| A farmer purchases an old, run-down, abandoned | | | | of arrogance and put on the cloak of humility and |
| farm with plans to turn it into a thriving enterprise. | | | | faith. |
| The fields are grown over with weeds, the | | | | The question "What do you want" is God's way |
| farmhouse is falling apart, and the fences are | | | | of asking us if we really want to see who we are. |
| collapsing all around. During his first day of work, | | | | Will we want Him more than comfort, avoidance |
| the town preacher stops by to bless the man's | | | | of pain, or the pretence of control? If not, we will |
| work, saying, "May you and God work together | | | | remain spiritually blind and begging from what will |
| to make this the farm of your dreams!" A few | | | | never satisfy us. Mercy= undeserved pardon, |
| months later, the preacher stops by again to call | | | | replacement of judgment with grace and |
| on the farmer. Lo and behold, it's like a completely | | | | acceptance. In Biblical terminology, clothes |
| different place -- the farm house is completely | | | | represented casting off the old so you can get |
| rebuilt and in excellent condition, there are plenty | | | | ready for the new. Seeing leads to the |
| of cattle and other livestock happily munching on | | | | responsibility to repent, to forgive, to follow Jesus, |
| feed in well-fenced pens, and the fields are filled | | | | to suffer in new ways, to have a soft heart, to |
| with crops planted in neat rows. "Amazing!" the | | | | trust as a child, to clear any priorities other than |
| preacher says. "Look what God and you have | | | | God (something the rich young ruler refused to |
| accomplished together!" "Yes, Reverend," says the | | | | do), and to demonstrate God's commitment unto |
| farmer, "but remember what the farm was like | | | | death. We are all in some type of need. There |
| when God was working it alone!" | | | | are ways and times for all of us in which we are |
| The story of Bartimaeus is a story about the | | | | blind. We have all cried out for help and mercy in |
| power of human faith and positive thinking. Faith | | | | some way. |
| shapes how we interact with one another and the | | | | Bartimaeus is also an example of the power of |
| world at large. Several attempts have been made | | | | prayer. Prayer means coming before God with |
| throughout history to narrowly define who | | | | empty hands and opening ourselves to His |
| belongs in God's Kingdom. These attempts were | | | | merciful presence and to what He wants to give |
| also used to keep social outcasts and the | | | | us-namely, His mercy. Jesus wants to answer our |
| powerless in line. For example, many times when | | | | prayers because He wants to answer them. In |
| African-American slaves came to Christ they had | | | | turn, we must let Him look at us and let ourselves |
| to declare that their decision had nothing to do | | | | be prayed for by Him. Jesus could not perform |
| with the desire to be free from slavery.God | | | | miracles unless the people who received the |
| places a very high value on the marginalized | | | | miracles had faith. Faith means awareness of God |
| people of the world. In the Book of Jeremiah, He | | | | and a relationship with God. We need to be like |
| promised to gather them up -and that promise | | | | Bartimaeus. We need to become blind so that we |
| was fulfilled by giving sight to Bartimaeus. We are | | | | can see ourselves and those around us as well. |
| called to get to know people and what they | | | | Everyone has a blind spot; namely, our area of |
| REALY want and need so we can help them | | | | awareness and areas where growth can still take |
| solve their underlying problems. We need new | | | | place. Bartimaeus is an example of how we can |
| eyes to see the invisible ones as God sees them. | | | | get help with our own blind spots by doing these |
| Even in physical blindness, Bartimaeus was able to | | | | three things: |
| see what is often not seen by other eyes that | | | | 1. Listening |
| function quite normally. Bartimaeus had listened to | | | | 2. Taking initiative |
| the testimony of the sacred Scriptures and to | | | | 3. Being softer |
| what they had to say about Jesus and what He | | | | Bartimaeus also serves as an example of those |
| would do at Jerusalem to gain forgiveness and | | | | who have shut the eyes of their minds to Christ's |
| entry into Paradise for all sin-tainted human beings. | | | | calls for repentance. |
| The story is also an explanation of how an | | | | To move from suffering to faith, we MUST |
| interruption conveys a promise, a risk and hope | | | | capitalize on the opportunities God gives us. These |
| for the future. Bartimaeus' life was interrupted | | | | opportunities only become opportunities when we |
| when his sight was restored. He went from being | | | | embrace them as opportunities. Bartimaeus |
| a beggar to answering the call to be one of the | | | | embraced the opportunity to be cured from both |
| "people of the way". We also meet Christ when | | | | physical blindness and spiritual blindness-the rich |
| we tell the Gospel story in which Jesus teaches, | | | | young ruler did not. We must also minimize the |
| preaches and calls people to discipleship (like | | | | negative voices that clatter around us. We must |
| Bartimaeus was called when he was healed). This | | | | not judge people by what we see on the outside. |
| is a story of seeing with the eyes of faith-dimly | | | | We must also exercise the faith that is available |
| at first and needing correction, but focused on the | | | | to us. If you ask Jesus for something, you must |
| source of light and life. Bartimaeus, like other | | | | be prepared to follow Him. The blessings of the |
| people who sought healing from Jesus, saw | | | | Kingdom are for those who, in faith, persistent |
| himself in humility as utterly dependent on God, | | | | faith, cry out to God in mercy. How many people |
| the only hope. Bartimaeus is an example of the | | | | in the history of the church have so wittingly |
| faith that comes from hearing the word of God. | | | | thrown off the cloak of their past life to put on |
| Jesus' simple words, "Your faith has made you | | | | the new cloak before they knew what faith could |
| well" were simple in nature, but powerful enough | | | | do for them? Jesus' restoring of Bartimaeus' sight |
| to transform someone who is broken into | | | | reaffirmed the salvation implied by the faith which |
| someone who can do much for Christ and others. | | | | prompted Bartimaeus' request. |
| In coming to Christ for healing, we should look to | | | | Those who have authority are those whom |
| Him as the promised Messiah. He encourages our | | | | people have learned to respect and honour |
| hope that if we come to Him, He will grant our | | | | because they have been served by them, in one |
| requests. In coming to Him, we must cast off the | | | | way or another. This is where authority lies within |
| garment of self-sufficiency to free ourselves | | | | the church. Of course Jesus himself is our great |
| from every weight and sin. When He grants our | | | | example, especially when he said, "For the Son of |
| requests, we must continue to follow Him, to | | | | Man also came not to be served but to serve, |
| honour Him and receive instructions from Him. | | | | and to give his life as a ransom for many ". (Mark |
| There are three types of blindness: | | | | 10:45) |
| 1. Physical | | | | The process of becoming a disciple involves three |
| 2. Spiritual blindness (OR the blindness of disciples) | | | | steps: |
| 3. Blindness of our generation to the needs of the | | | | 1. Admitting that we don't know the answer to |
| world. | | | | the most profound issues of life, and we must |
| Gaining one's sight seeing again is the way of | | | | ask for help. |
| Jesus. It involves journeying with Him from Galilee | | | | 2. Taking heat |
| to Jerusalem, the place of death and resurrection, | | | | 3. Following Jesus |
| of endings and beginnings. To see that is to have | | | | The healing of Bartimaeus was used as a miracle |
| one's eyes opened. We begin our journey of faith | | | | to help the disciples understand their own |
| by coming humbly to Christ and admitting our | | | | blindness and feed the flame of their faith. This |
| sinful lives. By doing so, we are admitting that we | | | | mirrors both faith that breaks through blindness |
| are poor in spirit. We want Christ to open our | | | | and God's mercy. God places mirrors in our lives |
| eyes to him like he opened Bartimaeus' eyes. We | | | | so that we can see ourselves, fan our faith, and |
| need to recharge ourselves with Christ's light and | | | | share in the fellowship of Christ's sufferings. |
| share that light with others. | | | | Faith is a matter of a relationship with God in |
| Can we se ourselves in Bartimaeus? Or do we | | | | Christ, so that through faith a believer is related |
| think we are better that he was? We are all | | | | to the source of life, to the author of life who |
| beggars-blind to Christ, economically-challenged, | | | | can restore wholeness to broken lives and fulfill |
| powerless, silenced by our fears, short on | | | | our hopes of eternal life. This allows us to begin a |
| inheritance by our unclean spirit and eventually | | | | life with Him forever, beginning now in the faith |
| quieted by death. Jesus, Son of David, takes care | | | | relationship. The story of Bartimaeus is a living |
| of the silencing powers that deprive us of our | | | | memory of an event that deeply impressed the |
| status before God. Placing our faith in Jesus brings | | | | people who witnessed the miracle. To be on the |
| both wholeness and light. It gives us freedom to | | | | way with Jesus leads followers into a deeper |
| spring up, follow Christ on the way, and to share | | | | understanding of the Way of God. To come to |
| His presence and peace with others. Mark 10 is all | | | | know God is to "see" things one never "saw" |
| about what it means to be in God's Kingdom. | | | | before. Bartimaeus gained physical sight and |
| What does it look and feel like to have God's rule | | | | spiritual sight. |
| in your interior life, so that your outside actions | | | | Where and how is there blindness in us? What |
| have roots that can support them? | | | | hood do we wear that hides our faces from each |
| Our lives can look clean and neat on the outside, | | | | other and from those whom God names as our |
| but be a mess on the inside. God wants to clean | | | | neighbours? What cloak do we wear that covers |
| us so that our internal lives can be the good soil | | | | up our own humanity and keeps us from hearing |
| that allows the outside to flourish. Some people | | | | what God desires for all of us? For us it is not |
| don't pray because they are afraid God will | | | | about poverty, race, discrimination, oppression, |
| change their lives. We go to church because we | | | | starvation or illness of some sort. Instead it might |
| want God to change our lives. The courage we | | | | be our addiction to busyness that blinds us to |
| have comes from God. | | | | opportunities to care. It might be the subtle |
| There is an interesting contrast here between | | | | arrogance that we pull over our heads that leaves |
| Bartimaeus and the rich young ruler in Mark | | | | little room for new learning or understanding or |
| 10:17-31. The rich young ruler did not want to give | | | | seeing life and world from a large perspective. It |
| up what he had in order to gain eternal life. | | | | might be the affluence that we wrap around our |
| Bartimaeus was willing and eager to shed | | | | lives that has a tendency to stifle both genuine |
| everything to become spiritually sighted. The rich | | | | gratitude and compassion. We need to ask |
| young ruler, like many people today, was spiritually | | | | ourselves these questions: |
| blind and stayed that way. Bartimaeus was both | | | | 1. When and how are we blind like Bartimaeus? |
| physically and spiritually blind, but he was healed. | | | | 2. What hood do we need to push back from our |
| Jesus' miracles are seen more about growing in | | | | face in order to see? |
| faith than with curing spiritual blindness. He picks us | | | | 3. What cloak do we need to unwrap from |
| up from where we have fallen and redirects us | | | | around our lives? |
| along the way. This process can be described in | | | | 4. How might we need to stumble towards God? |
| many ways. We are always moving from spiritual | | | | In the end, this story tells us that we are not |
| darkness to spiritual light, from darkness of faith | | | | human until we are human together, and that |
| to faithfulness. Arrogance is the root of our | | | | blindness is not just about our eyes, but also |
| spiritual blindness. We need to cast off the cloak | | | | about our hearts and minds. |