|
First
Reading
|
Psalm |
Epistle |
Gospel |
| Jeremiah 31:7-9
|
Psalm 34:1–8 |
Hebrews
7:23–28
|
Mark 10:
46–52
|
Many of you know that I was away at a conference last week. Our conference leader1 began by sharing the story of his young son, who one day came home from school, saying to this mother, “Mom, we are studying dinosaurs, look what I have!” He showed her a picture of a gigantic dinosaur towering over a two-story house. Then he asked his mother, “When did we kill off all the dinosaurs so that it would be safe for houses to be built and kids to be outside to play?” “Well,” replied his mother, “we didn’t kill off the dinosaurs, and we don’t know exactly how they were eliminated. Many scientists believe that it was a result of an ice age when the plants the dinosaurs ate were frozen out and the dinosaurs starved. Others suggest it was a giant meteorite that caused a great change in the temperature and dinosaurs could not adapt and survive in the cold. Nonetheless, it was the result of tremendous climate change that humans were able to build cities and children were able to play outside, not the result of a successful hunting campaign.” Our leader went on to suggest that in similar fashion the task of the church was not necessarily to slay giant dragons, as much as it was to change the climate so that the Gospel may flourish.
The Gospels contain stories of Jesus healing all kinds of sickness. People approach Jesus, Jesus welcomes them, responds to their needs, and off they go, never to be heard from again. In most instances, their names were never recorded. Bartimaeus was different. He was the one who after he gained his sight, followed Jesus. Bartimaeus, even though he was blind, was the one who saw Jesus and understood that God was calling him to a whole new existence.
Jericho was the final stop where pilgrims, going to the Temple for the holidays, would stock up on supplies and hence it was also a good place for beggars to station themselves. The town served as the final way station for Jesus on the journey to Jerusalem and the way to the cross. After leaving the towns around Galilee, Jesus had been trying to teach the close disciples the difficult aspects about his mission and the nature of genuine discipleship. Yet when Jesus mentioned suffering, the disciples were soon off on a tangent, discussing who was going to be the greatest, or who would sit closest to the throne of power in Jesus’ royal court. The disciples became mainly concerned over how and when Jesus was going to meet their own expectations.
Bartimaeus, on the other hand, grasped what Jesus’ vision of a new commonwealth really involved. Bartimaeus had so much more insight than the disciples, and it was that vision which led Bartimaeus to discipleship. Others saw Jesus’ free gift of salvation as a simple solution to all their problems and nothing more. Bartimaeus recognized God’s wonderful gift, as a call to follow and as an incredible offer of citizenship in another reality.
Today the Gospel is asking each of us, what do we really want from Jesus? Do we see Jesus as our personal errand boy or as our Savior? Are we self-absorbed with our own needs or does our insight into Jesus lead us to seek God’s expansive reality? No parish will ever grow if the only question that is asked by its people is primarily framed in terms of “is the church meeting our needs”. Parishes that concentrate on such questions need to get a life, a totally new life! Parishes that are mature enough to feast on solid food of the Gospel know that the critical questions always involve testing “what is God’s call to us” and asking “are we faithful to that call”. That is why it doesn’t matter that much of what Bartimaeus was healed or exactly what livelihood Bartimaeus went into. What matters is that he recognized Jesus calling him to a new life, and he responded by becoming a follower. Bartimaeus helped precipitate a climate change. Bartimaeus helped the disciples understand that Jesus was not about simply slaying the specific dragon of the Roman occupation of Pontius Pilate or the corrupt rule of Herod, or of making life easier for his particular followers. Jesus had set about changing the total environment so that the poisonous atmosphere of power games and gross deception in the world would not be taken to be the definition of ultimate reality. After Bartimaeus joined as a follower, the disciples’ arguments over who was the greatest ceased. Bartimaeus became a climate changer for the Gospel and was no longer fooled by the toxic atmosphere of the world. He was the follower who helped the rest of the disciples to clearly see what the mission of Jesus really was. In the poisonous atmosphere we live in, that’s our job, too.
And I offer this to you in the name of the Living God, Amen.
1The Rev. Robert Hansel at the CREDO II Conference, Oct. 2006
