Sermon 10/24/2021 “Broken open”
Preacher: Jo J. Belser
Location: Church of the Resurrection, 2800 Hope Way, Alexandria, VA
Text: Mark 10:46-52
Day: 22Pentecost, Proper 25, Year B
Here we are, Cleopas and I, on our way to Jerusalem once again for Passover.
I remember last year’s Passover—who doesn’t? Our Rabbi, Jesus of Nazareth, was crucified at Passover time last year. Cleopas and I were so stunned that the one we had reckoned to be the Messiah was dead and buried that we hightailed ourselves to our home in Emmaus.
I’ll bet you know what happened during THAT hike. A stranger overtook us on the road and broke us open by teaching us how the Messiah’s death and resurrection fulfilled ancient scripture. We were so taken with what the man shared that we invited him to dinner. And, as he served us the meal, his words “broke us open” anew:
- Broke open our eyes to see that the stranger was Christ Jesus;
- Broke open our ears to hear his Word; and
- Broke open our hearts to share his love with absolutely everyone.
Well, THAT’s OUR story, but today’s gospel lesson is not about us. Jesus sent us to you today to tell you about our fellow disciple, Bart, son of Timaeus.
So, here we are, Cleopas and I, leaving Jericho, where, long ago, Joshua’s great faith had broken open the walls of this city. And right here, right on this spot, where the walls of Jericho had “come tumbling down,” sat Bart just a year ago, begging.
Now, Bart was no con man, no scam artist. Bart was genuinely and completely blind, sightless—with his eyes. This was ironic, because (as things turned out) Bart had the sharpest vision of all of us. Right here ON THIS SPOT, with his cloak filled with coins from begging, Bart somehow “saw” Jesus passing by and “saw” who he was and is.
Cleopas and I were with Jesus that day; a whole bunch of Jesus’ disciples were there also, those who had accepted Jesus’ challenge to “pick up their cross” and follow him. We didn’t know what that meant, not then, but we were with Jesus, headed to Jerusalem even though Jesus was convinced that he would be killed there.
Truth be told, we were afraid WE WOULD DIE there, too, but we were also hoping for a big “reveal” that would negate any of us having to die. We were hoping that God would send and angel and provide a lamb like God did when Abraham had been convinced that God wanted him to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac. We didn’t know, a year ago, that Jesus WAS the LAMB of GOD, destined to be sacrificed for us all.
But blind Bart knew more than we did. Somehow, he knew that Jesus was passing by—right here—and he knew that Jesus would heal him, if only he could get Jesus’ attention. So, Bart began to scream for Jesus—“Son of David, have mercy on me.” That’s when we, Jesus’ disciples, told the blind man to stop yelling and to not bother Jesus.
And Jesus DID pass Bart by, at first. Until he heard us tell the man to shut up. Then Jesus stopped, turned, and told us to call the beggar to him. Jesus pointed to his heart as he said this, “Call him HERE.” At the time I thought Jesus meant, “send Bart to me.” And he did mean that, but now I wonder if he also meant, “Call him with your heart, not just with your voice; invite him into our Beloved Community, let him in, he’s mine.” Don’t we ALL belong to Jesus, even beggars?
The last time Jesus instructed US to do something like that, he told us to feed a huge crowd of people with just a handful of food. We failed THAT TEST. So, we were determined to not fail this one. We turned to the beggar and invited him to come to Jesus. We used a word that we had heard Jesus use while we cowered in a swamped boat in a bad storm. In Greek, this word is THAR-SHE-OH and it means “take courage” more than it means “take heart.” Not “have a good day,” but “have faith.” That’s what we told Bart, “Take courage, get up; Jesus is calling you.”
The most amazing thing happened next. Bart threw off his cloak, which was valuable simply because it doubled as his night-time blanket. If need be, Bart could sell his cloak, but the buyer would legally have to give it back to him each night to keep him warm. When Bart threw off his cloak, coins scattered everywhere. Bart simply left them, left everything, and ran to Jesus.
Cleopas and I were with Jesus just a few weeks ago when a rich young man came to Jesus asking for “eternal life,” which is to say, “salvation.” This rich man had everything money could buy, but he wanted more, wanted to live well and to live forever. Jesus had told THAT MAN to sell everything he owned and to follow him. THAT MAN went away, sorrowful, not wanting to part with his possessions.
Not Bart, not today. Jesus didn’t even have to TELL HIM to divest himself of his things. Bart left everything he owned and RAN TO JESUS.
Have you ever seen a blind man run, groping like a zombie? We hadn’t, and the sight was very funny, except no one laughed. THIS MAN had THAR-SEH-OH; his eyes didn’t work but he could SEE.
Jesus asked Bart what he wanted Jesus to do for him. Your Bible translates Bart’s response as “to see again,” and that’s what Bart got. But in Greek what he actually asked for is to be able to “look up,”
Jesus had “looked up” a lot. He “looked up” when he prayed. He “looked up” when he broke bread, when he healed people, and when he truly saw people. So, Jesus healed the blind man. Bart got what the rich man failed to secure—Bart got a new life in the here and now and in the life to come.
Cleopas and I came here to Church of the Resurrection today to tell you Bart’s story. We wanted to visit our statue in your Memorial Garden, but we wanted to visit this building, too. That’s because your building reminds us of where Bart sat, just outside Jericho, waiting for Jesus to come by and change his life.
By the look of things, though, you already have THAR-SEH-OH’d (taken courage) and come to Jesus. All you need to do now is to decide what else besides your old building you will give up to receive new life. “Take courage, Church of the Resurrection—be broken open; Jesus is still calling you.”
