What do you want Jesus to do for you?
Scripture Reading: Mark 10: 46 - 52 (NIV)
Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
Message: What do you want Jesus to do for you?
Bartimaeus’ urge
The old beggar alongside the street - the one that so many people have walked by
Also, seeing the commotion coming his way - the commotion of this Rabbi moving through the land (like with so many stories of Jesus…)
Deciding that this is his day - I am going to take my chance…
“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
And like so many of the other stories of Jesus moving through the land, the disciples are trying their best to manage the situation - like secret service keeping crowds away from the president…
So too the people of the area, irritated with this old beggar ruining the moment the famous Rabbi came to town
But this time Bartimaeus is not giving up - he keeps at it: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus hears him and calls him closer
And then the profound words: “What do you want me to do for you?”
I wonder if someone cynical heard Jesus asking, they might have thought: “Yeah right, isn’t it obvious what he wants?”
But the blind answers, he says it himself: “Rabbi, I want to see.”
And Jesus healed the man, there on the road…
And it says that Bartimaeus follow Jesus from there on…
Vulnerable before Jesus
The past few weeks we’ve heard some stories about Jesus healing people on his path… dead raised, lame made to walk again, bleeding woman healed, and a blind beggar seeing again…
We should not miss the vulnerability of these people before Jesus - they all came from a place of deep pain in their lives
Jesus meets their pain in the vulnerable position where they are…
Jesus asks Barimaeus to say it: “What do you want me to do for you?”
And he says it - he expresses the obvious: “I want to see!”
Saying the obvious is painful thing to do, isn’t it?
Carrying a vulnerability with you for a long time with out expressing it, is something we tend to do…
Walking around with it, others vaguely aware of your pain (or maybe not), but just going through life with it…
With these words, “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus is inviting you to come out and say it!
Find an opportunity, a space to say it - for I believe that is where healing begins…
Just get yourself to say it… I know it is hard!
Healing in perspective
I want to say something about healing…
Healing does not look the same for everyone and healing is not always the obvious…
As someone preaching these stories, I am acutely aware of the fact that most likely the blind person that hears this story will not physically see and the one in a wheelchair will probably not walk and the one grieving the passing of a loved one will not see them again in this life…
I am sure that there were many among the thousands of people that came to see Jesus, the were not healed in the way they expected to be healed
It is hard to tell these stories sometimes…
But I do believe that there is healing in these stories
Healing through not shying away from them and not shying away from expressing what we carry within us
A story of healing
I want to share the story of healing
I met this woman through a program where the church was helping them with groceries
She was suffering from Bi-Polar Depression - she had it bad
She came to see me for therapy and we tried hard to work through her struggles
One day I got a text from her, saying that she has just slit her wrists and asking me to care of her loved ones and thanking me for all the times we could talk
I called 911 and rushed over to her place, finding her, literally in a blood bath
The paramedics were there, soon after, and she pulled through
It happened a second time that she tried to commit suicide, and survived
Since we moved away, I lost contact with her, only seeing posts on Facebook from time to time - and some of those post were desperate… I kept praying for her
Her husband passed suddenly and I was deeply concerned for her life, knowing her history…
She moved to another city and found a church - I can see in her recent posts that it is going much better with her
This past week I was deeply moved by her post on Facebook that read: “In our journey with God, true strength lies in our vulnerability. When we stand bare and honest before Him, shedding our pride, fears, and wounds, He meets us with grace that covers all. Let us remember, God doesn't seek perfection. He seeks a willing heart, open and humble. Only when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable do we find His love transforming us, layer by layer, filling the empty places and bringing us peace. Come as you are, for His embrace waits on the other side of your surrender.”
I know that it is so painful to say it out loud…
Jesus is standing in front of you, saying: “What do you want me to do for you?”
His embrace is waiting for you - through his grace, there is healing… Amen
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