Today I spoke most of what is written here, but the writing was unomfortable. I felt called to say it, but concerned about the reaction of the listeners. When discussing it with my partner I kept getting the advice, "Don't talk about that. Talk about Bartimaeus." Not much reassurance there. To re-balance the advice, the response was, "Don't know what you were worried about - that was fine." I smiled.
So I wrote and I spoke, and people were gracious. It provoked discussion, as I thought it might, but people were more positively inclined than I expected. See what you think?
(By the way, few sermons have been posted recently; that is simply a feature of a busy life. I won't promise that will change any time soon.)
My grandfather was deaf. He wore a hearing aid, and when he didn’t want to hear what was being said he would turn it off, lean back in his chair and close his eyes. “There’s none so deaf as those who don’t want to hear” was a phrase I heard many times in my childhood. And I would add, “nor so blind as those who do not want to see.” My grandfather wasn’t the only person that this could be said of. I think it's a family trait; it applies to all the members of my family - my Chritian family that is.
So today, the last Sunday before we start the countdown to Advent, we are coming towards the end of the church year and our series on Mark’s gospel. The big question that permeates Mark’s gospel is ‘Who is this man?’ And we, the reader, know who this is because Mark has told us in the first lines of the gospel, “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God’. So, to paraphrase Rolf Harris, “Can you see who it is yet?”
The disciples couldn’t see who Jesus was at first, although they knew he was special enough to leave their previous lives and follow him. They didn’t have the advantage of the first sentence of the gospel so they had to work it out as they went along. But we’re now quite a long way along the story. The transfiguration has revealed who Jesus is, and they are able to see, albeit not quite as clearly as they will later on. As a way of illustrating this we have read the healing of the blind man in two stages – remember he could see men walking ‘like trees’ first, then he could see clearly. That’s where we are in the journey.
Jesus has been touring the Judean desert and the Jordan, teaching and healing, and he is now returning, with a multitude of people, from Jericho, uphill on his final journey to Passover in Jerusalem – via the Mount of Olives on Palm Sunday, about 8 hours walk away. The question remains, “Who is this man?” It’s decision time. Some people are afraid because they hear Jesus talk of being killed. Some, like James and John, want a share in the glory – few people see clearly that this man is their hope.
And then the crowd passes a blind beggar and we discover again that it is the people with less invested in society; those for whom the world isn’t a place of bounty and reward, who are best able to deal with that dissonance – that difference between the Messiah they expect, and the man walking uphill on a hot day. I wonder if it’s easier to challenge when there’s less to lose from the status quo? Is that, perhaps, a challenge for us today?
So what is special about this beggar on the side of the road?
He recognises who Jesus is and he calls him by a name that shows his insight. He calls him “Son of David”. He also addresses Jesus as “Rabboni”. The only other place we hear that name is when Mary Magdalen meets the risen Jesus in the garden. This blind man can see who Jesus is, he believes Jesus can help him, and he’s ready to accept that grace. When Jesus calls him, he throws his cloak aside. He left what he had to come to meet Jesus, just as the disciples left their nets when they were called – so unlike the rich man in the previous story, who went away rich, but sad.
When Jesus asks the beggar the same question that he asked the rich man, ‘What do you want?’ the man answers, “I want to see”. I think he can already see better than most.
He makes his request and he’s healed; and then we see that he really has understood. He doesn’t then go back to his life as a beggar, or go on a different journey. He throws in his lot with Jesus and follows him along the road – the road that leads to the cross and the resurrection.
This fulfils the prophecies in
Isaiah 29:18 “In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of
gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.”
Isaiah 35:5-6 “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the
deaf unstopped. 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue
shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the
desert.”
Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD
has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the
broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness
for the prisoners.”
So we have a blind man healed, following Jesus. What has it got to do with us?
Well, there are two points for us all to think about today, because like Bartimaeus, once we recognise Jesus as divine, we have to start to make making choices. When we accept the forgiveness, compassion, love and mercy that sets us free, and make our relationship with Jesus a priority, the priority in our lives, we then set out, like Bartimaeus, on a journey with Jesus that will last for the rest of our lives.
Part of that is about learning about God’s will for this world. It can be very easy to see our faith as a kind of bubble that is all about us – but you know that's not true.
Because when we start to read God’s word in Scripture, we find that the sentences that we can so easily gloss over, actually speak of major themes in God’s will. The one passage of Scripture
that we hear of Jesus reading is that last one from Isaiah – let’s look at it
again from Luke 4:18. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed
me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for
the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the
oppressed.”
Themes of justice, a preferential option for the poor, unity, release from oppression, care for the vulnerable, care for creation run through the Bible, and we are challenged to notice, and to act.
We saw the video clip earlier, about Advent Conspiracy, that ministry to provide clean drinking water to villages around the world, which will help save thousands of lives, and I’m challenged by that. As a staff team we are also thinking about what we could do in place of our Secret Santa this year – we’ll let you know what we decide J. I hope it challenges you too, and no, I’m not going to tell you what you should do – other than remind you of the four themes, and suggest that you commit the idea to prayer:
- Worship Fully
- Spend Less
- Give More
- Love All
This is about personal salvation, through faith, but not just about an individual decision. Bartimaeus joined ‘the way’ – the group of people that were followers of Jesus. Just as in marriage, so it is in church, the decision and the commitment is yours and yours alone, but you can’t do it on your own. Christianity is a corporate religion – Christ didn’t die for himself – he died for us – as individuals and as a group, even for those whose views we might find distasteful.
We commit, when we are baptised and confirmed, to membership of the group that is Church – this church, the Church of England – with its diversity of people and its inheritance of faith seeking understanding. And within the Church of England we are also part of the mainstream churches through history, with direct links to those Apostles on the Jericho Road, through the orders of ministry from those earliest days.
We share agreements with the Orthodox and Catholic Churches of the East and West, we recognise each other’s Baptism. Despite this week’s controversy over the Roman Catholic Church offering a home for disaffected Anglicans we do try to stand together. We share the same Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the 10 Commandments, many of the same books of the Bible – and that, despite centuries of cultural difference and interpretation.
We are in full communion with the Methodists and United Reform Churches, and through the Anglican Communion we share our faith with millions of Christians throughout the world. We will say later, “This is our faith.” All the churches I’ve mentioned share that faith.
We’re going to use Eucharistic Prayer B today – of the 8 Eucharistic prayers available to us, this one is based on the oldest known communion liturgy from the second century. This is the prayer of the church that was founded by the Apostles, which would have included people like the grandchildren of Bartimaeus, those who said almost the same words in another language – it is their gift to us. We are using this today as a way of reminding us that we are members of the church of Christ throughout the ages.
We also share much with members of many dissenting churches. I find it possible to worship as a guest in a Baptist Church even though I’m aware of some important differences in doctrine (we don’t yet recognise each other’s baptism) because I know that we are worshipping the trinity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There is more to unite us than to divide us, and for millions of people, not just those alive today, but those who have lived before us, we are brothers and sisters in Christ.
So when we come onto our Eucharistic Prayer, and we finally reach the sentence, “We break this bread to share in one body”, our reply is “Though we are many, we are one body because we all share in the one bread” that ‘one body’ does not mean any one of us as a blind individual.
This is a corporate act of committed people, joined in faith in the resurrected Jesus, and we welcome those who are visitors from other church backgrounds as well as those who are taking communion prior to confirmation, to join us as that one body, one family today.
When we finally answer that question, “Can you see who it is yet?” and answer 'Yes', our world changes, and we see, not in monochrome but glorious colour.
As we approach communion as the community that is church, maybe we could all still our thoughts and our hearts as we share the words prayed by so many Christians through so many centuries that tell the story and give thanks for our salvation through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen
