Pentecost 22, October 24, 2021

Why are you here?  I mean, what brought you to worship today here at Grace of God?  Why did you tune in on the live stream?

You know you can read your Bible at home, right?  You can pray at home.  You can say the Apostles Creed at home.  You can even sing at home by yourself.  Even if it’s only in the shower.  Sometimes we have no choice but to do these things at home by ourselves.  But you made a choice to be part of this gathering today.  And what is the value of THIS? 

For one thing, there are people here – a community – who draw us to Christ, who surround us with his love and give voice to his invitation and welcome.  And today in our Gospel it was the people – a community – it was their voice —  who nudged a neighbor to find healing and hope and life in Jesus.  “Take heart,” they told a blind beggar, “Get up.  Jesus is calling.”

These words, which are recorded in our Gospel today, were spoken to one who had some critical needs. Bartimaeus had a physical problem and an economic challenge.  He was blind AND a beggar.  The combination in Jesus’ day was disastrous.    

Bartimaeus knew who Jesus was, or at least who he had the potential to be, and he trusted him to provide help. He called him “Son of David” which means he knew the promises of the Old Testament that prophesied that the Messiah would be a descendent of David – the royal line of kings!  The prophets spoke about the Messiah bringing sight to the blind.  The prophets spoke about God restoring the fortunes of God’s people.  So Bartimaeus cries out to the one he believes will help him.

But he was alone in his prayers.  Desperate for help. He was reaching out to Jesus with his own singular voice.  He thought turning up the volume on his prayers would get Jesus’ attention.   But his blindness and his poverty keep him from getting the help he needs even with Jesus so close by.  And there are other things in his way.

Some of the neighbors and by-standers who heard him, tried to silence him.  Perhaps they thought, “you’re upsetting the people around you.  You’re too loud.  Be quiet!”   It’s hard to minimize the impact of a debilitating condition like blindness or the devastating impact of poverty.  How could they ignore this man? But the response of those around him expressed many of the unspoken assumptions of the day regarding the conditions that Bartimaeus suffered with.  Blindness was considered a punishment for sin, so they may have thought that Bartimaeus deserved this affliction.  If you were poor, they assumed: “you probably brought this on yourself.” The crowds further alienate Bartimaeus with their attempts to marginalize him with their judgment and disgust.

Jesus heard Bartimaeus crying out alone.  He sees how the crowds are trying to muzzle his prayers.  He saw his desperate situation – he is full of compassion — and he is ready to help. 

And here is where Jesus gathers up the little community around Bartimaeus and enlists others in extending the invitation to the blind beggar suffering with problems that separate and isolate him.  He tells the man’s friends to call him over. And it was the friends and neighbors – Bartimaeus’ little community — who said, “Take heart; get up!  Jesus is calling!” that got the man to Jesus.  Get on your feet, Bartimaeus,  Jesus is inviting you over.” And something tells me that Bartimaeus didn’t go to Jesus on his own.  I mean, he’s blind.  He can’t find the way on his own.  Something tells me the friends gathered around him, scooped him up and escorted him to the one who was ready to heal and save. That’s what I like about this painting:  you can see the friends surrounding Bartimaeus as they bring him to Jesus.

Like Bartimaeus, we face challenges in life.  They may be related to our health, our finances, our relationships, our emotions. Like Bartimaeus, our problems isolate us.  And worse yet, just like Bartimaeus, our problems may even trigger judgment and disgust from others.  We do not always have the courage to hope.  We cannot always muster the strength to move forward.  We cannot always see on our own exactly where the help is.  We know Jesus – we know the potential his presence can bring – but we do not always feel close to him or like he can hear us.  We don’t always feel like we’ve got his attention – or maybe even his love. Sometimes we can’t find the way to Jesus on our own.  Sometimes the voices in our heads and the discouraging judgments and opinions of others keep us on our knees, alone and confused. 

So we are gathered together as a community – a church.  And in that cluster of the needy who are often juggling multiple challenges at once, we find our hope and strength.  In that gathering of the faithful we see where Jesus is – we hear his voice and we receive his mercy. We gather together hungry and thirsty for the healing Jesus offers.  We come together to be fed and nourished.  We sing together, we pray together, we confess together.  And we encourage each other.  “Take heart.  Cheer up.  Look!  Listen!  Jesus is calling.  He is inviting.  He is welcoming.  He is healing.  He is saving.  Come on!  Let’s go together. 

As we gather together, here in church and outside the church where two or more come together in his name, we know God’s compassion and love.  We feel his presence.  We learn to trust him.  We have been enlisted to amplify and even more – embody the compassion and love of God.  And so we scoop each other up and bring each other to Jesus. 

That’s why we’re here.  That’s why I’m here.  The hope we need, the love we rely on, the peace we long for – these are community gifts.  We discover them together.  And together, having received these gifts of grace, we begin to see more clearly.