May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you, O Lord, my refuge and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)
SEASON: 23 Pentecost
PROPER: 25 B
PLACE: St. John’s Parish, Kingsville
DATE: October 26, 1997
TEXT: Mark 10:46-52 - Jesus heals a blindman
Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his signt and followed him on the way.
ISSUE: A blindman finds hope and healing in the Savior. He wants to see ‘again.’ He wants renewal and hope for his life which culminates in his following Jesus to the presence of God. The passage calls all of us in our spiritual blindness, our gradual short-sightedness, our falling away from the light of God to renewed proclamation and following of the Christ in our lives. For in him and through him we find our way back to love, to forgiveness, to compassion, to renewed energies that allow God’s redeeming power to work in and through us.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Today’s scripture reading from Mark about the blindman who seeks out Jesus for healing is a truly fascinating passage. It is rich, I think in meaning and in hope. Jesus is reportedly on his way from Jericho to Jerusalem. It is a difficult up hill journey. On his way Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, is begging along the roadside. He is blind. He makes his living through begging, because he is unsighted and has no other way to make a living.
Blindness in Jesus’ time was common. Many people were afflicted with trachoma, a conjuncitis of the eye, which was a serious infection. It was largely caused by poor hygiene. It was spread by flies getting into the eyes. Water for hand washing was quite scarce among many people and so bacterial on the hands and rubbing the eyes my trachoma relatively common, and resulted in blindness. In this story we get the impression that the man had been able to see once, since he asks Jesus to let him see again.
Blindness was seen by many people of the period as a result of sinfulness. It was considered to be a curse, and blindmen could not enter the intersanctum of the temple. Leviticus 21:16-24 forbid persons with physical defects from making sacrifices in the temple or coming near to the temple curtain and altar. Experiencing this kind of ostracism made handicapped people appear and feel cursed and alienated from the healthier community. Begging for a living was not exactly an honorable calling.
In the story as Jesus approaches, the blindman begins to call out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many people, which may well have included some the disciples rebuke the man for calling out to Jesus. This rebuking may have been a sign of their keeping the defective person, or less honorable person in their place. Recall that the disciples and crowds had rebuked the children who were brought to see Jesus as well, in gospel lesson we read a few weeks ago. Yet, the more this man is rebuked the more he calls out, “Jesus, Son of David have mercy on me!” The disciples were not always very welcoming and were in fact quite dense sometimes when it came to understanding what Jesus’ ministry was about. Recall last week, James and John want places of honor in Jesus’s kingdom, competely missing the point of Jesus’s mininstry as a ministry of servanthood and not honorable status. Here the disciples and the crowd try to squelch the pleas of a desperate, and agonizing man. (Conjunctivitis could be very painful, not to mention the agony of blindness itself.)
The blindman also calls out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Today we think of ‘mercy’ as a kind of compassion. In Jesus time it did not quite have that meaning. ‘Mercy’ was an economic term. It meant more like ‘you owe me.’ Mercy described a person’s willingness to pay his debts in the Mediterranean culture. Thus, the blindman is call Jesus, “Son of David.” Jesus is beginning the ascent from Jericho to Jerusalem, and the blindman is loudly proclaiming him “Son of David.” “Son of David” was a messianic title. David and his son, Solomon, were considered at the time to be extraordinary kings in terms of their great competence as leaders. So the blindman in essence is proclaiming louder and louder - the more people try to silence him - ‘Jesus, you are the Messiah,’ ‘Jesus, you are the all knowing and all competent one,’ Jesus, you are the hope and the salvation of Israel.’ . . . ‘Jesus, you owe me my sight, the ability to see again.’ What this, of course, means is that the blindman is owed his right place in that kingdom. He is owed the right to restoration of status. For as he is physically blind, he sees deeply and spiritually that Jesus is the Christ the hope of the world.
What’s more. The crowd and disciples say to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” The blindman gets up and throws off his cloak and goes to Jesus. Throwing off the cloak is no idle, incidental, action. Blindmen would never throw anything away. How could they find it again? It would be lost in the crowd, if not stolen. The man is so assured of his healing that he throws off the old to embrace his anticipated new life with Christ, Jesus.
“What,” Jesus asks, “do you want me to do for you?”
“My teacher, let me see again.”
“Go; your faith has made you well.” Jesus says.
Immediately the man gets up restored and well and does not turn back for the cloak, does not turn back to the crowd, does not return home again. The renewed man follows Jesus along the way. He follows him in servanthood on to Jerusalem, the cross and on to resurrection and hope. The blindman in the story comes to see in his desperation and his blindness that hope and renewal is to be found in Jesus. He assigns his complete faith, confidence, and trust that Jesus will lead the way to the presence of God and God’s redemption and salvation. With Christ he becomes a worthy son of God fully restored and accepted.
What’s in this story of us? What does it mean? What’s its impact for us in the world we live in today? As I wrestle with these questions and consider our own time and culture the words of the Old Testament Lesson from Isaiah come to mind:
Isaiah 59:1-19 - Justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us; we wait for light, and lo! there is darkness; and for brightness, but we walk in gloom. We grope like the blind along a wall, groping like those who have no eyes; we stumble at noon as in the twilight, among the vigorous as though we were dead.
In our world today there are many injustices and problems that keep the world in darkness and gloom. Racism and poverty prevails. Hunger and starvation persists at home and abroad in a world where storage bins are full, in a world where there is abundance. Drug and alcohol addictions are a blight on our cities and in our homes. Violence continues on the streets corners, in the political unrest in many places around the world, and in our homes. People get caught up in the cultural demands of personal success and egotistical individualism. We come to value what is often lonely, meaningless, and empty in just trying to care for ourselves alone. Human falleness, sinfulness, is a reality. God’s presence seems distant and the prevalence of a dark and unchanged world can seem to be the ongoing predicament of the ages. Our frustrations and our depressions silence us and sentence us to despair.
But there was a blindman who dared to trust and to place his confidence in the renewing power of God: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Inspite of a world that told him to shut-up and embrace the hopelessness, he cried out in faith all the more loudly. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” He yelled and shouted all the more . . . there is hope, there is a savior, there is a leader of leaders there is a way to seeing again, and embracing hope again! He threw off the old cloak, the old stuff and went to Jesus in complete faith and trust that Jesus could leading him into a new appreciation of godliness. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asks. He wants to see again, to have healing again, to see beauty and love and hopefulness. I want to follow in your way.
What do we want from Jesus? How do we in our lives need renewing? What do we want to see happen again in our lives and in our world? “Give light ot my (our) lives, O Lord.” (Psalm 13) the blindman in the story believed deeply, he trusted, in fact, he felt Jesus owed him his healing and hope. He yells out confidently his need for healing and hope. And he follows along the way. Many people want healing just for the sake of healing. But we the blindman wants renewed life and to follow with Jesus wherever he may lead. Do we want to see the hungry fed and cry out for that, yell and shout for that. Do we want see the end to violence at home and abroad? Do we reach out and cry out for peace: Jesus Son of David give us peace. Do we want lives that are lifted out of depression and hopelessness? Do we want better homes and happier marriages? Do we want our broken lives mended? Do we want to be hopeful again, and our energies recharged, and our dreams renewed. Then our cry, our yelling, our praying must be: Jesus you are indeed the messiah. You are our hope. We can only trust in you, in your love, in your way of forgivness in your healing and renewing powers. We trust in your dying and in your resurrection. We trust that in following you in a world that would shut us up with its negativity and hopelessness. Our faith gives us the worthiness to stand and come before God. It opens eyes see the truth of the world around us and that in community with Christ we are and continue to be the force of hope for the world. We come to see that what is fallen can be raised up. What is broken can be healed. It is in confident trust and faith, and the desire to live in a constant relationship embracing Jesus as Lord that renews us and keeps us going in hope.
A few weeks ago we read the story of the rich man who came to Jesus. But he turned away and went away sad for he had many possessions. The cursed blindman in the story today is in sharp contrast. In his recognized cursed state he throws off the old and accepts the loving grace of Jesus and follows him on the road to hope and renewal. Is there not a message in this rich piece of scripture for us all?
Sunday, October 26, 1997
Thursday, October 2, 1997
20 PENTECOST
May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you, O Lord, my refuge and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)
SEASON: 20 PENTECOST
PROPER: 22B
PLACE: ST. JOHN’S PARISH
DATE: OCT. 2, 1997
TEXT: Mark 10:2-9 - Jesus speaks on Divorce and Marriage - “Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
ISSUE: Marriages in Jesus time were arranged. They brought together whole families. To divorce created a situation of shame that often led to feuding and bloodshed. Yet Mosaic law permitted it. Jesus refers to a more basic appreciation that God calls men and women to be joined in lasting faithfulness. He recalls the time before the fall, how unity of love was meant to be. It is this principle that Jesus recalls for us and upon which we are to base our relationships, as opposed to man made rules. We need to reclaim God’s way of being faithful and committed in our relationships.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Considerable time and energy has been given to the discussion of human sexuality by both the Diocesan and National Conventions of the Episcopal Church over the past several years. The main issue seems to center around whether or not gay and lesbian sexuality is to be considered appropriate moral behavior for Christians. Additional discussion centers around whether or not the church should provide some kind of liturgical service for the blessing of homosexual unions, and whether or not practicing homosexuals may be ordained. Within the church there are passionate feelings from all sides. And sometimes the emotional heat of the debate seems to threaten the very life of the church itself. I am hopeful, and I earnestly pray, that God’s Holy Spirit coupled with good sense and reason will lead the church to discern what is the best for all concerned. May we live together in unity and carry on the debate in respect and love.
What’s really terrifying us?
There is another issue that I think is just as important that is not getting the attention, discussion, and energy that it deserves. And sometimes I wonder if all the commotion over the homosexual issues may not be a cover-up and a distraction from the issue that is really terrifying us, failing heterosexual marriages and dysfunctional families. Sometimes when people are not able to deal comfortably with problems at home, it is easier and more comfortable to solve someone else’s problems and pass judgments that really have little or no relevance to their own lives. I would venture to say that for most parishes, like our own, failing marriages is truly alarming. The support of Christian marriage and family life is desperately needed.
Families today seem to be under enormous pressure. Both parents feel they must work to meet financial needs. They assume the pressure of having to provide the very best for their children from education to the social - athletic programs. At the same time, the rank individualism of our time makes its demand. Each of us is expected to be true to ourselves becoming outstanding in career and talents. We are to pursue what is meaningful for our personal development. What’s the popular expression?. . . “We have to find ourselves.” Building a healthy spiritual family life and working together for the glory of God are not exactly the top priorities of our time. Extreme pressures may give way to the need for relief. That relief for many people today is often found in recreational drugs, acting-out through inappropriate behavior, and especially alcohol abuse. Drinking is more destructive than most are willing to admit. It is an insidious plague in our culture and in many families it is kept well hidden. In quiet suffering, the family is being destroyed without seeking help. People struggle to keep up appearances, be ambitious, desperately try to be constantly achieving, and keep up with affluent demands. These pressures and expectations are heavy burdens to bear for any two people trying to raise a family and keep a marriage together. We are under the self-imposed pressure of very high expectations. We expect too much of ourselves and of our spouses. We expect ourselves to be like the glamorous gods of popular magazines and the culture. We forget that what is in the culture and in magazines is often contrived material beyond the capability of people living day to day.
To say that families are under a lot of pressure is at best a kind of psychological explanation for why so many families are troubled. The complexities are enormous and there is hardly just one reason why marriages fail. From a theological point of view we are all sinners. God calls upon us to be obedient, faithful, loyal, and trusting. We are inclined to be disobedient, unfaithful, non-committal, and trust only in our own failing fragile nature. We are enchanted by the ways and demands of the world, but they court disaster. Yet Christ came among us to call us back. Through him we are made well aware of our fallen nature and at the same time are called to a renewing embrace of God’s values. We are taught to love, serve, forgive, and be patient with one another. We are reminded that what counts is not what we possess materially, but what kind of loving faithful people we are. Jesus’ life and ministry modeled the importance of community, a group of men and women working together to open the gates to the kingdom of love. He called them into humble servanthood. Even when they failed they were not beyond his loving grace. Sacramentally, marriage is to be the sign of God’s love for his creation. Reclaiming the genuine need for and centrality of God in our family lives is essential.
In Jesus’ time the Pharisees came to him questioning him about whether or not it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife. Keep in mind the Pharisees were usually up to no-good when they questioned Jesus. They tried to trap him into a situation of losing his honor and place among the people. The question of divorce was a hot political issue as well. King Herod Antipas was divorced and remarried to his brother’s wife. John the Baptist had criticized the relationship and was beheaded. The law of Moses permitted divorce, Dt. 24:1. Possibly Jesus would dishonor himself through rejecting Mosaic Law, or create a political problem with Herod. The question was a tricky one.
It is also important to understand that while divorce in Jesus’ time was permissible, it also could have significant consequences. Marriages, unlike ours, were arranged marriages. They were an arrangement made for the good of the whole family and community. As a child you did not pick your parents. You didn’t get to pick you children. They were a gift from God. Why would you think that you would pick your wife. Marriage arrangements were for the good of the community. Divorce dishonored your wife’s father and brothers. People who were shamed would try to reclaim their honor. Thus, divorce in Jesus’ time often led to feuding and bloodshed. Thus, Jesus says, because you people are hardhearted, not teachable, so hard to get through to, that Moses allowed this rule. But let’s go back to the very beginning. God created man and woman to be one with one another, to be mutual help-mates. God joined them, and what God wills is what is important. What God joins, let us not separate. Jesus is going back to the garden before the fall. He reminds and gives a renewed image of what human life is to be. Unity with one another. Working together, being committed to one another was the original norm. It is when we reclaim what God wants that there is unity and peace in the community. Make no mistake, Jesus was attempting to rebuild the the new Kingdom of God founded upon God’s will and love. God is central. What God joins together, man must not separate.
Fact of the matter is that we are all separated frequently from what it is that God wants, and that is sin. Husbands and wives separate. Children separate from parents and vice versa. The behavior of some men today who separate themselves from their children and wives, and who refuse to pay child support and condouct themselves honorably as husbands and fathers is really unconscionable. Many people separate themselves from serving the good of the community to an inordinate concern for their own personal selfish needs. We desperately need healing and hope. Jesus’s turning the minds of the pharisees all the way back to the story of Genesis is turning their thoughts back to God himself. Before our own needs to be so self-centered we need to ask is what we are doing of God, or in separation from godliness.
.Creating a supportive community with God’s help.
As a parish community, I hope that we will listen to one another, support one another, share our common concerns, our successes and our failures with one another. May we pray and worship together seeking God’s help in strengthening family life and marriage. As spouses, I hope we will renew those commitments we made on our wedding day and vow to uphold them with God’s help. Next time you have the Prayer Book in hand review the Marriage Service, p. 423. As divorced persons we remember that God is forgiving and can make all things new raising up that which is fallen. Any parish church worth its salt will welcome you, love you, and share your pain. We are all fallen and need the community support and raising-up that comes from the family of God.
May we not allow ourselves to become so distracted and impassioned by the gay-lesbian issues and over many other issues over which we have little control that we become blinded in our rage to the need for our own renewed commitment to establishing healthier Christian marriages and family life, and for our own need to be aware of our owns sins and separations from God. God created us to be his family and not to allow ourselves to become separated from what God joined together. We are all apart of God’s community and we are not called to feuding and bloodshed and all that that implies. We are called upon in our place in life to participate in the family of God with all of its intricacies and complexities to the best of our abilities with God’s help.
SEASON: 20 PENTECOST
PROPER: 22B
PLACE: ST. JOHN’S PARISH
DATE: OCT. 2, 1997
TEXT: Mark 10:2-9 - Jesus speaks on Divorce and Marriage - “Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
ISSUE: Marriages in Jesus time were arranged. They brought together whole families. To divorce created a situation of shame that often led to feuding and bloodshed. Yet Mosaic law permitted it. Jesus refers to a more basic appreciation that God calls men and women to be joined in lasting faithfulness. He recalls the time before the fall, how unity of love was meant to be. It is this principle that Jesus recalls for us and upon which we are to base our relationships, as opposed to man made rules. We need to reclaim God’s way of being faithful and committed in our relationships.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Considerable time and energy has been given to the discussion of human sexuality by both the Diocesan and National Conventions of the Episcopal Church over the past several years. The main issue seems to center around whether or not gay and lesbian sexuality is to be considered appropriate moral behavior for Christians. Additional discussion centers around whether or not the church should provide some kind of liturgical service for the blessing of homosexual unions, and whether or not practicing homosexuals may be ordained. Within the church there are passionate feelings from all sides. And sometimes the emotional heat of the debate seems to threaten the very life of the church itself. I am hopeful, and I earnestly pray, that God’s Holy Spirit coupled with good sense and reason will lead the church to discern what is the best for all concerned. May we live together in unity and carry on the debate in respect and love.
What’s really terrifying us?
There is another issue that I think is just as important that is not getting the attention, discussion, and energy that it deserves. And sometimes I wonder if all the commotion over the homosexual issues may not be a cover-up and a distraction from the issue that is really terrifying us, failing heterosexual marriages and dysfunctional families. Sometimes when people are not able to deal comfortably with problems at home, it is easier and more comfortable to solve someone else’s problems and pass judgments that really have little or no relevance to their own lives. I would venture to say that for most parishes, like our own, failing marriages is truly alarming. The support of Christian marriage and family life is desperately needed.
Families today seem to be under enormous pressure. Both parents feel they must work to meet financial needs. They assume the pressure of having to provide the very best for their children from education to the social - athletic programs. At the same time, the rank individualism of our time makes its demand. Each of us is expected to be true to ourselves becoming outstanding in career and talents. We are to pursue what is meaningful for our personal development. What’s the popular expression?. . . “We have to find ourselves.” Building a healthy spiritual family life and working together for the glory of God are not exactly the top priorities of our time. Extreme pressures may give way to the need for relief. That relief for many people today is often found in recreational drugs, acting-out through inappropriate behavior, and especially alcohol abuse. Drinking is more destructive than most are willing to admit. It is an insidious plague in our culture and in many families it is kept well hidden. In quiet suffering, the family is being destroyed without seeking help. People struggle to keep up appearances, be ambitious, desperately try to be constantly achieving, and keep up with affluent demands. These pressures and expectations are heavy burdens to bear for any two people trying to raise a family and keep a marriage together. We are under the self-imposed pressure of very high expectations. We expect too much of ourselves and of our spouses. We expect ourselves to be like the glamorous gods of popular magazines and the culture. We forget that what is in the culture and in magazines is often contrived material beyond the capability of people living day to day.
To say that families are under a lot of pressure is at best a kind of psychological explanation for why so many families are troubled. The complexities are enormous and there is hardly just one reason why marriages fail. From a theological point of view we are all sinners. God calls upon us to be obedient, faithful, loyal, and trusting. We are inclined to be disobedient, unfaithful, non-committal, and trust only in our own failing fragile nature. We are enchanted by the ways and demands of the world, but they court disaster. Yet Christ came among us to call us back. Through him we are made well aware of our fallen nature and at the same time are called to a renewing embrace of God’s values. We are taught to love, serve, forgive, and be patient with one another. We are reminded that what counts is not what we possess materially, but what kind of loving faithful people we are. Jesus’ life and ministry modeled the importance of community, a group of men and women working together to open the gates to the kingdom of love. He called them into humble servanthood. Even when they failed they were not beyond his loving grace. Sacramentally, marriage is to be the sign of God’s love for his creation. Reclaiming the genuine need for and centrality of God in our family lives is essential.
In Jesus’ time the Pharisees came to him questioning him about whether or not it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife. Keep in mind the Pharisees were usually up to no-good when they questioned Jesus. They tried to trap him into a situation of losing his honor and place among the people. The question of divorce was a hot political issue as well. King Herod Antipas was divorced and remarried to his brother’s wife. John the Baptist had criticized the relationship and was beheaded. The law of Moses permitted divorce, Dt. 24:1. Possibly Jesus would dishonor himself through rejecting Mosaic Law, or create a political problem with Herod. The question was a tricky one.
It is also important to understand that while divorce in Jesus’ time was permissible, it also could have significant consequences. Marriages, unlike ours, were arranged marriages. They were an arrangement made for the good of the whole family and community. As a child you did not pick your parents. You didn’t get to pick you children. They were a gift from God. Why would you think that you would pick your wife. Marriage arrangements were for the good of the community. Divorce dishonored your wife’s father and brothers. People who were shamed would try to reclaim their honor. Thus, divorce in Jesus’ time often led to feuding and bloodshed. Thus, Jesus says, because you people are hardhearted, not teachable, so hard to get through to, that Moses allowed this rule. But let’s go back to the very beginning. God created man and woman to be one with one another, to be mutual help-mates. God joined them, and what God wills is what is important. What God joins, let us not separate. Jesus is going back to the garden before the fall. He reminds and gives a renewed image of what human life is to be. Unity with one another. Working together, being committed to one another was the original norm. It is when we reclaim what God wants that there is unity and peace in the community. Make no mistake, Jesus was attempting to rebuild the the new Kingdom of God founded upon God’s will and love. God is central. What God joins together, man must not separate.
Fact of the matter is that we are all separated frequently from what it is that God wants, and that is sin. Husbands and wives separate. Children separate from parents and vice versa. The behavior of some men today who separate themselves from their children and wives, and who refuse to pay child support and condouct themselves honorably as husbands and fathers is really unconscionable. Many people separate themselves from serving the good of the community to an inordinate concern for their own personal selfish needs. We desperately need healing and hope. Jesus’s turning the minds of the pharisees all the way back to the story of Genesis is turning their thoughts back to God himself. Before our own needs to be so self-centered we need to ask is what we are doing of God, or in separation from godliness.
.Creating a supportive community with God’s help.
As a parish community, I hope that we will listen to one another, support one another, share our common concerns, our successes and our failures with one another. May we pray and worship together seeking God’s help in strengthening family life and marriage. As spouses, I hope we will renew those commitments we made on our wedding day and vow to uphold them with God’s help. Next time you have the Prayer Book in hand review the Marriage Service, p. 423. As divorced persons we remember that God is forgiving and can make all things new raising up that which is fallen. Any parish church worth its salt will welcome you, love you, and share your pain. We are all fallen and need the community support and raising-up that comes from the family of God.
May we not allow ourselves to become so distracted and impassioned by the gay-lesbian issues and over many other issues over which we have little control that we become blinded in our rage to the need for our own renewed commitment to establishing healthier Christian marriages and family life, and for our own need to be aware of our owns sins and separations from God. God created us to be his family and not to allow ourselves to become separated from what God joined together. We are all apart of God’s community and we are not called to feuding and bloodshed and all that that implies. We are called upon in our place in life to participate in the family of God with all of its intricacies and complexities to the best of our abilities with God’s help.
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