Mark 10:46-52
“Called Out”
October 24, 2021
“Be quiet.”
“Hush up, no one wants to hear that.”
“Pipe down.”
“Put a lid on it.”
“Keep it to yourself.”
And most bluntly, “Shut up.”
The one most likely to be told to their face to be quiet is the one who speaks up when everyone else may just whisper to each other what they really think or swallow their words because they were told speaking up in a crowd wasn’t polite or they may even turn away in fear.
Because even the crowd itself can be dangerous, speaking up in spite of the risk can yield results.
In the Bible there are multiple stories of those who took great risks in speaking up like the one about Queen Esther. When King Xerxes condemned 9 million Jews in Persia to death, Esther risked everything in sharing with the king that she herself was a Jew.
Xerxes changed his mind, and all those millions of Jewish people were saved.
And sometimes raising our voice, alone or with others, has a power all its own.
Consider what happened in this same location we find Jesus in today, Jericho, when “the wall came tumbling down” because the people of that great city shouted when the trumpets were blown, and the city was reclaimed under Joshua’s leadership.
There are movements afoot all over our world now and throughout history when the need for healing or justice or mercy were worth making a fuss about.
In some cases, those doing the shouting feel they have no other options and nothing more to lose.
And so, we hear of Bartimaeus, a blind man who would spend his days outside quietly serving as a reminder to the more pious of the citizens of Jericho that they were to give money or alms.
It was okay for him to beg but he couldn’t be loud about it.
A change takes place in Bartimaeus even before he is healed.
He finds his voice and shouts his plea to Jesus, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
We can’t be sure why this stops Jesus amid this huge crowd.
Was it that Bartimaeus was just louder than everyone else?
Was it the desperate tone of his words?
Or was it the words themselves?
Bartimaeus had only been told that Jesus of Nazareth was coming which only identified his hometown.
But the blind man refers to Jesus instead by the name “Son of David” by which he is identified as the Messiah. Up until this point, Jesus in Mark’s Gospel has been really hush-hush about who he is.
Here Jesus acknowledges that this is who he is and he even rewards Bartimaeus who knows Jesus better than almost anyone without ever seeing him.
Jesus then gifts him with sight.
Bartimaeus calls out to Jesus and Jesus responds first by standing still, pausing on the journey that will put him face to face with those in power in Jerusalem.
And then Jesus utters the words, “Call him here” and you have to imagine the disciples surrounding him are taken aback but maybe they are being changed also for they encourage Bartimaeus with the words,
“Take heart, get up; he is calling you.”
There is so much hope and possibility in those words.
So much so, that Bartimaeus flings off his cloak, undoubtedly one of his only possessions because just the possibility that Jesus, the Son of David is calling him, a poor blind begging man, is enough to follow through with what starts out as a bold shout from a desperate man.
Bartimaeus speaks up here.
He is not letting the opportunity pass for restoration. His faith that Jesus was truly the Son of God propelled him to speak out.
He was cured by his faith as demonstrated in his persistence.
Bartimaeus won’t be shushed and he’s not willing to wait for a better time to make a fuss.
What is it that we can no longer be silent about?
What will break our silence?
What would you make a fuss about to see change happen?
Jesus is getting closer and closer to Jerusalem.
The time for safe speech has passed.
Jesus’ own speaking out, proclaiming God’s economy where people like Bartimaeus are listened to and valued and respected is getting bolder.
Bartimaeus took a risk and once he was heard and healed he did not do the easy thing which would have been to enjoy his new found eye sight, seeing all the things he’d missed.
Instead, because it was his faith that made him well, he made the decision to follow Jesus on the road.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus proclaims that the truth will set you free.
What truth should we be giving voice to?
Are there people who are speaking truths that we could amplify?
About the injustice of poverty?
About getting equitable health care to everyone?
Prioritizing access to quality education?
Maybe it is how we serve as faithful stewards of creation in the face of climate change?
Let’s remember that Jesus, after the healing, does not say something like, “Come, follow me, for I have healed you.”
No, instead he acknowledges the active role Bartimaeus played in regaining his sight when Jesus says, “Go: your faith has made you well.”
Bartimaeus hears this and follows Jesus on the way to Jerusalem.
Only a day’s travel away where everything will change.
Here in Bartimaeus we see just what discipleship looks like – bold, humble, direct.
He’s an outsider who seems to get Jesus more than those who’ve been with Jesus all along.
In Mark’s account, Bartimaeus is the last disciple to sign on for what is to come.
To what are we being called as disciples?
Let us lift then this prayer titled simply, “Go:”
They have told you to be quiet
since your crib,
when your needs, your cry for the divine
disturbed them.
You too have learned the command,
to silence your soul, to silence others.
Stand still and listen:
what is the voice within, crying out, silenced?
Rise; take heart.
The Beloved is calling you,
wants to hear your plea,
to honor your word,
to hear what has not been spoken,
wants you to come,
to ask for what must be asked for
and must be given.
Now, you have been called
and you have been heard.
Whom have we silenced?
Whom are you called to call
to reveal
the miracle of God?
Rise, take heart.
The Beloved is calling you. (October 2015 – Unfolding Light)
Yes, you. Amen.