be God cares.
F Chances are what you really want isn’t
a Jaguar X6, but deep in the soul, in
the hidden recesses of the heart, what do I REALLY want?
T once we get in touch with our deepest
yearning, maybe transformation comes when we can, with Jesus, care about
others’ yearnings
The blind man said to him, ‘My teacher, let me see again.’
I ‘again’: he wasn’t always blind, but once had
his sight. he knows what its like to
live in community, accepted, with enough to eat and a roof over his head, and what its like to be ostracized, begging
for handouts, at the mercy of the elements.
F what blindness to I need relief from…and do I
really want to change?
T what does our congregation need to change to
really learn to notice and call people – like Jesus does
Jesus
said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’
Immediately he regained his sight and followed
him on the way.
I on the way: the way to Jerusalem, leaving
behind the comfortable practices of Galilee for the tough uphill climb to
Jerusalem, where bad things will happen. He
doesn’t go back to his old way of life, but he has a new community and he will
put his new sight and insight into that
F there are comfortable,
we’ve always done it this way, practices we need to leave behind if we are to
follow the way—whether we’re talking about our own spiritual formation as
disciples, or as a congregation, or as a nation. Transformation wasn’t just this one man’s
gift, it came to the whole community.
It’s faith that makes us ‘well’ as Jesus says, not just healed
miraculously, but well, whole.
It is our faith that can
bring wholeness to God’s world….but we must throw off our cloaks, get moving,
and follow in the way.
Amen.
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