Sermon from 5th November 2006
A blind man sees
Here is Sunday's sermon from Trevor Tayleur, one of our Lay Readers. It is based on the reading from Mark 10:46-52.
Beggars are a familiar sight in London, and indeed in most big cities throughout the world.
And I know many of us feel uncomfortable when faced by a beggar; awkward questions go through our minds about how we should react to the person in front of us. But however we react, I suspect very few of us ever think that we can learn something of value from the beggar. But that’s not necessarily the case, and today we can learn a lot from the example of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar whose story we heard about in today’s Gospel reading from Mark.
But before we look at the story of Bartimaeus, it would be helpful to put it into context. Over the past couple of months, we’ve been looking at a critical stage of Jesus’ ministry. And it’s also become a bit of a habit to refer to politics, sport and religion in sermons as well. A few weeks ago Adrian analysed England’s prospects in the next Rugby World Cup, and this afternoon’s international against the All Blacks will give us an idea whether England are on the right track. But today is also the 5th November, Guy Fawkes, and this gives me the chance to talk about politics. Because Guy Fawkes was involved in a plot to blow up Parliament and overthrow the government of King James I 401 years ago. But today I’m actually not going to talk about politics, other than to observe that throughout human history there have been plots and conspiracies to overthrow governments. And many of Jesus’ followers believed that they were going to be part of such a plot, one that would drive the Romans out of Jerusalem. But they were wrong.
Jesus had told his disciples who he was, & why he had been born as a human being. He was the Messiah, God’s chosen one, but he hadn’t come, contrary to the expectations of many his would-be followers, to drive out the Roman oppressors. As Cameron explained last Sunday, Jesus had been born to die, to die so that he could open the way back to God for all people for all time. But the disciples had struggled to understand what he meant. Jesus couldn’t have been clearer; he had told them explicitly that he was going to be betrayed, he was going to be killed and rise again to life. Yet the disciples kept on getting it wrong, and Jesus had to keep on telling them what was going to happen. Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem to die; he knew what was going to happen, and he knew that it was going to happen soon. Jesus’ enemies were plotting to get Jesus killed. As for the disciples, they couldn’t believe that Jesus was going to die; that simply did not fit in with what they hoped and expected would happen. Yet the disciples carried on following him. And it was on the way to Jerusalem that Jesus and his disciples came to Jericho, and met Bartimaeus, the blind beggar. And it turns out that Bartimaeus was the one who could see the truth; while the disciples groped around in the dark not sure what to think, Bartimaeus had the vision to put his trust in Jesus.
Towards the end of our passage, in verse 51 Jesus asked Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?" I used to be puzzled by Jesus’ question. “Isn’t the answer obvious?” I thought to myself. Of course he wanted to be healed, he wanted to be able to see. And indeed that is how Bartimaeus answered the question; “Rabbi, I want to see."
But on further reflection I realised the answer wasn’t so obvious after all. Imagine the scene. In many cities in today’s world you will see people sitting by the roadside asking for money; “Got a few coins for an old soldier?” “Spare some change for me, sir?” are familiar pleas all over the world. And if you were to go up to a blind beggar and ask, “What do you want me to do for you?” the answer would come back, “Please can I have some money.”
Now Bartimaeus didn’t have much of a life. But at least he had a routine and was able to survive. He had probably got used to it, and probably knew a few other beggars with whom he chatted from time to time. It wasn’t a great life, but it was the one he knew. And then Jesus arrived on the scene. And when Bartimaeus heard the news he began to shout out; "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Perhaps at that moment Bartimaeus was simply after some money, hoping that Jesus would be more generous than the average giver. Or perhaps Bartimaeus was already hoping for something more. We can’t be sure, but we do know that he was determined to bring himself to Jesus’ attention. He had already realised that there was something special about Jesus.
Bartimaeus had to struggle to make himself heard. Jesus was being followed not only by his disciples, but also by a large crowd of people. It was Passover the following week, and traditionally people would travel from far and wide to Jerusalem for the festival. Some of those people gathered around Jesus, perhaps hoping that he was the Messiah who would drive the Romans out. It was a time of great excitement for the crowd, but they were probably less than excited when a blind beggar started calling out to Jesus. Now in London today many people tend to be embarrassed by beggars, and avert their gaze as they pass by. But the crowd in Jericho showed no such restraint; they rebuked him and told him to shut up. But Bartimaeus didn’t give up, and Jesus told the disciples to call him.
Mark portrays a stark contrast between the disciples on the one hand and Bartimaeus on the other. The disciples hadn’t really understood what Jesus was about, but somehow Bartimaeus had recognised who Jesus was. “"Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"” he called out. “Son of David” wasn’t just simply a name for Jesus; it was a Messianic title and already Bartimaeus was showing faith in Jesus. Also, he was recognising his predicament, his need for mercy. I don’t know whether he had fully realised what Jesus could do for him, but he knew that Jesus was special and could help. And Bartimaeus provides an example that we would do well to follow.
The disciples kept on missing the point, and I’ve already said that more than once today; they probably had visions of glory, that Jesus would drive out the Romans and that they would have positions of power once that had happened. But Jesus wasn’t that sort of Messiah. As Cameron said last Sunday, Jesus was born for one reason above all others – and that was to die, to die to open up for us the way back to God.
But are we also in danger of missing the point? For many of us life is fairly comfortable. We live in a city that is wealthy; occasionally something happens that disturbs our complacency, such as the 7/7 bombings last year. But normal service soon resumed, and life for many has continued much as before. In good times it’s very easy for us to become self-sufficient, and God only becomes a spiritual 999 emergency number we call in a crisis. Bartimaeus’ needs were obvious, ours may often be less so. For those of us who are Christians, we have accepted that Jesus died for us and so we have been restored to a relationship with God. But that’s not the end of the story. As Cameron said last Sunday, the challenge for us is to live and grow in that relationship, to serve others, just as Jesus did. And to do that, we have to remember that we need God’s mercy and to acknowledge that day by day.
And for those who haven’t yet made that first step of commitment to Christ, Bartimaeus can also provide a model to follow. Like Bartimaeus, you need to acknowledge that you need God’s mercy, that you need help. Bartimaeus didn’t allow the jeers of the crowd to put him off. He knew that he needed Jesus’ help, and he was ready to seek Jesus out. And Jesus was willing to help him.
And so Bartimaeus came face to face with Jesus, and Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” Once again Mark is setting up a contrast between Bartimaeus and the disciples, because earlier in the chapter Jesus asked two of his disciples, James and John, exactly the same question. We read in verse 35 that James and John approached him and said, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask." And Jesus asked them, "What do you want me to do for you?" And they replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory." They wanted glory, they wanted status in Jesus’ Kingdom. They still hadn’t realised that Jesus had to die, and that they needed mercy.
So let’s think about Bartimaeus’s reply to Jesus’ question, “What do you want me to do for you?" What does a beggar usually want? Bartimaeus could have replied, “Please could you spare some money for me.” But Jesus’ question went deeper than that. Beneath the surface of Jesus’ question was another question, “Do you, Bartimaeus, really want to give up begging? Do you want to have to live a different type of life, to work for living rather than sitting by the roadside day after day, pleading to passers-by for money?
Bartimaeus by then had realised that Jesus was offering more than money, and asked to see. He was taking a bit of a risk, because he was moving out of his comfort zone. He could have gone on begging; he could have stuck to the life he knew; despite all its hardships, he was able to eke out an existence of sorts. Instead he took the chance of a lifetime and asked to see. And he clearly believed that Jesus could help him, for Jesus said to him, “Your faith has healed you.” And what happened next? “Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.”
Mark offers Bartimaeus to us as an example to imitate. He recognised who Jesus was; he was a person of faith – he believed that Jesus was willing and able to heal him. He threw his beggar’s cloak aside; he was willing to accept the new life that Jesus offered and followed him. Bartimaeus left one life behind, and started a new life. He didn’t know all that it would entail, but he was willing to step out in faith. He didn’t use his blindness as an excuse, a safety blanket that he could cling to rather than leaving his comfort zone.
“What do you want me to do for you?” Is Jesus also asking us that question? Even if, unlike Bartimaeus, our lives are relatively comfortable, is there something that is holding us back? Sometimes, deep down, we want to serve God in a new way, to do something different. There are many ways in which we can serve God, but it’s easy to become stuck in a rut. Is there something new that we want to do for God, a new role that we could take on in the church or in the local community? Or do we think that God wants us to serve him in a completely new way, even in a different part of the world? We might doubt our abilities, and think that we’ve got little to offer God. But look at the example of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar who lived in Jericho nearly 2,000 years ago and who still provides an example for Christians today to follow. Jesus didn’t think Bartimaeus wasn’t good enough. Everyone, even those who are normally excluded from society, is welcome in God’s kingdom. Bartimaeus had the faith and courage to allow Jesus to change his life. Are we willing to allow Jesus to change our lives?
Let’s pray.
“What do you want me to do for you?” When Jesus asks us what we want him to do for us, help us to respond in the way Bartimaeus did, with courage and faith. Bartimaeus followed the road that Jesus took Help us to follow the same road, for there is no better road to travel on. Amen.
Here is Sunday's sermon from Trevor Tayleur, one of our Lay Readers. It is based on the reading from Mark 10:46-52.
Beggars are a familiar sight in London, and indeed in most big cities throughout the world.
And I know many of us feel uncomfortable when faced by a beggar; awkward questions go through our minds about how we should react to the person in front of us. But however we react, I suspect very few of us ever think that we can learn something of value from the beggar. But that’s not necessarily the case, and today we can learn a lot from the example of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar whose story we heard about in today’s Gospel reading from Mark.
But before we look at the story of Bartimaeus, it would be helpful to put it into context. Over the past couple of months, we’ve been looking at a critical stage of Jesus’ ministry. And it’s also become a bit of a habit to refer to politics, sport and religion in sermons as well. A few weeks ago Adrian analysed England’s prospects in the next Rugby World Cup, and this afternoon’s international against the All Blacks will give us an idea whether England are on the right track. But today is also the 5th November, Guy Fawkes, and this gives me the chance to talk about politics. Because Guy Fawkes was involved in a plot to blow up Parliament and overthrow the government of King James I 401 years ago. But today I’m actually not going to talk about politics, other than to observe that throughout human history there have been plots and conspiracies to overthrow governments. And many of Jesus’ followers believed that they were going to be part of such a plot, one that would drive the Romans out of Jerusalem. But they were wrong.
Jesus had told his disciples who he was, & why he had been born as a human being. He was the Messiah, God’s chosen one, but he hadn’t come, contrary to the expectations of many his would-be followers, to drive out the Roman oppressors. As Cameron explained last Sunday, Jesus had been born to die, to die so that he could open the way back to God for all people for all time. But the disciples had struggled to understand what he meant. Jesus couldn’t have been clearer; he had told them explicitly that he was going to be betrayed, he was going to be killed and rise again to life. Yet the disciples kept on getting it wrong, and Jesus had to keep on telling them what was going to happen. Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem to die; he knew what was going to happen, and he knew that it was going to happen soon. Jesus’ enemies were plotting to get Jesus killed. As for the disciples, they couldn’t believe that Jesus was going to die; that simply did not fit in with what they hoped and expected would happen. Yet the disciples carried on following him. And it was on the way to Jerusalem that Jesus and his disciples came to Jericho, and met Bartimaeus, the blind beggar. And it turns out that Bartimaeus was the one who could see the truth; while the disciples groped around in the dark not sure what to think, Bartimaeus had the vision to put his trust in Jesus.
Towards the end of our passage, in verse 51 Jesus asked Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?" I used to be puzzled by Jesus’ question. “Isn’t the answer obvious?” I thought to myself. Of course he wanted to be healed, he wanted to be able to see. And indeed that is how Bartimaeus answered the question; “Rabbi, I want to see."
But on further reflection I realised the answer wasn’t so obvious after all. Imagine the scene. In many cities in today’s world you will see people sitting by the roadside asking for money; “Got a few coins for an old soldier?” “Spare some change for me, sir?” are familiar pleas all over the world. And if you were to go up to a blind beggar and ask, “What do you want me to do for you?” the answer would come back, “Please can I have some money.”
Now Bartimaeus didn’t have much of a life. But at least he had a routine and was able to survive. He had probably got used to it, and probably knew a few other beggars with whom he chatted from time to time. It wasn’t a great life, but it was the one he knew. And then Jesus arrived on the scene. And when Bartimaeus heard the news he began to shout out; "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Perhaps at that moment Bartimaeus was simply after some money, hoping that Jesus would be more generous than the average giver. Or perhaps Bartimaeus was already hoping for something more. We can’t be sure, but we do know that he was determined to bring himself to Jesus’ attention. He had already realised that there was something special about Jesus.
Bartimaeus had to struggle to make himself heard. Jesus was being followed not only by his disciples, but also by a large crowd of people. It was Passover the following week, and traditionally people would travel from far and wide to Jerusalem for the festival. Some of those people gathered around Jesus, perhaps hoping that he was the Messiah who would drive the Romans out. It was a time of great excitement for the crowd, but they were probably less than excited when a blind beggar started calling out to Jesus. Now in London today many people tend to be embarrassed by beggars, and avert their gaze as they pass by. But the crowd in Jericho showed no such restraint; they rebuked him and told him to shut up. But Bartimaeus didn’t give up, and Jesus told the disciples to call him.
Mark portrays a stark contrast between the disciples on the one hand and Bartimaeus on the other. The disciples hadn’t really understood what Jesus was about, but somehow Bartimaeus had recognised who Jesus was. “"Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"” he called out. “Son of David” wasn’t just simply a name for Jesus; it was a Messianic title and already Bartimaeus was showing faith in Jesus. Also, he was recognising his predicament, his need for mercy. I don’t know whether he had fully realised what Jesus could do for him, but he knew that Jesus was special and could help. And Bartimaeus provides an example that we would do well to follow.
The disciples kept on missing the point, and I’ve already said that more than once today; they probably had visions of glory, that Jesus would drive out the Romans and that they would have positions of power once that had happened. But Jesus wasn’t that sort of Messiah. As Cameron said last Sunday, Jesus was born for one reason above all others – and that was to die, to die to open up for us the way back to God.
But are we also in danger of missing the point? For many of us life is fairly comfortable. We live in a city that is wealthy; occasionally something happens that disturbs our complacency, such as the 7/7 bombings last year. But normal service soon resumed, and life for many has continued much as before. In good times it’s very easy for us to become self-sufficient, and God only becomes a spiritual 999 emergency number we call in a crisis. Bartimaeus’ needs were obvious, ours may often be less so. For those of us who are Christians, we have accepted that Jesus died for us and so we have been restored to a relationship with God. But that’s not the end of the story. As Cameron said last Sunday, the challenge for us is to live and grow in that relationship, to serve others, just as Jesus did. And to do that, we have to remember that we need God’s mercy and to acknowledge that day by day.
And for those who haven’t yet made that first step of commitment to Christ, Bartimaeus can also provide a model to follow. Like Bartimaeus, you need to acknowledge that you need God’s mercy, that you need help. Bartimaeus didn’t allow the jeers of the crowd to put him off. He knew that he needed Jesus’ help, and he was ready to seek Jesus out. And Jesus was willing to help him.
And so Bartimaeus came face to face with Jesus, and Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” Once again Mark is setting up a contrast between Bartimaeus and the disciples, because earlier in the chapter Jesus asked two of his disciples, James and John, exactly the same question. We read in verse 35 that James and John approached him and said, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask." And Jesus asked them, "What do you want me to do for you?" And they replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory." They wanted glory, they wanted status in Jesus’ Kingdom. They still hadn’t realised that Jesus had to die, and that they needed mercy.
So let’s think about Bartimaeus’s reply to Jesus’ question, “What do you want me to do for you?" What does a beggar usually want? Bartimaeus could have replied, “Please could you spare some money for me.” But Jesus’ question went deeper than that. Beneath the surface of Jesus’ question was another question, “Do you, Bartimaeus, really want to give up begging? Do you want to have to live a different type of life, to work for living rather than sitting by the roadside day after day, pleading to passers-by for money?
Bartimaeus by then had realised that Jesus was offering more than money, and asked to see. He was taking a bit of a risk, because he was moving out of his comfort zone. He could have gone on begging; he could have stuck to the life he knew; despite all its hardships, he was able to eke out an existence of sorts. Instead he took the chance of a lifetime and asked to see. And he clearly believed that Jesus could help him, for Jesus said to him, “Your faith has healed you.” And what happened next? “Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.”
Mark offers Bartimaeus to us as an example to imitate. He recognised who Jesus was; he was a person of faith – he believed that Jesus was willing and able to heal him. He threw his beggar’s cloak aside; he was willing to accept the new life that Jesus offered and followed him. Bartimaeus left one life behind, and started a new life. He didn’t know all that it would entail, but he was willing to step out in faith. He didn’t use his blindness as an excuse, a safety blanket that he could cling to rather than leaving his comfort zone.
“What do you want me to do for you?” Is Jesus also asking us that question? Even if, unlike Bartimaeus, our lives are relatively comfortable, is there something that is holding us back? Sometimes, deep down, we want to serve God in a new way, to do something different. There are many ways in which we can serve God, but it’s easy to become stuck in a rut. Is there something new that we want to do for God, a new role that we could take on in the church or in the local community? Or do we think that God wants us to serve him in a completely new way, even in a different part of the world? We might doubt our abilities, and think that we’ve got little to offer God. But look at the example of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar who lived in Jericho nearly 2,000 years ago and who still provides an example for Christians today to follow. Jesus didn’t think Bartimaeus wasn’t good enough. Everyone, even those who are normally excluded from society, is welcome in God’s kingdom. Bartimaeus had the faith and courage to allow Jesus to change his life. Are we willing to allow Jesus to change our lives?
Let’s pray.
“What do you want me to do for you?” When Jesus asks us what we want him to do for us, help us to respond in the way Bartimaeus did, with courage and faith. Bartimaeus followed the road that Jesus took Help us to follow the same road, for there is no better road to travel on. Amen.
posted by Parish Administrator at 1:30 pm
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