They said to the blind man, "Take heart; get up, he is calling you." Jesus continues to call us today, so in our worship let us take heart, get up and respond to him.
Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, sometimes we don't hear you when you call.
Lord, have mercy.Jesus, sometimes our hearts are low and we feel fed up and depressed.
Christ, have mercy.Jesus, sometimes you feel so far away that we are unable to respond to you.
Lord, have mercy.
Reading:
Mark 10:46-52
46. They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. 47. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 48. Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 49. Jesus stood still and said, "Call him here." And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart; get up, he is calling you." 50. So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51. Then Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man said to him, "My teacher, {Aramaic [Rabbouni]} let me see again." 52. Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.
Story:
It's when everything is going wrong that we need to hear Jesus say, "Take heart and get up. What do you want me to do for you?"
In this story, Mr Tweedie eventually realises that his difficulties are largely down to him. Once he's able to accept this, he can respond to Jesus' call.
Mr Tweedie, The Organist
"I'm not playing that rubbish!" stormed Mr Tweedie the organist.
"Not everybody thinks it's rubbish," responded the vicar, mildly. "Some people enjoy modern hymns very much indeed."
Mr Tweedie drew himself up to his full height, which brought him about level with the vicar's shoulder. He was so short that he always felt at a disadvantage and that made him angrier than ever. "I'm the musical director," he shouted, "and I'm not playing that. If you want that tripe played in church, find someone else. It's not proper music and these dumbed-down services for kids that you want to put on, aren't proper services at all. I won't have anything to do with desecrating our Lord's house in such a way. I resign!"
He waited for the vicar to beseech him to reconsider, but the vicar only said courteously, "In that case, I must thank you very much indeed for all your loyal and faithful work over the last thirty years. You've been a great asset to our church and we shall miss you, but perhaps you're right and it is time you had some space to yourself. Go with God."
Mr Tweedie blinked and began to tremble. But there was no way he could go back on his words now. He turned with as much dignity as he could muster and swept out in what he hoped was an impressive exit.
He was so angry that he couldn't get the scene out of his mind. He kept replaying it over and over again, and thought up lots of good responses to put the vicar down, responses which he wished he'd thought of at the time. Every time Mr Tweedie replayed the scene in his mind, his fury at the vicar would boil over again and he'd find himself thinking very bad thoughts about the vicar and wishing all sorts of evil on him. He felt slightly ashamed of himself, but was unable to stop. And he assured himself virtuously that the vicar deserved it.
Whenever he met anyone in the village, Mr Tweedie would recount the story of how badly the vicar had treated him. In his recounting, Mr Tweedie always came out best with right on his side, and the vicar always came out as mean and spiteful with trendy ideas which nobody wanted. Most people agreed with Mr Tweedie, although in his better moments Mr Tweedie suspected that they only agreed with him because he made it very difficult for them to disagree.
Mr Tweedie didn't go near the church for a month. He rather expected the vicar to come and visit him, because that's what vicars were supposed to do. When the vicar didn't visit, Mr Tweedie had another reason for feeling furious with the vicar, and he made sure everyone in the village knew that the vicar hadn't even bothered to come and see him.
But deep down inside himself, Mr Tweedie felt miserable. He suddenly discovered he had nothing to do on Sundays, and caught himself wondering what was going on in church. He also discovered that all his friends were in the church, so not going on a Sunday meant that he hardly saw any of them. And there was a kind of hollow ache inside himself. Mr Tweedie blamed the vicar. It was all his fault.
One Sunday morning, Mr Tweedie turned on the television to watch the morning service. The story of Blind Bartimaeus was read, then the television vicar faced directly into the camera and said, "Take heart, he is calling you. What do you want him to do for you?"
Mr Tweedie felt as though the television vicar was speaking straight to him, and without thinking, he heard himself respond, "I want to go back to church." He was horrified when he'd said it, because he spent the previous few weeks telling anyone who would listen that he was never going back to that place, even if they paid him a thousand pounds.
Mr Tweedie felt a lump in his throat and he blinked back tears. Then he humbly knelt down on his lounge carpet, closed his eyes, put his hands together and said, "I'm sorry. Help me, Jesus."
It just so happened that the vicar came to see Mr Tweedie the next day. "Look, George," began the vicar. "I know you don't like modern hymns, and you're not alone in that. But we do need to think of younger people as well as older people. Would you consider playing on special occasions such as weddings and funerals? We can probably get someone to play a keyboard for the usual services, but we really do need the organ for weddings and funerals."
Mr Tweedie beamed. "Of course I will, " he declared. "And I've been doing some thinking. Suppose I start a small group of youngsters who play guitars and flutes and drums and things like that? We could learn some of the modern hymns together, then we could have the organ for proper hymns and a music group for the modern rubbish." But this time his eyes twinkled as he spoke.
The vicar gazed at him, astonished. Then a grin began to spread over his face, until it stretched from ear to ear. He held out his hand. "Welcome back, George," he said softly. "We've missed you."
Activity:
You need:
Several sheets of paper
Felt tip
pens
Bibles
Start by looking again at last week's flip chart, and ask whether anyone has noticed a response to their prayers? Then go on to ask what Blind Bartimaeus' prayer was, and discuss the story of Blind Bartimaeus.
The story of Blind Bartimaeus is a good one to act out, as even the crowd have quite an important part to play. If you choose drama, make sure everyone has the opportunity afterwards to say how it felt to be in their role. Note how easy it was for the crowd to change their tune - first they hushed the blind man, then they ushered him towards Jesus. What made them change?
Any who dislike acting could make a strip cartoon of the story of Blind Bartimaeus. If possible, show both the drama and the strip cartoon to the whole church, then scan the cartoon into a Power Point presentation, so that the children can watch the "film" next week.
Diary Time: For details, click here.
Ask the children what sort of things make them feel miserable and allow them to discuss their feelings. Ask whether those things are always someone else's fault, or whether they have any responsibility for them? Ask whether they've ever been like Mr Tweedie, playing something over and over in their minds and if they have, whether it helped them resolve the issue or made it worse.
Suggest that when things are really bad, it often helps to take some time out and to take an honest look at ourselves, acknowledging where we are to blame. Once we've been able to do that, Jesus can help us.
The children should write or draw one occasion which is still painful to them - and may begin to resolve it once it's out in the open.
Intercession:
Healing Lord, we pray for the whole church, that it may receive its sight. Where there are areas of blindness, open our eyes so that we may see.
Healing Lord, when people meet in crowds, help them to keep their integrity intact. Protect them from the evil that can focus in crowds and keep them true to you.
Healing Lord, help those in our community who are disabled or disadvantaged in any way, to reach their full potential. May we all glory in their abilities rather than focussing on their disabilities.
Healing Lord, call to those who are sick and lifts their hearts. May they fix their eyes upon you and may they get better from their illness.
Blessing:
May you receive the gift of sight
so that you can see God clearly
and follow Jesus in everything that you do.
And the blessing of God almighty,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
be with you now,
be in your homes and in your families
and with all those whom you love
and for whom you pray,
now and always.
Amen.
