Rev. Betsy Aldrich Garland
October 25, 2009
Mark 10:46-52

Take Heart!

This morning’s text is an interesting little passage that lends itself to being read in four parts. If we were casting it as a play, we would need a narrator who is telling the story, a beggar who calls out to Jesus, a crowd who doesn’t want this aggravation – and Jesus who is stopped in his tracks.

The narrator sets the scene, provides the stage directions, and gives the actors their cues. He tells us that Jesus has just left Jericho and is working his way toward Jerusalem – where Jesus is aware what will happen to him. But right now, Jesus is at the peak of his popularity and is surrounded not only by his disciples but by many others who have joined the trip. They want to witness the restoration of Israel when, they expect, Jesus takes over the city.

Bartimaeus, which means the “son of Timeaus,” a blind beggar, hears them coming. He has heard about Jesus and knows some-thing about his lineage. So when he calls out to Jesus, he refers to him as “Son of David.” Perhaps, when he was sighted, he studied at the synagogue, and he knew about the ancient prophecies. But now he hears the commotion, and someone tells him that Jesus is passing nearby. This is an opportunity too good to miss. And Bartimaeus calls out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Think of his courage and audacity. Bartimaeus doesn’t even have a name of his own. He lives on the edge of society, a nobody, reduced to begging for his livelihood, sitting on the sidelines, listening to the world go by. Who does he think he is, to bother Jesus!

We know about Bartimaeus. He is every one of us who is marginalized because of the color of our skin, or our sexual preference, or our disability, or our mental illness. Because we have lost our job, or have AIDS, or are homeless. He is every one of us who is tired of being overlooked, discounted, ignored. He is an “outsider” in this crowd of “insiders.”

“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” The crowd turns on him: “Be quiet!” They do not need this interruption. They and the disciples have their own agenda. They are hurrying to Jerusalem, to what they think will be a triumphal entry. This is the Jesus team – on the way to the party! They do not need to be delayed by one more beggar. They’ve seen enough poverty already.

We know about this crowd. They look a lot like us, good Christian folk. We are busy with our families and our jobs, more than we can manage most of the time. We don’t need interruptions and surprises; our plates are full enough. We don’t want to know about poverty and war and the swine flu. We have enough to worry about, thank you!

Did you tell me that there are more than 120,000 children in the United States who are orphaned and legally free for adoption? Did you tell me that their care costs taxpayers $283 million per day?1 Why do I need to know that? That’s the government’s problem. Never mind what scripture says about caring for rphans. Those orphans need to “Be quiet!”

Did you tell me that there are more than 27 million slaves in the world today? That’s more than were kept at the height of the transatlantic slave trade. Many of them are children, child laborers in developing countries, who work from dawn to dark for mere pennies a week to support their families – who will never get out of debt.2 Many are young women, kidnapped or sold by destitute families and sent overseas to service massage parlors, like the ones in our own communities. They live out of suitcases, given little to eat, and moved every few days to a new city to keep them disoriented and afraid. Why do I need to know about this? It’s the legislature’s problem. They need to pass a human trafficking bill so the police can do something. But that will step on powerful toes. Never mind what the scripture says about the divine in each of us. Those slaves need to “Be quiet!”

Did you tell me that pornography is a private pandemic? Can you believe this? Annual porn-industry revenue is larger than the revenues of Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo! and Apple combined.3 We don’t want to know these things. We would like them to go away – or “Be quiet!” We want to sit around our peace pole in peace.

Jesus hears Bartimaeus calling. It stops him in his tracks. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” “Call him here,” Jesus says to the crowd. I wonder if Jesus had noticed Bartimaeus by the side of the road, sitting there with a few coins tossed into his lap. I wonder why he stopped for this man when there must have been so many.... “Take heart; get up, he is calling you,” the crowd says. Bartimaeus springs up, throws off his cloak, and finds his way to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asks. “My teacher, let me see again.”

But Bartimaeus is the one who already sees – though he is blind; while the disciples see – but are yet spiritually blind to the truth about Jesus. “Go, your faith has made you well,” Jesus says to Bartimaeus who immediately regains his sight and leaves behind all he has to follow this Jesus – this Jesus – the compassionate Christ who has come to heal the physical brokenness of the world, our brokenness.

Take heart! God is working in our world. We do not have to respond by ourselves to cries for mercy. Consider the restoring of Bartimaeus’ sight. Miracles abound! And what is a miracle? One commentator wrote,

Miracles are those events that bring people from darkness into the light. Miracles turn our attention to what really matters in life and in death. Miracles claim no power, but reveal a Power who wills to be known. Miracles point beyond the one before us to the One who made us for love’s sake. “Miracle, as such,” wrote a theologian, “means the activity of God.”4

“What do you want me to for you?” Jesus asks. While conflicts rage across the world, and drug trafficking ruins lives, and terrorism frightens in North Smithfield, “. . . teacher, let [us] see again.” Expect a miracle!

“What do you want me to for you?” Jesus asks? When we lose our jobs or have our hours cut, when our marriage disintegrates or our children get into trouble, when we lose our zest for life or health care is denied, “. . . teacher, let [us] see again.” Expect a miracle!

“What do you want me to for you?” Jesus asks? When we receive our pledges next Sunday – expect a miracle! Our pledges will be sufficient to call a new settled minister. Together, we can make it so! For we are a great and faithful church with much to contribute to this community.

Take heart, have faith – and believe!

Amen.

1. Homiletics, September – October 2009, p. 70.
2. Ibid., p. 70-71.
3. Ibid., p. 71.
4. Rudolf Bultmann, Jesus and the Word (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1962) p.177 as quoted in Feasting on the Word, Year B, Volume 4, p. 214.