Episcopal Church of the
Incarnation
The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 25B]
Jeremiah 31.7-9 Psalm 126 Hebrews 7.23-28 Mark 10.46-52
May the Lord be in my mind, on my lips, and in my heart,
that I may rightly and truly proclaim His Holy Word. Amen.
The healing
of a blind man. The healing of blind
Bartimaeus. A healing involving the
blind man calling out to Jesus, Jesus asking him what he wants, then granting
him sight, and saying, “Go, your faith has made you well.” It’s pretty easy to accept this story at face
value, as the story of a miracle, of Jesus’ power and lordship being
demonstrated. But, this is not a story about a miracle, even
though a miracle is part of the story.
We have to
pay attention in Mark. Mark is the
gospel people know the least of. Even
outside of church, many people know the stories of Jesus’ birth; stories of
wise men and angels, but that’s in Matthew.
Maybe people have heard of the “good Samaritan,” even if they don’t know
the point of that story, but that’s in Luke.
And people know of “doubting” Thomas, and of Jesus appearing before him
to prove the reality of the resurrection, but that’s in John. There are no wise men, no parable of the
Samaritan, and no resurrection appearances in Mark. Mark begins with John the Baptizer as the
forerunner of Jesus, with the baptism of Jesus, and His temptation in the
wilderness, and then–bam!–we’re right into Jesus’ ministry. Everything in Mark is focused on action. It is in this continual narrative of action
that who Jesus is and what His message is are revealed. Mark reads very much like a screen play,
emphasizing action with the common use of “immediately” (euthus) as a
connector. Mark reads like a screen play
in his use of the historical present.
(“And now he comes to
So, if we
have to pay attention to the action in Mark, then we need to pay attention to
what has come before our lesson. Mark
has set the stage. Here, Bartimaeus, who
seeks Jesus out, is healed immediately.
Back in chapter 8, a man who did not seek Jesus but was brought to Him,
is healed of his blindness, but the healing is gradual. The blind man in ch. 8 took time to see, and
then in the rest of ch. 8 the disciples did not see who Jesus was. He had to keep explaining, then He was
transfigured in His glory before them, and then they still didn’t get
it, but focused first on who was greatest and then and who would sit at Jesus’
right and left hands in His kingdom. And
here we are, still in the midst of that journey into insight, into the
realization of who Jesus really is, while we are in the midst of His journey to
How many
people in the Church today think that they know who Jesus is, and what is
best? People may acclaim Jesus as Lord,
but do they recognize Him as Savior?
People may recognize Jesus as the head of the Church, but do they know
Him as Lord of their life? Many believe
that they can define Jesus’ role in the world:
He is the reconciler, the one who reaches out to the marginalized. He is the agent of Love. He is the one who will meet their
expectations. None of these
descriptions is wrong (except that last one, about meeting expectations). Jesus is much more than the fulfillment of
any set of expectations. He exceeds our
fondest hopes while confounding our selfish fantasies, and so we must always
both be careful in how we claim knowledge of God, and zealous in how we seek
Him.
In the
story from Mark we see a contrast between those who think they are “in the
know” and one who is open to Jesus’ call.
Bartimaeus felt the need of healing; He listened with the ear of
faith. The crowd acclaimed Jesus as a
leader, but felt no need for themselves to be healed. The crowd “sternly
ordered” Bartimaeus to be quiet (in Greek, “warned”). They thought they knew Jesus; that
they knew what was best. But Bartimaeus,
unlike the crowd, literally cast off the old (his cloak), and in doing so
sought out the Lord.
“Bartimaeus,
son of Timaeus” is redundant. Mark
doesn’t use personal names much. Up to
this point in the Gospel, he has named only the disciples, John the Baptizer,
Herod, and Jairus. The name Bartimaeus
is not Semitic; it is a Gentile name. In
other words, here is another outsider who recognizes Jesus. In Mark, it is outsiders who recognize who
Jesus is: first the demon in Gerasa;
then Bartimaeus; and, finally, it is the centurion at the cross who says,
“Truly, this was the Son of God!”
The
outsiders recognize Jesus for who He is.
The disciples just don’t seem to get it, even though Jesus has been
plain about His identity and has, indeed, been transfigured in His glory before
them. They don’t understand because they
are not open to who Jesus is. They want
control in the plan: to decide who is
greatest; to sit at Jesus’ right and left hand.
They want to control access to Jesus’ power.
Bartimaeus
is not brought to Jesus. Bartimaeus is
not controlled. He’s told to shut
up. He doesn’t. He seeks Jesus out. He, a Gentile, uses the messianic title “Son
of David.” He recognizes
Jesus. His healing is immediate. Jesus tells him that his faith has saved
him. He follows Jesus. Sitting on the “way” [hodos], he now
joins the “Way” [hodos].
(See! You have to pay attention
to the details in Mark’s story.) He casts
off his cloak, putting the old way behind him.
The whole
narrative of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem has been about coming to see who Jesus
is, and what is means to follow Him.
Jesus has been very clear to His disciples that He is going to Jerusalem
to fulfill His purpose, and that this will involve His death. They have yet to accept this revelation, and
throughout the journey they keep focusing on who they want Jesus to be; the
worldly messiah who will kick out the Romans, establish his rule, and let them
rule with him. And Jesus confounds their
expectations, just as Mark’s narrative can confound us unless we pay
attention. This isn’t a story of
healing, but of call. Jesus says “Your
faith has made you well,” but in the original He says, “Your faith has saved
you.” Bartimaeus is the outsider, the untutored one, but the one who listens
with faith, seeks with faith, and is ready to cast off the old to follow Jesus
in the Way. Bartimaeus recognizes Jesus
because he feels the need of healing. He
is not looking to be affirmed where he is.
He doesn’t have an agenda.
Bartimaeus seeks out Jesus, disregarding the warnings of those who “know
best.”
When our
hearts are open to God, when we listen for Him with the ear of faith, we cry
out, “Have mercy on me!” And when the
crowd around us tells us to be quiet, we call out all the more, “Have mercy on
me!” We look to follow in faith. We no longer sit upon the “way” but walk upon
the “Way,” following Him who is the Way, the Truth, the Life. To follow Jesus requires knowing that the
Lord whom we follow is not just here to fulfill our expectations, but that He
exceeds all expectations that we can have.
In the story of our lives, it’s easy to miss in all the details. The story might look like it is about one
thing, when it has another meaning altogether.
It’s not about the crowd on the road.
It’s not about healing, even though we all need to be healed. It’s about hearing God’s call and following
Him on the Way; about not sitting on the way but walking on the Way, to follow
Him who says “Your faith has saved you.”
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it
was
in the
beginning is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.