Lectionary Reading from Mark 10:46-52
For many weeks now we have been following the journey of Jesus through Galilee toward Jerusalem as we have read the lectionary selections from the Gospel of Mark. Today’s reading from Mark 10:46-52 comes at the end of our journey when Jesus visits Jericho, the last stop on the way to Jerusalem where he will first be praised and recognized as the hoped for Messiah, then quickly rejected and killed because he doesn’t meet the expectations of the people, and because he is seen as a threat to the stability of the occupying government and more importantly undermining the authority of the local religious leaders. We will pick up the story again at Lent and follow Jesus all the way to the Cross and beyond.
This long section of Mark’s Gospel that we have read through is known as the discipleship section, for in it we are instructed by Jesus and Mark as to exactly what a disciple should be and do. Today we meet Bartimaeus, a blind man, who Mark holds up as an example of a true follower of Jesus, one who gives up all he has and begins to follow Jesus “on the way.” This simple phrase, The Way, became the name that the earliest followers of Jesus used to identify themselves before the word Christian was used.
If you study the stories about Jesus, today’s selection doesn’t really fit the pattern of a miraculous healing story. It is more like the stories of Jesus calling a new disciple. This is a story of a person who has eyes and ears opened so who Jesus is and what Jesus wants is understood and the person then follows Jesus on the way.
Our passage today begins by saying that Jesus arrived in Jericho, then it quickly begins talking about what happened when Jesus was leaving Jericho. Most Bible scholars agree that there seems to be a missing part of the story. What happened when Jesus got to Jericho? We don’t know. But true to form Jesus appears to have been teaching and healing and we expect that the news about him has spread throughout the city because a great crowd of people has surrounded him as he is leaving town for Jerusalem.
Jericho is an ancient city, according to archaeologists it is probably the oldest continually lived in human city in the world. It is also geographically the lowest city in the world sitting 750 feet below sea level. It was a town probably filled with the riff-raff of society, a town full of rebellious individuals violently opposing the occupation of their country by Rome. Given these facts and others, Jericho probably wasn’t the nicest place in the world.
Thousands of pilgrims on their way to the Temple in Jerusalem passed through the city and beggars of all types would have been a frequent sight on the streets of that city, asking those pilgrims for alms, that is for gifts of money or useful things. It is here, on the way out of town, that we find Bartimaeus sitting on his cloak which would have been spread out around him on the ground to catch the coins and other things the people would toss to him as they walked by.
Bartimaeus means the son of Timaeus, but it also literally means the son of the unclean one. Not the kind of name one would choose for oneself. Because he was blind, a condition that was very frequent at that time and caused by a very contagious condition that is still prevalent in some parts of the world, he would have been considered unclean and forbidden to go to the Temple in Jerusalem to worship. And his blind condition would have been blamed Bartimaeus, seen as punishment by God for his own sinfulness and disobedience. We still have that kind of idea lurking around our theological belief system today. You hear it when we say things like: “He must have done something really wrong for that to have happened to him,” or the opposite, “She must have done something really right to have that blessing come into her life.”
Bartimaeus, blind and begging, was living on the edge of society, rejected, overlooked, and ignored. Let me ask you a question: How do you react when you come upon someone begging on the streets? What do you think when you walk by someone wrapped up in a blanket and sleeping on a bench or even on the ground? Do you even acknowledge their presence, or do avoid looking directly at them for fear that if you did you might discover a real person who needed your help. How do you think that person lying there on the street feels about being in that situation? Is it really their own fault that they are homeless? How do you think they feel about you walking past them, ignoring them and their needs?
Thus was life for Bartimaeus…until Jesus walked by that day. The noise of the crowds alerted him to the fact that something different was going on. People were probably crying out, “Jesus of Nazareth is coming!” That wasn’t necessarily a compliment. With probable derision some would have said, “It’s just Jesus of Nazareth, that hill-billy preacher from the sticks.” Coming from Nazareth wasn’t something that one bragged about.
I grew up in Chicago in the 50’s, the child of poor white trash from the southern United States that flooded that city following World War II. We weren’t thought of very kindly by many with our different religion, different traditions, different foods, etc. In fact our catholic and orthodox neighbors called me “That Baptist Boy!” And that wasn’t meant to be a compliment. Though there were many catholic and orthodox churches all over the landscape, when we attempted to begin a new Baptist Church in a suburban community we had just moved into people actually tried to stop us. We were the hill-billies from the south, much like Jesus was the country bumpkin from Nazareth.
The title “Jesus of Nazareth” wasn’t a compliment when it was first uttered, not like we believe it to be now as another title of Jesus the Messiah when we read the scriptures. But that hick from Nazareth was causing quite a disturbance and people were clamoring to hear what he had to say, and to experience the healing that he had demonstrated he could give to those whose lives he touched. No one could ignore Jesus. Not like they could ignore Bartimaeus.
Early in our journey with Jesus, back in Chapter 8 Jesus healed another blind man. Mark makes sort of an editorial statement with that story, a story which none of the other Gospel writers include because they probably feel that it somehow doesn’t show Jesus as all-powerful as they want him to be. Why? Because, in this first healing of a blind man Jesus was unable to achieve a quick healing of the man who required a second touch in order to have his sight restored completely. Mark uses this to show that even though the disciples are told exactly what it will mean to be a disciple of Jesus, have to be retold the same thing over and over again because they continue to experience an inability to really ‘see’ and ‘hear’ what Jesus is telling them.
The disciples keep misunderstanding; keep trying to interpret what Jesus is saying based upon their own life experiences prior to meeting Jesus. Instead of taking their clues from Jesus about what his life and ministry are to mean, they take their clues from the world around them, much like you and I still do. Jesus however keeps turning their world and their understanding of the world upside down by telling them that in the new community of God they must give up claims to power and become servants to each other, and that they must go to the end of the line instead of claiming first place for themselves.
Yet, just like us, we know that they keep on failing to hear and see and they continue to argue among themselves about who will be the most important in Jesus’ kingdom when he is recognized as the new leader of their country. But instead of a political or religious kingdom, Jesus is trying to establish a new kind of spiritual community totally unlike anything they have ever known before.
The crowds follow along after Jesus, but it is Bartimaeus who has to truly identify Jesus for them: “Jesus, son of David. Have mercy on me. Heal me!”
Isn’t it strange though that on this day while walking through Jericho that when the blind Bartimaeus recognizes that this is Jesus, not Jesus the hick preacher from Nazareth, but Jesus the son of David, Jesus the Messiah, the one who will bring wholeness and healing to the world, the one who has come to restore justice and peace to the world, that the crowds tell Bartimaeus to be silent, to shut up. Just a few days later the crowds will indeed hail Jesus as the son of David as he enters Jerusalem. However their acclaim will be short lived for in less than a week they will clamor for his death on the cross.
Part of the reaction of the crowd in telling Bartimaeus to shut up was simply their failure to hear the truth about Jesus that he was yelling. But it is also that he is physically keeping them from paying attention to Jesus, the most current news sensation. Bartimaeus is taking their attention away from Jesus and making them pay attention to Bartimaeus, to a person that they would rather ignore and pretend doesn’t exist. The interesting thing about this situation is that it is Bartimaeus who is truly tuned into who Jesus is and what Jesus is saying, and the crowds who aren’t really listening, aren’t getting it. They are blind and deaf to the truth of Jesus. They can see but they can’t believe! Bartimaeus who can’t see, is the only one who believes!
You’d think that the disciples, fresh from the previous discussions with Jesus about who would be first in the new Community of God, would be running to this man to serve him and to bring him, the least of these, to Jesus. But they don’t. They don’t even try to hush the crowds who are telling Bartimaeus to shut up. They are probably enjoying the sensation Jesus is causing and they could care less about any beggar on the street, especially a beggar that is trying to steal the show away from Jesus.
However, as Mark writes the story, Bartimaeus has an important role to play in this story. He is the ancient blind soothsayer who though he can’t see physically, can spiritually see clearer than anyone else. Bartimaeus will not be shut up. Bartimaeus calls out even louder: “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. Heal me.”
He calls out so loudly that Jesus stops and tells the people around him to call Bartimaeus to come to him.
I love what they say to the blind man: “Cheer up. On your feet. Jesus is calling you.” I don’t know about you but there have been times in my life when I’ve been so low, so depressed, that I didn’t even think there could be any way for me to look up, to find anything positive to hold on to, to hope for. I could have used someone telling me to “Cheer up. Get on your feet. Jesus is calling you.” Can you imagine the joy that filled Bartimaeus at this moment. Can you imagine the hope that captured him and drove him forward to meet the Savior?
Just a few days before this Jesus met a rich young man who asked him what he could do to inherit eternal life. Jesus tells him he must keep the commandments of God. The rich young man states that he has kept all the commandments. Mark records that Jesus had compassion for this young man, which means that he believed the young man was being truthful, and he tells him to “sell what you have and give it all to the poor. And come and follow me.” Mark tells us that the young man becomes immediately depressed and goes away in sorrow because he has great wealth. He could not follow Jesus because he was not willing to let go of what he had. How many of us are failing to follow Jesus because we cannot let go of what we have, of who we are, of what life is like for us right now. We are afraid to give ourselves to God because we aren’t sure we’ll like what God will give to us, so we hang on to what we have, what we are, and we fail to follow Jesus.
But Bartimaeus gives up everything to follow Jesus. He jumps up and leaves his cloak behind. The cloak symbolizes the very life he is currently leading for the cloak is the way he collects the alms that people throw to him. It is his means of life. But he gives it up as a sign of his faith and trust and he goes to Jesus. He knows that he won't need it again; he's confident that he won't be returning to his spot by the side of the road, begging in order to live. Resner describes this beautifully: "Faith sits, leaning forward, ready to leap at the opportunity to answer God's call whenever it might come, and it shows itself willing to shed whatever holds it back from the journey
Jesus asks Bartimaeus the exact same question he had asked John and James when they wanted to ask him a favor: “What is it that you want me to do for you?” Again, I think Mark is using the question to point out the extreme differences between the disciples James and John and the true disciple Bartimaeus.
John and James wanted to claim first place in the New Kingdom that they thought Jesus would establish when he arrived in Jerusalem. They wanted power and fame, glory and honor, prestige and wealth. But Jesus said he couldn’t give that to them. Bartimaeus answers by asking Jesus to heal him. And Jesus gives him what he asks for.
Healing in the Old and New Testaments wasn’t just about healing a person from a physical problem, but healing them emotionally and spiritually as well as economically and socially also. Look at the story of Job which was also part of today’s lectionary readings but which we don’t have time to cover. Job’s healing and restoration was complete in all the ways I’ve just listed. Biblical healing was not seen as only affecting you physically, but healing was of your whole life, everything you are and everything you would be. Healing in the scriptures is complete healing of every aspect of your life. That’s what Bartimaeus asks for and that’s what Bartimaeus was given: Total, complete healing.
What does Bartimaeus do now that he has been completely healed? Well, he doesn’t return to his old life. Mark records that Bartimaeus follows Jesus on the way. On the Way meant to become a disciple of Jesus. Bartimaeus is seen as the perfect disciple, the one who truly does see who Jesus is, who hears what Jesus is saying and understands, who gives up all he has and follows Jesus. The fact that we were given his name means that Bartimaeus was probably someone that Mark’s community knew about, someone whose story was often told and retold much like we in Metropolitan Community Churches tell the story of Rev. Elder Troy Perry who began the first MCC church and led our denomination during its formative years.
Cynthia Jarvis hits home when she urges us to "[t]hink of those for whom faith is a matter of life and death rather than social convention." Bartimaeus didn't care what people thought, and didn't let anything deter him from reaching Jesus. For him, following Jesus wasn't just a good idea or a nice self-improvement program or the thing to do or a good habit to form. For Bartimaeus, as for so many others, trusting that Jesus cares about them and wills good for them is indeed a matter of life and death. If this is a story about values, as all stories of discipleship might be described (David Watson), then finding our place in the story means asking ourselves what we truly value, what we would be willing to leave everything behind for. What's the cloak we need to abandon? Who, or better, what is keeping us from reaching, and following, Jesus?
As members of the Queer Community we should like Job, and Bartimaeus refuses to comply and internalize our marginalization. Bartimaeus refuses to let others tell him that he is not worthy to speak to Jesus. On this election week when we are hopeful that Referendum 71 will be approved and we will be able to enjoy the same rights and responsibilities with our domestic partners as those who are legally married, we should remember Bartimaeus' example. Bartimaeus is not the only person in the story who needs healing. He is physically challenged, but those who try to prevent him from reaching Jesus are also in need of spiritual healing. Despite all that is going on to silence and marginalize the LGBT community, we must resist buying into those false beliefs about who and whose we are. Many of us shake our heads in disbelief as we observe the hysteria of those who would rather we just went away. Efforts for constitutional amendments, religious trials, threats of denominational schisms seem like a lot of energy to expend trying to exclude us. Given the entire hullabaloo, it is easy to understand why we characterize it as "homophobia."
In the midst of all that, we bear witness to the Spirit of Christ alive in us and should not be overwhelmed or defeated with denominational pronouncements or constitutional amendments. While the final outcome of these efforts does matter to our daily lives, we must also remember that those who oppose us are the very ones Christ has called us to love and serve. Moreover, we are not the only ones brutalized by religious hostility and indifference. There are many non-LGBT people who are also cast aside because of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, class or ability. We must not become so focused on our own struggles that we forget to take time to advocate for others who are marginalized.
We begin a journey as a church this week. This is stewardship month when we ask our members and friends to make a commitment of how much you will give to support the work and ministry of MCC Seattle in 2010. We usually do this by talking about money, by talking about how much we need to pay our bills, to pay my housing allowance as your part time pastor, to pay the rent on this chapel. But we’re not going to talk about those things this year. Because that kind of talk keeps us looking down, keeps us from looking up, keeps us from asking ourselves what is it that Jesus is calling us to do. Instead of thinking about stewardship as only money we need to think of stewardship as committing our time, our talents, and our treasure to God for God’s use in whatever way God desires. We need to stop worrying about paying the bills and start worrying about what it would really mean if we would give up all those things we are holding onto and really got up, and followed Jesus on the way.
It’s time we stopped basing our decisions about our budget on what we have done last year and start basing our budget and our actions on what God wants us to do. God isn’t limited by budgets and buildings and neither should we allow ourselves to be limited by such things. God may have so much more waiting for us if we would step out in faith and trust God like Bartimaeus did. I don’t know what that would mean for me or you, any more than Bartimaeus did that day in Jericho. I have hope, just like he had that Jesus will heal us physically, spiritually, economically and socially. We’ve got to give up our limited thinking and start seeking God’s will no matter where that will lead us, and no matter how much that might cost us.
I hope you will join me and Bartimaeus this year and step out in faith and trust, leaving behind whatever hampers us from achieving God’s will in our lives, and get up and follow Jesus on the Way. Get Up. Get on your feet. Jesus is calling you!
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