God in Christ is ever available to hear and heed our cries for mercy.
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series V, Cycle B
Theme For The Day: God in Christ is ever available to hear and heed our cries for mercy.
BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Job 42:1--6, 10--17 (C)
The story of Job comes to completion as the sufferer comes to acknowledge his own finitude and God's power. Job does not receive a direct answer to his questions but receives something better, the very presence of God. "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you" (v. 6). This verse contrasts knowledge of God from tradition with a more direct relationship of God, such as the prophets experienced. God instructs Job's friends to repent because of the bad counsel they rendered Job and to go to Job, that he might pray for them. After that, the fortunes of Job are restored and he has twice as much as before.
Lesson 1: Jeremiah 31:7--9 (RC)
(See Christmas 2)
Lesson 1: Isaiah 59:(1--4) 9--19 (E)
Lesson 2: Hebrews 7:23--28 (C)
This text compares the levitical priesthood to the priesthood of Christ. The first distinction is that the levitical priests ministered only during their lifetime while Christ's priesthood is eternal. Christ is then able to intercede for people of every generation. Another distinction is that earthly priests are sinners and their sacrifices have to atone for their own sins as well as the sins of their people. Christ was not infected with the blight of human sinfulness. The Son is made perfect forever, not only the perfect high priest but the perfect sacrifice for sin.
Lesson 2: Hebrews 5:1--6 (RC)
(See Proper 24)
Lesson 2: 5:12-6:1, 9--12 (E)
Gospel: Mark 10:46--52 (C, RC, E)
The healing of blind Bartimaeus presents a transition from Jesus' general ministry to the ministry of the offering up his life in Jerusalem. Jesus is leaving Jericho, when Bartimaeus started making a commotion because he heard that Jesus was passing by. He addresses Jesus by the messianic title "Son of David." The crowd tried to silence him but Jesus called the blind man to himself, asking what he desired. "Master, let me receive my sight," he requested. Jesus told him to go his way because his faith had made him well but Bartimaeus followed Jesus.
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 34:1--8 (19--22) - "I sought the Lord, and he answered me" (v. 4).
Psalm 13 (E)
Psalm 125 (RC)
Prayer Of The Day
Gracious God, you sent your Son into the world to show us your mercy and to open our eyes to the light of your love. As you opened the eyes of the blind beggar, open our eyes through the power of faith, that we might see Jesus. In Jesus' name. Amen.
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Job 42:1--6, 10--17
"I" trouble. The pronoun "I" comes up five times in this lection. This does not indicate ego--centrism on Job's part but rather an intense awareness of his weaknesses and sinfulness. "I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes" (v. 6). In a sense, Job is confessing that he has "I" trouble. He was so focused on himself and his own suffering that he viewed God in a distorted light.
In over his head (v. 3). Job realizes that his desire to engage in philosophical discourse over his misfortunes put him in very deep water, far from shore. He was in over his head. "Therefore, I have uttered what I did not understand." Too many people permit their mouths to get ahead of their minds as they speak on subjects which they know little about. The wise person knows the limits of his knowledge.
Firsthand experience (v. 5). Like most people, Job's experience of God was secondhand, but then Job encountered the Lord personally. "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear but now my eye sees you." Job had wanted to lay everything on the table and have it out with the Almighty but the actual experience of God's presence turned the tables on everything. The questions that were so pressing no longer were relevant because encountering God changed everything - his view of God, of life and of himself.
Lesson 2: Hebrews 7:23--28
He gets the job done. The writer of Hebrews likes to contrast the incompleteness of the Judaic faith apart from Christ. The earthly priests were many because they were forced to lay aside their office through sin and death. In contrast, "He (Jesus) holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever. He is able for all time to save those who approach God..." The sacrifices of the priests were imperfect because they had to be repeated but Jesus offered up himself for us as the one all--sufficient sacrifice (v. 27). All other religions are attempts to connect us with God but they are all incomplete. Jesus completes the work of salvation. He gets the job done.
Once for all (v. 27). Jesus offered himself for us once for all. The word "once" tells us that there is nothing we can add to the work of salvation that God offers us in Christ. Our sacrifices and good deeds cannot add to what God has already done for us; in fact, they detract from Christ's sacrifice if we think that we can earn his grace. This gives us a sense of assurance. There's nothing we have to do to be saved but to accept Christ. The word "all" is also instructive. Christ's sacrifice is not for only a few or for the enlightened, he offers himself and his salvation for all people. It's all wrapped up. Just open the package.
Gospel: Mark 10:46--52
Life was passing him by (v. 46). Bartimaeus was sitting by the side of the road, he was blind and a beggar, since he had to depend on the charity of others. Life was literally and figuratively passing him by. One day, an excited crowd was surging past him and he asked what was happening. Jesus of Nazareth is passing through, he was told. Bartimaeus had heard about this Jesus. He had restored sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf. Maybe he would do the same for him, if only he could let Jesus know of his need. Instinctively, he shouted at the top of his lungs "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." Those around him found his shouts annoying and so they told him to shut--up. But life was passing him by, Jesus was passing him by. He might never come this way again. Bartimaeus shouted all the more passionately. Jesus heard his plaintive plea and stopped the procession so that, for this man, life might no longer pass him by.
The cry above the crowd. It often happens that the individual gets swept away by the crowd. This story presents a refreshing reversal on that theme. The crowd is stopped by the insistent plea of the solitary individual, a poor man, a blind man, a beggar. The crowd was halted because Jesus heard the cry of Bartimaeus over the tumult of the multitude. This is particularly notable because Jesus was going to Jerusalem, where he would suffer and die for the sins of the world. One might expect that his mind would have been on his own troubles looming on the horizon. Ah, but Jesus' ears are finely tuned to hear the cries for mercy from even the lowliest of his little ones.
How to catch God's attention. Some people cry to God for mercy and it seems that he isn't listening. How does a person cry out to the Lord in such a manner that she will be heard? Do like Bartimaeus. Cry out as if your life depended on it. Don't let anything or anyone deter you by saying that God doesn't have time for your problems. You keep on praying, begging, or whatever it is that you have to do, until you arrest the attention of the Almighty. The power of faith is an absolutely necessary prerequisite for catching and holding God's attention.
Extending Christ's invitation (v. 49). After Jesus heard the cries of Bartimaeus, he stopped in his tracks but he didn't go to the blind man. He ordered others to tell the blind man to come to him. Christ generally uses the invitations of others to draw men and women to himself. We in the Church are called to extend Christ's gracious invitation to all who need Jesus' healing touch.
Second sight (v. 51). When Jesus asked Bartimaeus what he wanted, he begged to see again. This man was not blind his whole life. He eyes had once soaked in the beauty of God's creation. What he was asking for was the gift of second sight. I see this as a type of metaphor of our life with God. As a child, God created us to behold the beauty he has placed in us and around us. Sin and selfishness gradually blind us to the light of God's beauty and truth if we do not open our hearts to God's redeeming grace. Salvation opens the eyes of our mind and heart to behold wonders vaguely remembered.
SERMON APPROACHES WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
Lesson 1: Job 42:1--6, 10--17
Sermon Title: Getting More Than You Bargained For
Sermon Angle: When he was suffering, Job wanted an audience with the Almighty to justify himself before God. Job was brought into the presence of God all right but it was not as he imagined. In the presence of God's holiness, he saw his own sinful condition. How foolish he was to think that he could go head to head with God. But God is gracious and gave Job much more than he bargained for; God gave him his grace through his very presence. In Jesus Christ, God grants us much more than we bargained for - his Son and salvation.
Outline:
1. Job wanted to justify himself to God and to get some answers.
2. God came to him and he realized how foolish he was (vv. 3--4).
3. Job got something better than he asked for - God himself (v. 5).
4. When we earnestly pray, God gives us more than we ask.
Sermon Title: All Is Well That Ends Well
Sermon Angle: Our text says that "The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning ..." (v. 12). The writer goes on to catalogue all of the livestock that Job received. However, ending well has less to do with material prosperity than with spiritual maturity and wisdom. Through Job's trials, he moved from knowing about God (secondhand knowledge) to knowing God (firsthand knowledge). He also gained insight into his own being. It is wonderful to begin well but how much more important it is to end well. The latter days of those who remain faithful to the Lord are bound to be more blessed than the former days. Those who love the Lord for a lifetime will receive a rich harvest of blessings.
Lesson 2: Hebrews 7:23--28
Sermon Title: Always Accessible
Sermon Angle: Recently, I had trouble making contact with two different lawyers that I've dealt with. One has not returned my calls and the other didn't bother to show up for an appointment. Good legal counsel is not always available, not by a long shot. Unfortunately, the same can be said for many others in positions of responsibility and authority. Out text states that "...he always lives to make intercession for them" (us) (v. 25b). Christ is our eternally available high priest.
Outline:
1. Modern business caters to making things easily available and convenient.
2. Yet, the help we need is not always there when we need it.
3. Jesus is eternally available, so that we might reach him with our needs.
Sermon Title: It Is Finished!
Sermon Angle: "It is finished," Jesus cried as he completed his work of salvation on the cross. The author of Hebrews is fond of using the word telios, meaning perfect or complete. Jesus completed the work of redemption once for all, when he offered himself on the cross (v. 28). There's nothing we can add to it. It is indeed finished! All we need to do is accept the sacrifice of our heavenly high priest.
Gospel: Mark 10:46--52
Sermon Title: Beggars For Life
Sermon Angle: Bartimaeus had probably begged in public places for years. He begged for scraps and was only able to eke out a bare existence. He knew that he had almost no other options but to beg for the rest of his miserable life. Then Jesus passed his way and he was quick to recognize the wonderful opportunity afforded him. Perhaps Jesus could do for him what he is reputed to have done for others, restore his sight. He knew what he had to do, be a beggar for life; that is, he had to go for broke and not merely beg for a few coins or a few scraps. He was inwardly constrained to beg for his life. We too are beggars, helpless to join eternity's procession, until Jesus calls us. We are blind until Jesus restores our inward sight. We must never settle for a few coins in our hands when we can possess heaven in our hearts. We truly are beggars for life.
Outline:
1. Bartimaeus begged for scraps, like many other poor people.
2. He knew that he would probably be a beggar all his life.
3. When Jesus came by, he was a beggar for his life (a new life).
4. Jesus healed him and he joined the procession of life, led by Jesus (v. 52).
5. We too are beggars for our lives and the lives of others. Don't let Jesus pass you by without receiving this gift of new life.
__________
One of the Hebrew words for mercy, racham, is related to the word for womb. It has the connotation of the mother's affection for a child or a sibling's affection for his brothers and sisters. When Bartimaeus asked Jesus to have mercy on him, he was requesting the Lord to take him into his family and accept him as his dear child.
Sermon Title: The Poor Are People Too
Sermon Angle: In many of our Lord's healing miracles, the person who is delivered is not named. The recipient of his sight had a name and his father had a name, Bartimaeus and Timaeus. Names give us identity, significance. Our names make us human, related to, but distinct from, every other individual. Often times, the poor and unfortunates of this world appear as faces without names. Frequently they aren't even faces, because they are invisible. When we stop, as Jesus did, we find that the poor and disabled of this world are people too.
Outline:
1. The poor and needy are often nameless and invisible.
2. Bartimaeus would have remained a nameless cipher if Jesus had not heard his cry.
3. Jesus heard Bartimaeus' cry, stopped, inquired into his need and healed him.
4. Jesus recognized that the poor and disabled are people too. Do we?
__________
Zoe was supposed to join the Lutheran Church a certain November morning. Actually she was supposed to have united with the congregation the week before, but was prevented by a lingering case of pneumonia. I tried calling her toward the end of the week but couldn't reach her. Saturday, November 18, she called me about 11 P.M. She had just received my message. After apologizing for not responding sooner, she went on to explain what had happened. A friend had called from Utah earlier in the week. He was terminal with AIDS and didn't want to die in solitude. Because of his homosexuality, his Mormon family had rejected him; they would have nothing to do with him. "Would you please fly out?" he pleaded. At first, Zoe didn't see how she could get off work. After all, she had been absent from work two weeks or so due to the pneumonia. Her boss wouldn't let her go, she reasoned. As it turned out, her boss overheard the conversation. Being gay himself, he identified with the man dying of AIDS. He told Zoe that she should go and not worry about her job. "If I were dying, I would surely want someone to be with me," he reasoned. Zoe flew to her friend, who asked if she could secure someone from the Mormon Church to give him a final blessing. That church turned its back on the dying man. The friend also wanted to be baptized and so Zoe called the local Lutheran pastor, since that was her religious affiliation. This pastor put aside all judgment, came to the dying man and baptized him. Zoe's friend relinquished his life a couple of days later and Zoe arranged a memorial service.
"What was I to do?" she exclaimed. "I don't really approve of the gay lifestyle but this man is my friend. How can you turn your back on a friend?"
"You did the right thing, the Christ--like thing," I assured.The Bartimaeuses remain hidden along the busy thoroughfares of life, crying out for grace, love and light. Christ heard the plaintive plea of the pariahs. Do we?
Sermon Title: The Danger Of Answered Prayer
Sermon Angle: Bartimaeus had no idea where his plea for mercy or his request to regain his sight would lead. Sometimes life might be more simple, if one were blind or had some disability that prevents a person from entering into the thick of life. There is a danger in having your prayer answered because it changes not just that one thing but everything. Jesus told Bartimaeus that he could go his way because his faith had healed him but the newly sighted Bartimaeus followed Jesus. And where was Jesus going? He was going to Jerusalem. And what would happen in Jerusalem? He would be betrayed, arrested, convicted and crucified. I believe that Bartimaeus became a follower of Jesus and witnessed all these things. How could he imagine what pain and sorrow he would see? Was he ever sorry that he had asked to receive his sight? When Jesus calls us to himself (v. 49) and when he opens the eyes of our soul (v. 52), we are never the same and life is never the same. Then, we see sin in all its horror and we enter into the pain and suffering of our Lord and of his people. Be careful what you earnestly seek from the Lord. It will change your life.
Outline:
1. The outcome of Jesus answering Bartimaeus' petition must have been far different than what he imagined.
2. Bartimaeus followed Jesus to Jerusalem and probably witnessed the horror of his crucifixion.
3. Seeing all those things transformed his life.
4. Fervent prayers are powerfully dangerous. They will change your life.
BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Job 42:1--6, 10--17 (C)
The story of Job comes to completion as the sufferer comes to acknowledge his own finitude and God's power. Job does not receive a direct answer to his questions but receives something better, the very presence of God. "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you" (v. 6). This verse contrasts knowledge of God from tradition with a more direct relationship of God, such as the prophets experienced. God instructs Job's friends to repent because of the bad counsel they rendered Job and to go to Job, that he might pray for them. After that, the fortunes of Job are restored and he has twice as much as before.
Lesson 1: Jeremiah 31:7--9 (RC)
(See Christmas 2)
Lesson 1: Isaiah 59:(1--4) 9--19 (E)
Lesson 2: Hebrews 7:23--28 (C)
This text compares the levitical priesthood to the priesthood of Christ. The first distinction is that the levitical priests ministered only during their lifetime while Christ's priesthood is eternal. Christ is then able to intercede for people of every generation. Another distinction is that earthly priests are sinners and their sacrifices have to atone for their own sins as well as the sins of their people. Christ was not infected with the blight of human sinfulness. The Son is made perfect forever, not only the perfect high priest but the perfect sacrifice for sin.
Lesson 2: Hebrews 5:1--6 (RC)
(See Proper 24)
Lesson 2: 5:12-6:1, 9--12 (E)
Gospel: Mark 10:46--52 (C, RC, E)
The healing of blind Bartimaeus presents a transition from Jesus' general ministry to the ministry of the offering up his life in Jerusalem. Jesus is leaving Jericho, when Bartimaeus started making a commotion because he heard that Jesus was passing by. He addresses Jesus by the messianic title "Son of David." The crowd tried to silence him but Jesus called the blind man to himself, asking what he desired. "Master, let me receive my sight," he requested. Jesus told him to go his way because his faith had made him well but Bartimaeus followed Jesus.
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 34:1--8 (19--22) - "I sought the Lord, and he answered me" (v. 4).
Psalm 13 (E)
Psalm 125 (RC)
Prayer Of The Day
Gracious God, you sent your Son into the world to show us your mercy and to open our eyes to the light of your love. As you opened the eyes of the blind beggar, open our eyes through the power of faith, that we might see Jesus. In Jesus' name. Amen.
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Job 42:1--6, 10--17
"I" trouble. The pronoun "I" comes up five times in this lection. This does not indicate ego--centrism on Job's part but rather an intense awareness of his weaknesses and sinfulness. "I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes" (v. 6). In a sense, Job is confessing that he has "I" trouble. He was so focused on himself and his own suffering that he viewed God in a distorted light.
In over his head (v. 3). Job realizes that his desire to engage in philosophical discourse over his misfortunes put him in very deep water, far from shore. He was in over his head. "Therefore, I have uttered what I did not understand." Too many people permit their mouths to get ahead of their minds as they speak on subjects which they know little about. The wise person knows the limits of his knowledge.
Firsthand experience (v. 5). Like most people, Job's experience of God was secondhand, but then Job encountered the Lord personally. "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear but now my eye sees you." Job had wanted to lay everything on the table and have it out with the Almighty but the actual experience of God's presence turned the tables on everything. The questions that were so pressing no longer were relevant because encountering God changed everything - his view of God, of life and of himself.
Lesson 2: Hebrews 7:23--28
He gets the job done. The writer of Hebrews likes to contrast the incompleteness of the Judaic faith apart from Christ. The earthly priests were many because they were forced to lay aside their office through sin and death. In contrast, "He (Jesus) holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever. He is able for all time to save those who approach God..." The sacrifices of the priests were imperfect because they had to be repeated but Jesus offered up himself for us as the one all--sufficient sacrifice (v. 27). All other religions are attempts to connect us with God but they are all incomplete. Jesus completes the work of salvation. He gets the job done.
Once for all (v. 27). Jesus offered himself for us once for all. The word "once" tells us that there is nothing we can add to the work of salvation that God offers us in Christ. Our sacrifices and good deeds cannot add to what God has already done for us; in fact, they detract from Christ's sacrifice if we think that we can earn his grace. This gives us a sense of assurance. There's nothing we have to do to be saved but to accept Christ. The word "all" is also instructive. Christ's sacrifice is not for only a few or for the enlightened, he offers himself and his salvation for all people. It's all wrapped up. Just open the package.
Gospel: Mark 10:46--52
Life was passing him by (v. 46). Bartimaeus was sitting by the side of the road, he was blind and a beggar, since he had to depend on the charity of others. Life was literally and figuratively passing him by. One day, an excited crowd was surging past him and he asked what was happening. Jesus of Nazareth is passing through, he was told. Bartimaeus had heard about this Jesus. He had restored sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf. Maybe he would do the same for him, if only he could let Jesus know of his need. Instinctively, he shouted at the top of his lungs "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." Those around him found his shouts annoying and so they told him to shut--up. But life was passing him by, Jesus was passing him by. He might never come this way again. Bartimaeus shouted all the more passionately. Jesus heard his plaintive plea and stopped the procession so that, for this man, life might no longer pass him by.
The cry above the crowd. It often happens that the individual gets swept away by the crowd. This story presents a refreshing reversal on that theme. The crowd is stopped by the insistent plea of the solitary individual, a poor man, a blind man, a beggar. The crowd was halted because Jesus heard the cry of Bartimaeus over the tumult of the multitude. This is particularly notable because Jesus was going to Jerusalem, where he would suffer and die for the sins of the world. One might expect that his mind would have been on his own troubles looming on the horizon. Ah, but Jesus' ears are finely tuned to hear the cries for mercy from even the lowliest of his little ones.
How to catch God's attention. Some people cry to God for mercy and it seems that he isn't listening. How does a person cry out to the Lord in such a manner that she will be heard? Do like Bartimaeus. Cry out as if your life depended on it. Don't let anything or anyone deter you by saying that God doesn't have time for your problems. You keep on praying, begging, or whatever it is that you have to do, until you arrest the attention of the Almighty. The power of faith is an absolutely necessary prerequisite for catching and holding God's attention.
Extending Christ's invitation (v. 49). After Jesus heard the cries of Bartimaeus, he stopped in his tracks but he didn't go to the blind man. He ordered others to tell the blind man to come to him. Christ generally uses the invitations of others to draw men and women to himself. We in the Church are called to extend Christ's gracious invitation to all who need Jesus' healing touch.
Second sight (v. 51). When Jesus asked Bartimaeus what he wanted, he begged to see again. This man was not blind his whole life. He eyes had once soaked in the beauty of God's creation. What he was asking for was the gift of second sight. I see this as a type of metaphor of our life with God. As a child, God created us to behold the beauty he has placed in us and around us. Sin and selfishness gradually blind us to the light of God's beauty and truth if we do not open our hearts to God's redeeming grace. Salvation opens the eyes of our mind and heart to behold wonders vaguely remembered.
SERMON APPROACHES WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
Lesson 1: Job 42:1--6, 10--17
Sermon Title: Getting More Than You Bargained For
Sermon Angle: When he was suffering, Job wanted an audience with the Almighty to justify himself before God. Job was brought into the presence of God all right but it was not as he imagined. In the presence of God's holiness, he saw his own sinful condition. How foolish he was to think that he could go head to head with God. But God is gracious and gave Job much more than he bargained for; God gave him his grace through his very presence. In Jesus Christ, God grants us much more than we bargained for - his Son and salvation.
Outline:
1. Job wanted to justify himself to God and to get some answers.
2. God came to him and he realized how foolish he was (vv. 3--4).
3. Job got something better than he asked for - God himself (v. 5).
4. When we earnestly pray, God gives us more than we ask.
Sermon Title: All Is Well That Ends Well
Sermon Angle: Our text says that "The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning ..." (v. 12). The writer goes on to catalogue all of the livestock that Job received. However, ending well has less to do with material prosperity than with spiritual maturity and wisdom. Through Job's trials, he moved from knowing about God (secondhand knowledge) to knowing God (firsthand knowledge). He also gained insight into his own being. It is wonderful to begin well but how much more important it is to end well. The latter days of those who remain faithful to the Lord are bound to be more blessed than the former days. Those who love the Lord for a lifetime will receive a rich harvest of blessings.
Lesson 2: Hebrews 7:23--28
Sermon Title: Always Accessible
Sermon Angle: Recently, I had trouble making contact with two different lawyers that I've dealt with. One has not returned my calls and the other didn't bother to show up for an appointment. Good legal counsel is not always available, not by a long shot. Unfortunately, the same can be said for many others in positions of responsibility and authority. Out text states that "...he always lives to make intercession for them" (us) (v. 25b). Christ is our eternally available high priest.
Outline:
1. Modern business caters to making things easily available and convenient.
2. Yet, the help we need is not always there when we need it.
3. Jesus is eternally available, so that we might reach him with our needs.
Sermon Title: It Is Finished!
Sermon Angle: "It is finished," Jesus cried as he completed his work of salvation on the cross. The author of Hebrews is fond of using the word telios, meaning perfect or complete. Jesus completed the work of redemption once for all, when he offered himself on the cross (v. 28). There's nothing we can add to it. It is indeed finished! All we need to do is accept the sacrifice of our heavenly high priest.
Gospel: Mark 10:46--52
Sermon Title: Beggars For Life
Sermon Angle: Bartimaeus had probably begged in public places for years. He begged for scraps and was only able to eke out a bare existence. He knew that he had almost no other options but to beg for the rest of his miserable life. Then Jesus passed his way and he was quick to recognize the wonderful opportunity afforded him. Perhaps Jesus could do for him what he is reputed to have done for others, restore his sight. He knew what he had to do, be a beggar for life; that is, he had to go for broke and not merely beg for a few coins or a few scraps. He was inwardly constrained to beg for his life. We too are beggars, helpless to join eternity's procession, until Jesus calls us. We are blind until Jesus restores our inward sight. We must never settle for a few coins in our hands when we can possess heaven in our hearts. We truly are beggars for life.
Outline:
1. Bartimaeus begged for scraps, like many other poor people.
2. He knew that he would probably be a beggar all his life.
3. When Jesus came by, he was a beggar for his life (a new life).
4. Jesus healed him and he joined the procession of life, led by Jesus (v. 52).
5. We too are beggars for our lives and the lives of others. Don't let Jesus pass you by without receiving this gift of new life.
__________
One of the Hebrew words for mercy, racham, is related to the word for womb. It has the connotation of the mother's affection for a child or a sibling's affection for his brothers and sisters. When Bartimaeus asked Jesus to have mercy on him, he was requesting the Lord to take him into his family and accept him as his dear child.
Sermon Title: The Poor Are People Too
Sermon Angle: In many of our Lord's healing miracles, the person who is delivered is not named. The recipient of his sight had a name and his father had a name, Bartimaeus and Timaeus. Names give us identity, significance. Our names make us human, related to, but distinct from, every other individual. Often times, the poor and unfortunates of this world appear as faces without names. Frequently they aren't even faces, because they are invisible. When we stop, as Jesus did, we find that the poor and disabled of this world are people too.
Outline:
1. The poor and needy are often nameless and invisible.
2. Bartimaeus would have remained a nameless cipher if Jesus had not heard his cry.
3. Jesus heard Bartimaeus' cry, stopped, inquired into his need and healed him.
4. Jesus recognized that the poor and disabled are people too. Do we?
__________
Zoe was supposed to join the Lutheran Church a certain November morning. Actually she was supposed to have united with the congregation the week before, but was prevented by a lingering case of pneumonia. I tried calling her toward the end of the week but couldn't reach her. Saturday, November 18, she called me about 11 P.M. She had just received my message. After apologizing for not responding sooner, she went on to explain what had happened. A friend had called from Utah earlier in the week. He was terminal with AIDS and didn't want to die in solitude. Because of his homosexuality, his Mormon family had rejected him; they would have nothing to do with him. "Would you please fly out?" he pleaded. At first, Zoe didn't see how she could get off work. After all, she had been absent from work two weeks or so due to the pneumonia. Her boss wouldn't let her go, she reasoned. As it turned out, her boss overheard the conversation. Being gay himself, he identified with the man dying of AIDS. He told Zoe that she should go and not worry about her job. "If I were dying, I would surely want someone to be with me," he reasoned. Zoe flew to her friend, who asked if she could secure someone from the Mormon Church to give him a final blessing. That church turned its back on the dying man. The friend also wanted to be baptized and so Zoe called the local Lutheran pastor, since that was her religious affiliation. This pastor put aside all judgment, came to the dying man and baptized him. Zoe's friend relinquished his life a couple of days later and Zoe arranged a memorial service.
"What was I to do?" she exclaimed. "I don't really approve of the gay lifestyle but this man is my friend. How can you turn your back on a friend?"
"You did the right thing, the Christ--like thing," I assured.The Bartimaeuses remain hidden along the busy thoroughfares of life, crying out for grace, love and light. Christ heard the plaintive plea of the pariahs. Do we?
Sermon Title: The Danger Of Answered Prayer
Sermon Angle: Bartimaeus had no idea where his plea for mercy or his request to regain his sight would lead. Sometimes life might be more simple, if one were blind or had some disability that prevents a person from entering into the thick of life. There is a danger in having your prayer answered because it changes not just that one thing but everything. Jesus told Bartimaeus that he could go his way because his faith had healed him but the newly sighted Bartimaeus followed Jesus. And where was Jesus going? He was going to Jerusalem. And what would happen in Jerusalem? He would be betrayed, arrested, convicted and crucified. I believe that Bartimaeus became a follower of Jesus and witnessed all these things. How could he imagine what pain and sorrow he would see? Was he ever sorry that he had asked to receive his sight? When Jesus calls us to himself (v. 49) and when he opens the eyes of our soul (v. 52), we are never the same and life is never the same. Then, we see sin in all its horror and we enter into the pain and suffering of our Lord and of his people. Be careful what you earnestly seek from the Lord. It will change your life.
Outline:
1. The outcome of Jesus answering Bartimaeus' petition must have been far different than what he imagined.
2. Bartimaeus followed Jesus to Jerusalem and probably witnessed the horror of his crucifixion.
3. Seeing all those things transformed his life.
4. Fervent prayers are powerfully dangerous. They will change your life.
