Major upheavals are imaged in the readings today. In
Jeremiah, the exiles return. The image in Mark is the healing of blindness. Both
of these are about restoration to wholeness, but we should be careful not to
lean too much on physical disability
in the preaching.
In our time, linking blindness with ignorance or white with
goodness (and other such metaphors) has raised healthy cautions about
marginalizing people who are blind or of a race/ethnicity other than white.
Here is one antidote:
The preacher should . . . help the
congregation appreciate that it is the blind man who sees beyond visible
reality with spiritual insight, while the disciples (who seem to have no
problems with physical sight) remain unable to recognize what sort of savior
Jesus truly is. – Aaron Couch
In Holy Ground (Augsburg
Fortress, 2003) Gordon Lathrop addresses this Gospel text even further: “Here
is the ‘son’ of Timaeus [Bartimaeus = son of Timaeus], Plato’s Timaeus, and,
ironically, he is himself blind, crying out in lament, seeing nothing, going
nowhere.” (p. 31)
Bartimaeus sits by the side of the road in the perspective
of his people: a Greek rendition of the universe which holds that sight is
paramount and that the heavens are the location of perfect and best.
But when he “sees” Jesus, he throws off the mantle of the
teaching he has received and cries out to a new way. Jesus heals his vision. His
new sight reverses the wisdom of the Greeks who found truth in an order that is
not here on earth. Jesus, fully divine, fully human, represents a different perspective,
a new way of living that is “hidden under the form of disorder and loss… on the
earth, in the way of Jesus Christ, ‘seen’ in faith.” (Lathrop, 33)
Mark 10:46-52
Mark pictures Jesus as having
passed through Jericho, about 15 miles from Jerusalem, when Bartimaeus calls
out to him, addressing him as “Son of David.” Mark has not used this messianic
title before. At this point in the story it reminds the reader that Jesus is on
his way to the city of David. Although he is David's heir and comes “in the
name of the Lord” (11:9), the religious authorities will reject him.
Bartimaeus, though, recognizes
Jesus and calls out for mercy. When Jesus calls him, he throws off his cloak,
jumps up and comes to Jesus. After Jesus heals him, he follows Jesus “on the
way,” suggesting both the way to the cross and the way of discipleship. The
reader may be reminded, by contrast, of the rich man who asked Jesus how to inherit
eternal life (10:17–22). The rich man and the blind beggar occupied opposite
ends of Judean society. Their responses to Jesus were equally different. The
rich man could not part with his possessions, but Bartimaeus threw off his
cloak (perhaps his only possession) to approach Jesus. The rich man went away
grieving, but Bartimaeus followed Jesus—joyfully, one may imagine! – Aaron
Couch
Jeremiah 31:7-9
The first reading is a portion of
“The Book of Consolation,” chapters 30–33 of Jeremiah. In contrast to the
consistent message of doom through the rest of the book, these chapters
announce the saving work of God to restore Israel after years of defeat and
exile. The prophet calls on God's people to sing and celebrate God's
faithfulness. They may only be a remnant of the former nation (v 7), but they
will still be a great company (v 8). God has neither forgotten nor abandoned
them. God exalts them so that they are the “chief of the nations.” The people
may weep for what has been lost, but they will also weep for joy as God leads
them home again.
Thematically it is the reference to
God gathering the blind and lame that links this passage to the gospel reading.
It is worth noting that while Leviticus excludes the blind and lame from
presenting an offering at the altar of the Lord (21:18), Jeremiah names them
first among the great company that God will bring back. – Aaron Couch
Hebrews 7:23-28
With Jeremiah promising rescue to the distraught and Mark’s
Gospel imaging a deep insight coming to one who, on the surface, had no sight,
the reading from Hebrews announces a priest who is eternal, “able for all time to save
those who approach God…” This is a Savior who leaves no one behind.
How many gospel stories record
people who have been left out of the holiness code of Israel who were reclaimed
by the personal and responsive work of Jesus? The disciples themselves along
with many of those who were attracted to follow Jesus offer ample evidence of
crowds of disaffected Israelites who were changed by the high priestly service
Jesus performed. – H. Gregory Waldrop
Aaron Couch is
a co-pastor of First Immanuel Lutheran Church in Portland, Oregon.
H. Gregory Waldrop
was baptized in Mayfield, Kentucky in 1954 and ordained in Atwood, Tennessee in
1981. He is a United Methodist pastor serving Fountain Avenue United Methodist
Church in Paducah, Kentucky.
Homily Service 39, no. 11 (2006): 46-55.
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