Skip to main content

The Cloak of Value


“What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man said to him, 
“My teacher, let me see again.
Go,” said Jesus, 
“your faith has made you well.”
Mark 10:51-52 I


The Call 

Blind Bartimaeus is sitting on the side of the road, cloak spread in front of him, begging.  He's lower social status and therefore powerlessness. He hears that Jesus of Nazareth is coming. Bartimaeus begins to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

He persists, even when people around him tell him to be quiet.

Jesus calls him. 

He springs up, throwing off his cloak, representing his his only possession providing warmth, sleep at night or, spreading out, collecting money. 

Jesus asks, what do you want me to do for you?

Bartimaeus says “My teacher, let me see again.

Go,” said Jesus, 

“Your faith has your faith has made you well”

Bartimaeus' Faith.

This is a story about Bartimaeus’s faith and his absolute conviction that Jesus, the Son of God, can and will rescue him from his need. 

He is expecting transformation, to be changed.

So, he jumps up, comes to Jesus asking for mercy so to see again. 

Jesus says, "Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.”

Bartimaeus immediately regains his sight and follows Jesus.

The Healing

This story is about much more than Bartimaeus seeing again. 

It's about conviction, the expectation of transformation, and mercy. It's about persistence in asking despite the noise around us.

The healing is about times when we feel like Bartimaeus sitting beside the road in need of something to heal our brokenness. 

With persistence, we cry out to Jesus for help in complete confidence that something will be changed. Perhaps our despair will be changed to hope, our brokenness into wholeness, or our blindness into understanding.

Jesus hears us and heals the brokenness in our faith.

We can "go" and tell the story bringing the Good News of Jesus to  other people in need. 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grantchester's Warning

"But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, the owner would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (from Luke 12:32-40 ) I regularly watch Grantchester; a murder mystery set in 1950s England. The main characters are a local detective and an Anglican priest who, as a team, solve mysteries set in the town. Two aspects of Grantchester impress me. First, the simplicity of the 1950’s police communications done by a landline phone and not cell phone. Second, the simplicity of daily life with little television and fewer possessions allowing the characters to focus on their vocation of detective and priest. This simplicity is more than a nostalgic return to the “good old days”. Instead, it’s a Shaker type of simplicity where austerity allows freedom from distractions to focus on worship and community. Today’s distraction-filled world has seemingly countless activ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Walking with God

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. (from Ps.103:1-8 ) Thomas Merton, American Trappist monk, writer and theologian, once asked himself a question he immediately answered:   How does an apple ripen? The apple, by simply being in the sun, fulfills its purpose of ripening, The apple doesn't try to ripen faster, it simply allows the sun to do its work.   There is nothing it can do to ripen itself. It can’t do workouts, tighten its muscles and then suddenly be a red, ripened, juicy apple in the morning. The apple just hangs on the branch in the sun, naturally ripening, where it receives its daily nourishment. This is the basic plan for how Christians ripen in their relationship to God. The difference is that Christians don’t naturally ripen in their relationship to God, we have to place themselves where we can be nourished. The beginning place of nourishment I find most helpful is the Guide to Prayer For All Who Walk With God. The daily walk in the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jesus, Deliverance, and Demons

"Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind." (from Luke 8:26-39 ) Astrid is a streaming program I often watch. The plot is a basic cops and robbers action until the criminal is caught. The uniqueness of the program is Astrid, who is on the Autism spectrum, is brilliant at solving puzzles including connecting clues to solve the crime. Watching this program has given me a more profound insight to people living with this condition and their acceptance in society. My first-hand experience with children on the Spectrum was driving a Special Needs school bus for 6 years. With this experience, I can imagine the life the possessed man was experiencing, especially living among the tombs, bound with chains and shackles, having to live in the wilds. It was no wonder he cried for mercy. Jesus, with his power and mercy, cast the demons out and even...
Post a Comment
Read more