Roller Skating to Jesus

This sermon from June 24, 2012 was based on Mark 10:46-52

Mark 10:46-52

⁴⁶They 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. ⁴⁷When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” ⁵⁰So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” ⁵²Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

When I was a child, my house was THE place for the neighborhood kids to hang out.  That’s because we had a newly built house.  It wasn’t so much the house that attracted the neighbor kids, but rather it was the basement. 

When I was 7 years old, on the last day of my 1^st Grade year, there was a Tornado that destroyed our old house along with our half of the neighborhood, and most of our half of the town.  I don’t remember the exact death toll, but I believe it was 2 or 3 people.  Yes, this is tragic, but in a town that never gets tornados, this could have easily been much higher!  My family would have been among them had we not gone to my grandmother’s house.  The living room where we would have been sitting was completely destroyed when the neighbors’ house blew into it.  I don’t remember what the neighbors were doing, but thankfully they were not injured or killed either!

To make a long story short (you can find pictures and memories on this blog – just search for “tornado” in the search box at the top), my parents decided to rebuild on the same lot.  And, a new house meant a new basement!!!

A new basement meant a semi-empty basement, and to a child, that meant a lot of places to play and run around.  Seeing that, on one of those first Christmases, my sister and I got roller skates as gifts.  We had that wide-open basement as our roller-rink!  Soon after that, one of the breakfast cereal companies started giving Tapes of 50’s Music as Prizes in their boxes. 

You must understand now that we grew up in the Michael Jackson and New Kids on the Block era, so Music and Dancing were a MAJOR part of EVERY child’s playtime!  If someone my age tells you they didn’t sing along and dance to songs of that time, they are LIARS!  Yes, both boys and girls did it!

One of the Tapes we got was a song by the 50’s Doo-Wop group, the Dell Vikings, called “Come, Go, With Me.”  Along with some of the neighborhood kids, my sister and I made up a roller skating/dance routine to this song.  (If you personally know me, I apologize for that disturbing image that put in your head…I was much cuter as a child…hopefully that softens the punch).

The main message of “Come, Go, With Me” is not far off from what Jesus says to Bartimaeus in our scripture today.  OK, the Dell Vikings are talking about teenage love – Come over here baby, and go out with me – or something like that…But there is a parallel…At least I see one.  Let’s look at the Scripture and see what happens.

First of all, Jesus is leaving Jericho with a crowd of people, and blind Bartimaeus somehow realizes that Jesus is in that crowd.  He screams “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Remember, Jesus had to be descended from the line of David – the shoot that will come from Jesse’s tree – right before the Peaceable Kingdom in Isaiah…Jesse was David’s Father…Matthew 1 will show you how Jesus fits into this line).  How did Bartimaeus know that Jesus was there?  HE WAS BLIND after all!  Did someone tell him?  Did he just know?  Honestly, we have no idea.

The people started telling him to be quiet.  Leave Jesus alone.  He’s too busy.  He’s too important.  You’re just a blind man.  Jesus has better things to worry about.  He’s going to save Israel…what’s a blind beggar?  This didn’t shut Bartimaeus up at all!  In fact, it made him louder!  He shouted all the more until Jesus noticed him.

That’s where we get to the first part of the Dell Viking’s song.  Here I have to stop and wonder.  Why didn’t Jesus just go over to Bartimaeus and take care of business?  It would have been quicker!  It would have probably been more compassionate.  But, instead of going over to him, Jesus told Bartimaeus to “Come.”  Imagine that.  Telling a blind man to come.  Think about the crowd.  Think about the people he must have bumped into on the way.  Think about the toes that literally got stepped on.  Think about the jaws that got elbowed.  Think about the pushing and the shoving that must have happened.  But yet Jesus said “Come.”  More on that later…

The next words seem even more puzzling.  Jesus asks Bartimaeus what he wants.  DUH! Jesus!  What do you think he wants???  A new camel – maybe one of those 2 hump varieties???  New laces for his sandals???  Maybe his own copy of the 10 Commandments in Ancient Hebrew Braille??  -- OK, I’m no genius (or Messiah) here, but let me take a stab at the answer – I’ll guess the guy wants to see (Note:  I did read ahead, but I did take my guess before reading ahead).  HOT DANG!!! I’m right!  Bartimaeus just wanted to see – Who would have thought????  Why did Jesus even ask?  Again, more on that later…

Then, and only then, did Jesus heal him, and the second part of the song title comes in.  “Go,” Jesus said, “Your faith has made you well.”  He tells Bartimaeus to “Go.”  And he does go – but not in the way we expect.  He goes from that place, but he follows Jesus.  If you’ve noticed a pattern, you’re right – More on this later…

OK, now, let’s take a look back.  Let’s look at Bartimaeus.  Let’s look at Jesus.  Let’s look at what was said and what was done and how we fit into this story.  This IS an account of history, but it is also an account of everyday life.  This is Bartimaeus’ story, but it can also be our story.  Scripture is “living.”  We read it more than once because we live it more than once.  You’ll see what I mean.

First, Bartimaeus called out to Jesus when he realized Jesus was near him.  This took Faith because he was blind.  He either had to go by someone else’s word that Jesus was there, or the sound of a voice he thought to be Jesus’ voice, but he really had no way to “scientifically” know that Jesus was there.  We are often blind – sometimes literally, but most times figuratively (and at times, both ways).  We are blinded by sin, illness, loneliness, addiction, anger, grief, sorrow, depression, loss, greed, jealousy, and any other human condition.  Notice how normal all of those are!  They are not reason to “beat yourself up!” BUT they are reasons to call out for help!  As humans, WE CANNOT fix these things by ourselves.  We need God!  To call out to God requires faith.  We want to feel God in a tangible sense, and sometimes that happens – you just know you are in the presence of God because of some feeling you have.  But more often, we have to have faith that God is there because we feel nothing but call out anyway and acknowledge our need.

Then step 2 comes along.  Jesus asked Bartimaeus what he wanted.  Of course he knew what he wanted.  The key is that WE need to know what we want.  Do we know that we are blind, or has our blindness become so normal that we forget what it’s like to see?  Or have we fallen into the trap of blaming our blindness on someone else?  True, it may be someone else’s fault that we suffer, but we can’t fix someone else.  We can pray for someone else and hope and trust God fixes that person, but we can only take action with God to fix ourselves.  We must name what we need.  This also takes faith.  Sometimes we’ve suffered so long that healing seems impossible.  Sometimes we know that healing may be impossible and we’re afraid of God’s healing.  For example, maybe a person with an incurable disease will not be miraculously cured from that disease, BUT, God can heal that person so he or she can have peace of mind.   

After we name what we want, we keep the faith as Bartimaeus did for God to heal us.  We must be willing to accept the form of healing God gives us.  We must be willing to accept the fact that the healing we receive may not be the one we ask for.  But, we must also know that we WILL be healed in some way.  Each situation is unique.  Only God knows the intimate details of every situation.  Only God knows how to perfectly heal. We don’t understand God’s ways all the time.  Sometimes we will come to understand and other times we will not.  But all the time, if we come to God in faith, our faith will be rewarded.

Finally, after we are healed, God tells us to “Go.”  This is not a “Get away from me.” This is a “Go tell others.”  There is a lie that our Faith is private.  That is the biggest lie about our Faith.  In many religions you become a member by being born into it.  In Christianity, you may be born and raised a Christian, but you become a Christian by choosing to become one.  And you can’t choose to become one if someone hasn’t shared their faith with you.  Sharing our faith is the hallmark of our faith.  That is why Jesus told Bartimaeus to “Go.”  But notice how he went…He followed Jesus...We must ALWAYS do the same!

Lastly, remember that this is not a 1-time deal.  We need healing almost every day (if not every day!).  God is available all the time in every place.  If we slip up, we just need to call out.  If we mess up, we just need to ask God to help us get back on track.  Yes, we should be sorry – this should not be taken lightly.  But, we have a loving and forgiving God who cares for us and will heal us as long as we reach out in faith.