21 Pentecost, Year B

“BRIDGES OF MERCY”
A sermon by The Very Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Sunday, October 25, 2009
Proper 25 -- Isaiah 59: 1–4,9–19; Psalm 13; Hebrews 5:12–6:1,9–12; Mark 10:46–52

“Jesus of Nazareth, Son of David, have mercy on me.”

Mercy is at the heart of today’s gospel text:

Mercy requested

Mercy denied

Mercy given

Blind Bartimaeus (notice that Mark has to translate the meaning of his name, indicating that the Aramaic prefix “bar” means “son”), the son of Timaeus, asks for mercy from the Lord.

But the crowd who is traveling with Jesus denies him mercy, saying (in effect) “Shut up!”

And it is the Lord who bridges the gap, the gulf which has been created by Bartimaeus’ condition and the crowd’s reaction, as Jesus asks him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Let’s explore the three aspects of mercy which are before us today:

Mercy requested: Bartimaeus’ life situation was probably pretty dire. Notice that Mark tells us that he was a beggar. That wass probably the only way he could support himself, because he was probably unable to work. Moreover, he may have been shunned by others in the community there in Jericho, for many may have felt that he was blind because of some gross sin in his life. Such was the reality of life 2,000 years ago. So, Bartimaeus may have suffered from both poverty and social isolation.

Mercy denied: Now, we see that Mark tells us that the crowd that was traveling with Jesus “rebuked him, telling him to be silent.” Why might they have reacted to Bartimaeus in this way? We can only speculate on the reasons. But as we do so, I think we can make some pretty safe guesses. First, we pick up a theme we’ve just mentioned in the paragraph above: They may have felt that Bartimaeus was blind because he was a sinner. We saw this sort of an assumption at work a couple of weeks ago, as we considered the case of the rich man who came to Jesus, asking what he had to do to “inherit eternal life.” (See Mark 10: 17 – 31). In that case, we remarked that the expectation in Jesus’ day was that the man was rich because he was a righteous man, a man who had received God’s favor. In the case of blind Bartimaeus, just the reverse might have been true: the crowd may have felt that some gross sin was the reason for his condition. Moreover, the crowd may have assessed the situation with one glance, and may have concluded that the business they were engaged in, that of going to the great feast of Passover in Jerusalem, took priority over dealing with a man who had no means whatsoever to join in such an important mission. These people were “on a mission” to Jerusalem, traveling some 15 miles west, and 4,000 feet up (for Jericho is situated about 1,200 feet below sea level, while Jerusalem sits at 2,800 feet above sea level) to the great feast. They may have asked themselves silently, “Why bother with this guy? He obviously has no way to go to the Passover, to be a part of the wonderful thing that we’re doing.”

Mercy given: In contrast to the crowd’s reaction, Jesus bridges the gap with Bartimaeus. In so doing, He asks him to name exactly the need that prompted Bartimaeus to cry out. In his response, we catch a glimpse of Bartimaeus’ life situation, for contained in his comment, “Master, let me regain my sight,” we are led to believe that Bartimaeus was able to see at some point in his life. Now, notice Jesus’ reply, “Go your way, your faith has made you well.”

We would miss some important points about this gospel text if we didn’t mention the following:

The “way”: Jesus says, as part of His response to Bartimaeus, “Go your way.” It turns out that Bartimaeus’ “way” is the way to Jerusalem, for Mark tells us that he joined Jesus and the others who were traveling to Jerusalem, for Mark says that he “followed Him (Jesus) on the way.” You see, the point here is that Jesus’ gift of mercy and healing allowed Bartimaeus to follow Jesus, to take part in life in its fullness, on the way to the Passover!

Shedding his mantle: There is urgency in Bartimaeus’ request. Mark tells us that, at Jesus’ invitation, Bartimaeus “sprang up and came to Jesus.” In the process, he threw off his mantle. Some biblical scholars see importance in what Bartimaeus did, noting that he was willing to give up an important part of all that he owned, his mantle, (remember that it could get cold at that time in Palestine) in order to come to the Lord. Contrast Bartimaeus’ behavior with that of the rich man we mentioned a little while ago: Bartimaeus was willing to drop whatever prevented him from following the Lord, while the rich man clutched his possessions ever tighter around him at Jesus’ words of invitation to come and be a disciple. Moreover, the rich man “went away sorrowful” at Jesus’ words, while Bartimaeus “sprang up” to come to the Lord.

Now, what conclusions might we draw from today’s text?

I offer these conclusions to you, for your own reflection: As human beings we may experience an attitude of “mercy requested” and “mercy denied” at various times in our lives. Sometimes, we will experience both attitudes within ourselves with respect to our own situations. Sometimes, we will attempt to deny mercy to another who requests it from the Lord, and in the process, we will forget that we ourselves have received mercy from the Lord.

Let’s explore the first situation: Within our own attitudes about ourselves, we may know that we need God’s mercy. But there may be the expectation – also within ourselves – that we are unworthy of God’s love and mercy. We are caught, just where Satan wants us to be, between our deep need and our equally deep assessment that we are unworthy of such mercy. So, like the rich man, we turn away, as we clutch our unworthiness around us. Our sense of unworthiness often becomes our most prized possession in such cases. Have you been in this situation? I have! And, as a priest, I’ve seen persons who have been in such cases. When we are caught in such a clash between our need our our inability to receive mercy, we simply cannot accept the idea that the Lord can bridge the gap to address our need.

Now, we turn to the second situation: How often do our own expectations and our quick assessments of others’ circumstances lead us to believe that there’s no point in allowing other’s needs to come into God’s presence. We may say to ourselves, “There’s no hope for that situation, nothing that can be done – even by God – to bring healing and wholeness.” But, the point of today’s gospel text is that the seemingly impossible is entirely possible for the Lord to do. “For with God, nothing will be impossible!” (The angel Gabriel’s words to Mary, Luke 1: 37).

Thanks be to the Lord, who bridges the gap, bringing mercy, healing and wholeness.

AMEN.