I. Theme – Preparing for Restoration and Healing
Healing of Bartimaeus – Daniel Bonnell
“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 sight and followed him on the way.” – Mark 10:51-52
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
Old Testament – Jeremiah 31:7-9 Psalm – Psalm 126 Page 782, BCP Epistle – Hebrews 7:23-28 Gospel – Mark 10:46-52
The promise of restoration and healing flows through today’s readings. The prophet Jeremiah looks forward to the rescue and renewal of God’s people. Job has all his lost property restored because of his fidelity to God. The author of Hebrews affirms the promise of full salvation through Jesus Christ and continued growth for believers. In today’s gospel, Jesus grants physical and spiritual wholeness to blind Bartimaeus.
Counselors say that many people will prefer a known evil to the unknown. They may cling to an identity as abused child, battered wife, long-suffering spouse of an alcoholic, or jilted lover because to surrender that identity seems like giving up themselves. Bartimaeus might have wondered if he would lose his identity as a blind beggar.
Yet Bartimaeus accepts his blindness as past. It does not curtail his freedom to hope for change. Thus he surrenders to the mystery of the future. Just as he casts away his cloak, he flings aside his reservations and his insecure clinging to the status quo.
The road on which he follows Jesus is leading to Jerusalem and ultimately to Calvary. Again in contrast to the apostles, Bartimaeus wants to follow, even into pain, if it means he can remain close to Christ. His step has a sureness due not only to restored vision but because he knows deeply the truth of the crowd’s assurance: “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” Thus, the story ends on the note of grace accepted.
Life is not easy either for us. God is active in the world and in all of the universe around us, even though we may experience God’s absence in our own lives. Our focus can be very small and narrow. We may worry or be upset about what happens to us, forgetting about the fact that there are 7 billion people on earth. We may feel that God has abandoned us and forget that no asteroid has wiped out the earth yet.
We may be like Bartimaeus, blind to what is going on in the world, crying out to God to let us see, then realizing there is a greater world beyond us. Or we may be like Bartimaeus, marginalized by the world, unable to do anything but beg until God and others intervene on our behalf. In other words: it’s not all about us, and yet, it is all about us. God heard the cry of Job. Jesus heard the cry of Bartimaeus. God hears our cries, and God is active in our lives, though we may have a hard time understanding that when we are in our valley of the shadow. Nonetheless, God is there.
II. Summary
Old Testament – Jeremiah 31:7-9
Jeremiah began his prophetic ministry to Judah in 627 BCE and ended it about 580 BCE. He spans the period leading up to Judah’s final defeat by the Babylonians (587 BCE), the destruction of Jerusalem and the burning of the temple, and the exile of a good part of the population.
Today’s reading comes from a section (chaps. 30–33) consisting of promises of restoration (30:1-4). In it are gathered Jeremiah’s oracles of hope for an eventual renewal for Israel. Jeremiah envisions the restoration of Judah by imagining God’s fashioning a new exodus.
Jeremiah 31:7-9 sings the praise of God who will redeem Israel. Jeremiah proclaims that God will indeed bring Israel back from the exile, though they will have dwindled, this remnant shall return, and the remnant will include the blind, the lame, children, pregnant women and those in labor—all those who would normally be lagging behind, those who may have been abandoned by those who wanted to save themselves—in other words, the last and the least—this is who God desires to bring back. This is who God desires to return, and God will be like a father to them. We are reminded that those who are on the margins, those who are oppressed—those who are often forgotten are the ones God remembers, and who God desires to be part of God’s family.
Psalm – Psalm 126 Page 782, BCP
In this psalm the people sing for joy over their deliverance from captivity in Babylonia and praise to God who has delivered the people from exile, who has restored “the fortunes of Zion.”
God has turned their mourning to dancing, their weeping to praise. Though they have been through such peril, God has delivered them safely on the other side. We are reminded of the story of Job, that God is beyond our understanding, God is the creator of the universe, and while we rejoice when God restores us, we need to have a greater rejoicing that God is involved in all of the works of the universe.
The lord’s restoration of Zion, the joy of the people, and the astonishment of the nations are recalled (vv. 1-3). A plea for continued restoration in the present (v. 4), for a change in fortune as dramatic as the effect of water in an arid land, leads to a promise of renewed joy to come out of sorrow (vv. 5-6). Just as God brought Israel out of Egypt, to the astonishment of the nations (Exodus 15:13-16; Deuteronomy 2:25), so God miraculously restored the fortunes of Zion again.
Epistle – Hebrews 7:23-28
In the first part of chapter 7, the author describes the superiority of Melchizedek to Abraham, thus also demonstrating the superiority of his priesthood to the Levitical priesthood. Jesus’ priestly claim is based not upon physical descent nor upon ineffective law. It is based upon his indestructible life and is attested by the divine oath.Hebrews 7:23-28 continues the discourse on the role of priests in the Hebrew tradition and the role of Jesus as the new High Priest.
Jesus is a priest forever—we have no one on earth we need to go to in order to reach God. Jesus is the final sacrifice—there is nothing we need to do to attain God’s grace and redeem humanity. It is given for us, and there is no reason to shed any more blood. Jesus’s death conquers death in his resurrection—there is no longer any need to fear death. Jesus’ priesthood is superior because of its permanence – he will forever function as our high priest—and because of his character—he is holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners.
It is hard for us to understand, but coming from the Hebrew tradition, the writer of Hebrews explains the role of Jesus, his death and resurrection, in the terms of the priesthood which would have been understood by those familiar with the temple religious system. And in the aftermath of the temple being destroyed in 70AD, it also explains why there is no need for the temple or the priests anymore, for Jesus has come to and for us.
Gospel – Mark 10:46-52
Mark 10:46-52 is the story of Jesus healing Bartimaeus, a blind beggar. In Jesus’ day, if you were blind, you could not work, and once you were grown, there was no one to help you. You had to beg to survive.
The story of the healing of blind Bartimaeus is filled with vivid detail. Bartimaeus calls Jesus “Son of David,” a messianic title, recognizing Jesus’ true identity. Although blind, Bartimaeus can “see” Jesus more clearly than others because of his faith.
No healing word or action of Jesus is recorded, just a response to Bartimaeus’s faith. On one level, his faith, in the sense of confidence and persistence, is answered with healing. On another level, his recognition of Jesus is answered with salvation. The phrase “made you well” means both heal and save. Bartimaeus responds by becoming a disciple.
This story is similar to the healing of the blind man of Bethsaida (8:22-26). These two stories of new sight frame the whole section dealing with Jesus’ predictions of the passion and the disciples’ misunderstanding. Eyes must be opened to see the true meaning of Jesus’ messianic suffering and so correctly follow him on this new way to life with God.
The healing of Bartimaeus does three things: Bartimaeus can now see, Bartimaeus no longer has to beg, and Bartimaeus serves as a witness and metaphor to others—God can remove what is in the way of our vision, what is causing us to stumble, what is causing us to be stuck, what is causing us to remain oppressed. And God calls us to do what we can to help others “see”—to help remove the walls of oppression and share opportunities for all people, to bring in the marginalized and oppressed. Our faith can make us well, if we are willing to live by faith, and that faith calls us to see the ways others are oppressed—to remove the blinders from our eyes and see our brothers and sisters in Christ.
III. Articles for this week in WorkingPreacher:
Old Testament – Jeremiah 31:7-9
Psalm – Psalm 126
Epistle – Hebrews 7:23-28
Gospel – Mark 10:46-52