Watch for the Lord
Psalm 34:1-8 and Mark 10:46-52
Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost
October 27, 2024
On this day, Jesus is on what is most likely his last few miles into Jerusalem for the Passover, and this road ran right through Jericho.
As was customary at the time, when a Rabbi was headed into Jerusalem for Passover, he would be accompanied by many following him as he would be teaching to his followers as they walked.
I have often been told that when you lose one of your senses, the others strengthen, and I suspect that Bartimaeus, being blind, yet having sharper hearing, heard Jesus and the crowd coming down the road.
I also wonder, if sitting there next to the road where he could position himself to greet people along their journey had become commonplace for him. He could hear them coming down the road so that he would be ready to beg for whatever he needed….
money….clothing….food….perhaps even a moment for someone to acknowledge he was sitting there at all.
The thought also crosses my mind as to whether Bartimaeus knew who Jesus was because he had heard about him from other beggars, from his father, Timaeus, or did he know him because he recognized his voice as God planted the seed in his heart to speak up, to call out to Jesus.
Were others also standing there along the roadside because they had heard that Jesus of Nazareth was going to be coming through Jericho that day, and they were waiting to catch a glimpse of him, or was Bartimaeus just in the right place at the right time?
I have a sense that with the popularity of Jesus, that rumors had spread, and that word had been sent ahead to let the people of Jericho know that Jesus would be passing through on this day, and the crowds were waiting along the roadside to catch a glimpse of him.
I imagine that Bartimaeus had been waiting for some time for Jesus to make his way through Jericho, and he had positioned himself on the edge or outskirts of town so that he could call out to Jesus as he was leaving Jericho. He did not want to be missed.
As Jesus approaches, Bartimaeus yells out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Can’t you just hear the desperation in the call? “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
We don’t know how long Bartimaeus had been waiting, but I suspect it was a good portion of the day as Jesus made his way through Jericho as crowds gathered around him.
As we would probably do when a beggar was yelling out in a crowd around us, we would either move away from them, or instruct them to be quiet, which those around Bartimaeus tell him to do.
But not on this day. This blind man, this beggar, had been waiting his turn, and it was a turn that he could not afford to miss. He needed Jesus, and he had faith that Jesus could heal him and give him his sight.
So he yells even louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
I can just see those standing near him starting to move away from him. Being annoyed by him, that here this lowly beggar was bothering Jesus. They probably considered him an embarrassment.
As Jesus hears him, he stands still. He stops to hear who is calling out to him. He stops to here who needs him in this moment. He stops to look for the one who is in need rather than continuing to just walk on past him.
And I love the way Jesus draws others into action in this story, as he often did on his journey. He doesn’t go to the man. He instructs those around him to take action, to do their part of helping to take care of this blind beggar.
Jesus tells them to, “Call him here,” or to have him come forward to Jesus.
Jesus requires those around Bartimaeus to do their part in helping this blind beggar.
Like we want to do when Jesus calls us into action, they obey Jesus’ request of them, and they call out to Bartimaeus and say, “Take courage, and get up, he is calling you.”
They become supportive of him, and encourage him, maybe they even open their hearts a bit toward loving him.
I’m sure there were those who were shocked by this, that Jesus would take time for this lowly beggar, and yet others that by now knew who Jesus was, and were glad to call the man forward to Jesus so they might witness his healing.
When Bartimaeus is called, he doesn’t lollygag, or slowly get up. We are told he sprang up. He jumped up and immediately went to Jesus.
Obviously, Jesus knew what was wrong with him, but in Jesus fashion, he wanted to have a conversation with the man.
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asks.
Bartimaeus does not disappoint Jesus with the conversation. The blind man doesn’t just ask for his sight, rather he refers to Jesus as “My teacher.”
He didn’t just approach Jesus with the idea that he was just another person coming down the road, rather he refers to him as “his” teacher. He recognizes and acknowledges to Jesus that he knows Jesus is “the One,” the “Holy One,” the one that has been sent from above, “the Son of David.”
With this acknowledgement from Bartimaeus, Jesus responds, “Go, your faith…YOUR FAITH…..has made you well.”
Bartimaeus, this blind beggar, immediately regained his sight.
Most importantly, he didn’t just regain his sight and walk back off into the crowd to go about his old life, rather he followed Jesus on the way.
One other point that I want to make in this scripture. When Jesus called out to him to come forward, and Bartimaeus jumps up to run to him, he does one other thing that I think is important in our scripture. He removes his cloak. It says, “Throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.”
Once this blind beggar had been called by Jesus, he threw off his old ways and became a new man. He was no longer burdened by darkness physically or spiritually. Bartimaeus knew immediately that he was now covered by “his teacher.” He was covered and made well by the one who set him free of his burdens in life.
As soon as he was healed, he didn’t go back and recover his cloak, that heavy darkness that had covered him, rather he followed Jesus on his way. Bartimaeus was now a part of Jesus’ journey, and he followed him.
How many times in the New Testament do we read where Jesus is telling someone who he has healed, “Go, your faith has healed you?”
Sometimes our lives get full and heavy, and we seem to be moving through our days from one appointment to the next, or one more thing I’ve got to get done, or wondering how much more can I handle.
In the last month, in addition to dealing with our already full schedules and health problems, we have been dealing with a massive repair and cleanup process due to Hurricane Helene. I’m sure you would all agree that life has been fuller than full lately.
One thing I would like for you to remember. Our Psalmist tells us that the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Encamps means settles in. It is good for all of us to remember that through all of our full days that our Lord has encamped himself in our lives. Our Lord has settled in and surrounds us and protects us from all that we face.
Having faith doesn’t mean that our lives will be worry free, or that our lives will not be faced with more challenges than we feel we can handle at times; however, having faith, a faith like Bartimaeus’ that we will be healed through Jesus Christ, and knowing that our Lord is settled in around us, is the most reassuring fact in our lives. Jesus is settled in and waiting for us to call out to him.
In these times in our full lives as we search for some normalcy or some routine of what we consider normal, we can be comforted and have faith that our healer is here with us and will get us through the challenges we are facing right now.
Throw off your cloaks, spring up and watch for the Lord, for surely he is with you.
(Silent Reflection)
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE and the LORD’s PRAYER
Healing God, we are feeling a bit overwhelmed with our full schedules. Since the storm, there is more to do, more people to meet, more appointments to keep, more decisions to make. Lord, may we be reminded that you have settled into our lives, you are encamped around us walking with us, holding us up when we feel we can’t hold ourselves up. Faithful God, thank you for all that you continue to provide. May we be reminded that we can throw off our cloaks filled with burdens and come to you for rescue and peace and calm and rest. Lord, we pray for wars that seem to worsen rather than be resolved, and we pray for your intervention to protect innocent people. Lord we pray for those who are held against their will, those who are abused, especially children that are being trafficked right here in our own country. Merciful God, we pray for government officials in all nations, that their hearts be changed, that their eyes be opened in the same way that Bartimaeus was healed to follow your son, Jesus. Lord, as we journey, we hear the call for prayers from so many in need, and we pause now to remember those who have asked for our prayers and those who are in need of our prayers and your healing_________
Through our faith, Lord we ask for your healing for these for whom we have prayed, and for healing in the world as we join together in the prayer Jesus taught us to pray, Our Father, who art in heaven……..
Amen.