2021.10.24 | The Blind See
“The Blind See”
Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring, Senior Minister
Eden United Church of Christ, Hayward, CA
Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost
Sunday, October 24, 2021
Matthew Skinner, Professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, states poignantly in his commentary on today’s text:
Bartimaeus is the paragon of faith in Mark’s Gospel, which makes it more than mildly ironic that some churches will skip his story to read something else for Reformation Day, [which Lutherans celebrate today.]
Looking back on my own history as a preacher and having compared notes with several of my peers, I can say with some assurance that I/we resemble Professor Skinner’s comment, and I wholeheartedly concur with him. Many of us have sidestepped the opportunity to preach on the healing of Bartimaeus. “Why is that?”
This is not the case for my preacher friends who grew up in and serve in more evangelical traditions than ours. In fact, I clearly remember reading this passage at the ordination of one of my seminary friend, the Rev. Cynthia Maybeck, thirty-three years ago.
II
The reasons why Mainline preachers tend to sidestep this passage are many and varied. I’ll share two of the most prominent reasons that come to mind:
The healing of Bartimaeus is intellectually troubling, because it introduces us to a man who is blind and who is healed by means that defy science and medicine. We Mainline Christian preachers were raised in traditions that have a high regard for educated clergy and who see God at work in science and medicine, which are themselves forms of modern miracles. And, we know from science and medicine, that while there are ways to prevent some forms of blindness nowadays, there are very few cures for blindness. So we sidestep texts, such as this because we can’t account for them logically.
A second reason that preachers may dodge this text is because it suggests that there is a correlation between Bartemeaus’ faith and his healing. Check it out! According to Mark, Jesus doesn’t actually work a miracle in Bartimeaus’ life. Bartimaeus is healed because of his own faith. And the idea that Bartimeaus--or anyone--is healed by or because of their faith is problematic, at least for two reasons:
a. Because this fact defies the Gospel record. The vast majority of healing accounts in the gospels do not mention a correlation between a person’s faith and their cure. No, in most cases, people are healed by Jesus, because they were suffering and they asked Jesus to heal them. And, because Jesus empathized with their plight, knew that God’s plan was for them to experience a more abundant life, so he healed them.
b. Sadly, most Mainline Christians don’t know their Bible well enough to know that there are very few scriptural examples of a connection between the sick or infirmed person’s faith and their healing. As a result, this lack of knowledge often fuels self-doubt and self-deprecation in the heart of the person who is suffering, and/or causes bystanders to venture that the sufferer somehow brought on or deserves their malady. Trust me when I say that God is not glorified by the erroneous linkage of faith to curing, and the kingdom of heaven is not advanced as God intended.
I’ve spent some time this morning explaining what a “sticky wicket” this passage is for most Mainline preachers. So I want to give at least equal time now to clarifying what perhaps all Christians could learn from and agree about with regard to today’s passage.
III
First of all, I trust that we can all agree that blindness is a recurring theme in Mark’s gospel. I also suspect that we agree that there is more than one kind of blindness described in today’s text, and consequently, a further point of agreement is that there is more than one person in this story who is in need of healing.
Professor Victor McCracken, who teaches Bible at Abilene Christian University’s Graduate School Theology, explains in his commentary on Mark’s gospel that “blindness serves as a unifying theme.” [Bartlett and Brown Taylor, eds. Feasting on the Word (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2009) 212.]
In Mark 8 and 10, McCracken explains, Jesus encounters two men who are blind, the man at Bethsaida, and Bartimaeus. But in chapters 9 and 10, Jesus also encounters and confronts the “spiritual blindness” of his inner circle, who seem unwilling or unable to accept the radical, subversive nature of his ministry or the upside-down nature of God’s kingdom (Ibid., 212, 214).
Think about last Sunday’s lection, for example. Remember how James and John wanted to know what benefits they would be getting for signing up early with Jesus’ team? They were gravely disappointed to learn that the answer to their question was an earthly cross and heavenly crown, rather than corner offices and Christmas bonuses. (See Mk. 10:35-45.)
Although James and John might have had a little “aha moment” when Jesus lined out the challenges ahead, there isn’t a lot of evidence in today’s story that those brothers or their peers had integrated Jesus’ instruction into their world views or their behavior toward marginalized people with whom Jesus kept company.
Note, for example, that rather than offering Bartimeaus a hand up from the side of the road and helping him navigate through the crowd to reach Jesus, they kept shouting at and scolding him (Mk. 10:48). Still, the blind beggar persisted.
Bartimeaus persisted to the point that Jesus finally heard his voice above the din of the crowd. Jesus told the disciples to invite the beggar to come forward. They did as directed, and adjusted their demeanor accordingly. Yet, here again, there’s not a lot of evidence of learning or amendment of life amongst the followers of Jesus--except for Bartimaeus. When invited to come closer to Jesus, Bartimeaus threw off his cloak, jumped up, and pressed forward.
And isn’t it the sad truth that the people who are most confident in their Christian identity and the most assured of their inclusion in the kingdom, make it difficult for those who aren't to get closer to Jesus.
IV
Ouch! The truth can hurt. But the truth can also teach. And, we often learn more from our mistakes than our successes. So let’s consider one more takeaway from today’s gospel lesson. Let’s note how Jesus interacts with Bartimaeus and follow his example.
Note that Jesus asked Bartimeaus what he wanted from him. Jesus did not assume that he knew Bartimeaus’ mind or his circumstances. It’s plausible that Bartimeaus wanted to be healed of physical blindness, but other scenarios are possible.
Consider for example that not every deaf person sees deafness as a malady from which to be cured. I know plenty of deaf people, including erstwhile members of this congregation, who opposed cochlear implants and wouldn’t try them if they were offered them for free. They didn’t find deafness problematic. They found the ignorance of so-called “able-bodied” people problematic.
Fast forward to modern times, and imagine that we follow Jesus’ example, that we push “pause,” and rather than assuming that we know what others need, we simply asked them.
Imagine if “first world” countries stopped assuming that we knew what “third world” countries needed, or that we had all of the answers for them--including answers to things that they did not see as problematic.
Imagine, too, if privileged do-gooders stopped assuming that there was one way (our way) to solve complex social problems, and we paused and asked those on the margins and the bottom of our social systems, “What do you want me/us to do for you?
And what if those on the margins and the bottom said, “Absolutely nothing.”
Furthermore, what if those on the margins and the bottom said, “Do your own work? Develop some self-awareness. Figure out how your behavior is contributing to the suffering of others, and stop it. Just stop it! And, what if we acknowledged the errors of our ways? What if we learned from our mistakes, and behaved differently? Then what?
I suspect that blind beggars and others who hover at the margins and the bottom of our society would say that we were healed of our blindness. And I trust that God would be glorified, and the Kingdom of Heaven would come a little closer to earth. Amen.