Welcome to St. Andrew's Lutheran Church, Kamloops

King  Solomon offers us many wonderful proverbs to live by. “Trust in the  Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In  all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths”  (Proverbs 3:5-6). As with the Word of God, when our focus is on the Lord  God he is “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).  But nowhere are we promised a trouble or problem free life! Many devoted  Christians, beginning with the first martyr Stephen, have died because  of their profession of faith in the resurrection of Christ. And then,  there are those who have died at the hands of religious deceivers like  David Koresh, whose delusional stubbornness led to the deaths of 76  people in Waco, Texas in 1993. While Koresh believed that the Davidians’  religious followers would be “zapped” into heaven, others have believed  their leaders by drinking poison in trust that God would protect them  from harm. 

There  is something to be said about Solomon who teaches us to “listen to  advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future”  (Proverbs 19:20). Take the story of the good Christian man who walked  into Walmart and was offered a mask by the greeter. The man politely  declined saying God would protect him from Covid. A few weeks later, the  man went to his doctor for a routine check up. The doctor told him  everything is okay and offered him the Covid vaccine if he would like  one. Again, the man politely declined saying God would protect him from  Covid. Later that week, the man felt very sick. He went back to his  doctor and to his disbelief he was diagnosed with Covid and admitted to  the hospital. Sadly, the man died and when he reached the gates of  heaven God was there waiting for him. The man asked God why he didn't  protect him from Covid? God looked at him and said, I had people offer  you free masks and vaccines and you refused. Also, you're going to need  to quarantine in hell for a few weeks. 

It  has been estimated that the average adult makes more than 35,000  choices each day. Sometimes, we even step into another person’s dilemma  and make decisions for them. Often, we might find ourselves moving  between decisions for the same problem unsure of which one we should do.  Some will simply burn-out after making decisions, over decisions, upon  decisions. Sometimes it’s best to first ask ourselves if I’m the best  person to be making such and such a decision and when we are unsure of  ourselves – it’s best to wait, even until the next day before rendering  our choice. For the Christian, it’s best to consult God’s Word and God’s  people. 

This  was not the case in the Stephen Spielberg epic movie, “Indiana Jones  and the Last Crusade”. In this movie, Professor Jones and his father are  on a quest to find the Holy Grail, believed to be the cup which Jesus  had used during the Last Supper. As we reach the climax, the good and  bad guys all arrive, at the same time, in the cave where the Grail has  been kept safe by an ageless knight since the last Crusade of the  thirteenth century. According to medieval mythology anyone who drinks  from the Grail would receive eternal life. There are several cups of  varying types laid out on a table in front of the eager seekers to  choose from. “But,” the knight warns, “choose wisely!” With gun in hand,  the bad guy insists on being the first one to choose. He picks the  beautifully adorned golden goblet and of course, dies. The aged knight  responds - “He chose poorly.” Choosing wisely or choosing poorly is what  today’s gospel is all about. 

Let’s  review the events surrounding Jesus’s final journey towards Jerusalem  and the fulfilment of His Father’s will. First, we encounter the rich  young man who asked Jesus “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit  eternal life” (Mark 10:17)?  He believed he had chosen the right road,  as he responds to Jesus’s inquiry saying, “Teacher, all these I have  kept from my youth” (Mark 10:20). Now, Jesus asks him to chose between  his earthly possessions and riches and the promise of treasures in  heaven. “He chose poorly.” Next, we hear about the request by the sons  of Zebedee who asked Jesus for the seats of honour in the coming  kingdom. “What do you want me to do for you” (Mark 10:36) asked Jesus.  Again, the disciples’ chose poorly. “As [Jesus] was leaving Jericho with  his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of  Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside” (Mark 10:46). Again, we hear that  familiar question from Jesus who asks Bartimaeus “What do you want me  to do for you” (Mark 10:51)? 

Let’s  back the clock up a few minutes. Jesus had set his sight on Jerusalem.  “They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking  ahead of [the disciples] them” (Mark 10:32) as Jesus tells them for the  third time that the chief priests will condemn him to death. In order to  reach his God-ordained destiny in Jerusalem he had to pass through the  old town of Jericho.  

He  was now only fifteen miles from the great city of David. “As he was  leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a  blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside” (Mark  10:46). As Jesus hurried by, the beggar called out from his place at the  side of the road, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me” (Mark 10:47)!  Without a doubt, Bartimaeus, had claimed and established his place  along the side of the road from where he would beg for alms from anyone  who passed by. There isn’t anything unusual about the scene. It wasn’t  unusual for beggars to position themselves where there is heavy people  traffic anymore than our modern day beggars will situate themselves near  store exits, near the coffee drive thru or at busy intersections –  anywhere there are sufficient people to get some money from begging.

But  this blind beggar wanted something more than just alms. Bartimaeus must  have heard about Jesus from people who had passed by him on their way  up to Jerusalem. This poor beggar might have also heard about the  miracles Jesus had done. He was determined to get the Rabbi’s attention  should he ever pass by his way. We can almost surmise that Bartimaeus  was desperate, and he knew that Jesus was his only hope of changing the  miserable circumstances of his life. He would not give up. Even though  the people tried to shut him up, he called out even louder.

“Jesus,  Son of David, have mercy on me!  And many rebuked him, telling him to  be silent. But he cried out all the more, Son of David, have mercy on  me” (Mark 10:47-48)! Surprisingly, this is the first time anyone had  called Jesus the “Son of David.” In the first century, the term “Son of  David” was a title reserved only for the Messiah. Earlier in the Gospel,  Peter had declared that Jesus was the Christ (the Messiah) after which  and Jesus “strictly charged [the Twelve] them to tell no one about him”  (Mark 8:30). But today, when Bartimaeus yells out this messianic title,  Jesus doesn’t attempt to stop him. Whereas “many rebuked him, telling  him to be silent” (Mark 10:48) Jesus affirms the beggar’s proclamation  that Jesus was, indeed, the Messiah. Jesus no longer keeps his messianic  identity a secret. Instead, he stops and invites the desperate beggar  to come to him. “They called the blind man, saying to him, Take heart.  Get up; he is calling you. And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and  came to Jesus” (Mark 10:49-50). Having heard the invitation, Bartimaeus  abandoned his place of begging. Mark adds one further comment which can  be easily overlooked. “He threw his coat aside” (Mark 10:50). Like other  beggars, Bartimaeus spread his cloak on the ground in front of himself  to catch the coins that might be tossed his way. Catching the alms that  were tossed into his coat was the beggar’s sole means of income and  support. When Jesus called him to come, his coat and his money no longer  meant anything to him as he leaves them behind to came forward to meet  his Saviour.  

Now,  we get to the interesting part of the story. Jesus asks, “What do you  want me to do for you” (Mark 10:51)? Now remember, Bartimaeus has never  met Jesus. He begins to answer by saying “Rabbi”. This is truly a very  profound beginning since the beggar and the rabbi have never met. Rabbouni is the same word Mary Magdalene used to address Jesus when he had been  raised from the dead in John’s Gospel “Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She  turned and said to him in Aramaic, ‘Rabbouni” (John 20:16)! It means  more than just teacher. “My Rabbi” is a term of affection and of  commitment to the teacher. Bartimaeus is already demonstrating evidence  of having a radical faith in recognizing Jesus as the “Son of David”  along with his answer to Jesus’s question saying, “let me recover my  sight” (Mark 10:51) or simply “I want to see!”  Recognizing his great  faith, Jesus heals the man, saying, “your faith has made you well” (Mark  10:52). Unlike the previous two stories - a blind beggar named  Bartimaeus appears to have chosen wisely. 

Based  on these three stories, what can we learn today about choosing wisely  and choosing badly. It’s interesting how three similar and slightly  different account of the blind beggar from Jericho can be found in all  three of the synoptic gospels. Matthew speaks of two blind men sitting  by the roadside, whereas Luke recounts how a blind man was sitting by  the roadside begging and Mark puts a name to the blind beggar. The one  thing that all three stories have in common takes place after Jesus  heals the man. “Immediately they recovered their sight and followed him”  (Matthew 20:34) recounts Matthew.  After Bartimaeus encountered Jesus,  his life was radically changed. Not only could he see, but he left his  former life and followed Jesus. 

It’s  important for us to now look at the context in which we find the story  of the healing of blind Bartimaeus. Jesus tells him to go on his way and  instead Bartimaeus leaves his old life behind him and “followed [Jesus]  him on the way” (Mark 10:52) as they continued towards Jerusalem. The  healing occurs just prior to Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem.  Remember that Jesus did not refute the blind beggar for calling him “Son  of David” which sets up the messianic significance underlying the  triumphal entry.  “They brought the colt to Jesus … many spread their  cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches …  those who went  before and those who followed were shouting … ‘Blessed is the coming  kingdom of our father David” (Mark 11:7,8,9,10)! Again, Jesus does not  silence the crowd nor refute the Messianic title. 

“What  do you want me to do for you” (Mark 10:51)? The same question is being  asked of you today. The same question was asked of blind Bartimaeus,  asked of the sons of Zebedee and a similar dynamic was found in Jesus’  dialogue with the rich young man. In the previous stories, we noticed  how James and John wanted Jesus to fulfill their selfish request.  Instead, Jesus challenges them to reorient and refocus their lives  towards service “for even the Son of Man came not to be served but to  serve” (Mark 10:45). The rich young man also wanted something from  Jesus. “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life” (Mark  10:17) he asked. When all was said and done the sons of Zebedee and the  rich young man went away with their requests unfulfilled while the  request of blind Bartimaeus was fully granted on the spot.

The  first thing that you will notice is that Bartimaeus was desperate.  “When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out” (Mark  10:47). He knew that his condition was hopeless. He was destined to be a  blind beggar for the rest of his life. One of the problems with our  society today is that many don’t know how helpless and lost we are  without the grace of God. As sinners, we are destined to eternal death  and there is absolutely nothing we can do to change this. Our separation  from God because of sin is a hopeless situation for all of humanity.  Whereas sin is at the root of all our spiritual problems, when we deny  that we are not sinful we make ourselves out to be self-righteous. We  want to be in control of our own lives. We want eternal life, and we  want to know what we have to do to get it. We want to sit in the seats  of honour and authority and be served – rather than serve. We fail to or  don’t want to recognize our real need. We are simply too independent,  and we believe that we can solve our own issues without God. Instead, we  need to listen to the Word of God directing us as Peter writes “Humble  yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the  proper time he may exalt you” (1 Peter 5:6). It’s when we humble  ourselves before the Lord, like Bartimaeus, and when we recognize our  desperate need for him in our lives that God hears and responds to our  cries. 

The  second thing we can learn from Bartimaeus is that he didn’t care what  others thought about his passion for Jesus. “Many rebuked him  [Bartimaeus] telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more”  (Mark 10:48). He would not allow the world to shut him up. He even cried  all the louder. Today, our society frowns upon words and language and  expressions that are considered offensive to minorities or to certain  groups of people. The Lord’s Prayer was removed from our schools because  it was offensive to those who did not believe in it. Speaking about  Jesus is not socially acceptable in our world unless we are using his  name in vain. One thing is apparent in this reading, if Bartimaeus had  listened to those who told him to shut up – he would have never got to  Jesus. 

Finally,  Bartimaeus knew what he needed. The sons of Zebedee and the rich young  man failed because they ask for what they wanted.  There is a big  difference between wanting and needing and Bartimaeus called to Jesus  with what he needed.  Some will call to Jesus, but they will refuse to  hear him calling back to them to come if they don’t get what they want,  and how they want it. Some may even hear the good news of salvation  being offered to them and refuse to acknowledge the free gift of grace  because they are too stubborn to change the direction of their lives to  follow Jesus. Notice that “immediately he [Bartimaeus] recovered his  sight and followed him [Jesus] on the way” (Mark 10:52). 

“What  do you want me to do for you” (Mark 10:51)? Whenever we call to Jesus  in prayer, we are challenged by the same question which was asked of the  rich young man, the sons of Zebedee and the blind beggar Bartimaeus. We  can choose poorly, or we can choose wisely. Jesus told his disciples,  “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be  glorified in the Son.  If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it”  (John 14:13-14). But does this necessarily mean that we can ask for  anything? I believe that Bartimaeus’ response demonstrates to us how to  choose wisely. No doubt, approaching God with the right motives in our  heart is a good start. Asking for those things we need ‘in Jesus’ name’  shows our dependence of God and brings glory to the Father who gives us  our daily bread. One thing is clear from the Word of God is that the  Father is not a reluctant giver. “If you then, who are evil, know how to  give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is  in heaven give good things to those who ask him” (Matthew 7:11) not  even withholding his one and only Son for the salvation of the world.  Our reaction to God says it all. “Immediately he recovered his sight and  followed him [Jesus]” (Mark 10:52). 

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