Created for Healing—Jeremiah 31: 7-9; Mark 10: 46-52
Vampires. Bet you didn’t that would be the start to a sermon, did you? In traditional tales and lure, they are frightful creatures. In the romanticized Hollywood portrayal, they are less undead and evil and mostly handsome and alluring to those in the movies. The basic gist of the evil creature, though, is that it sucks the life out of you by draining your blood. A good friend of mine used to say that you didn’t need to worry about vampires as they’re not real, but she’s met quite a few spiritual vampires which should be utterly terrifying in life.
In today’s Gospel, we encounter Bartimaeus, a blind beggar on the roadside. When he hears that Jesus is close to him, he begins shouting and hollering, “raising a ruckus,” as we say in the South. He calls on Jesus to have mercy on him… “Son of David, have mercy on me.” His words were not condemning, angry, irritated, nor anything like that. He was a man used to begging. He could have asked for enough money, for something to make life easy. He could have shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, fix my sight!” But instead, he simply asks Jesus for mercy.
And the response to him was swift and severe. The people yelled at him to be quiet. They attempted to silence him, shut him down, and stop his attempt to get to Jesus. He wanted new life and healing. They wanted him to go away and be quiet. I think it is safe to call the crowd a group of spiritual vampires. They wanted to suck the life and hope right out of Bartimaeus. There are people and situations like that in our own lives. Sometimes it is folks at work, situations in our social lives, differing circumstances in the world, our own minds, or even someone very close who becomes the very one who tells us to be quiet and disrupts our ability to find Jesus. I have found too many people in my own life that I had to let go because they tried to steal the life and hope right out of me just like a vampire takes the life of every single victim.
Both of the readings for today, though, talk of hope and restoration. Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet, and frankly, there is not much about the book that is uplifting. But here we see a prophecy of restoration and healing for Israel. Jeremiah’s words say, “I will not forget the blind and lame, mothers, and women in labor.” Too often we focus our attention on the rich ruler we read about a few weeks ago. We look to strength, might, wealth, and influence. But here we see Jesus take special time and attention to those who are particularly vulnerable. Bartimaeus. He was a beggar, unclean most likely, and disregarded by society…told to be quiet. But that’s who Jesus made a point of calling Bartimaeus to him and healing him.
Look at how strong Bartimaeus’s faith is. The crowd yelled at him. He couldn’t see where Jesus was. He didn’t know if Jesus would even entertain him. But when he makes his way to Jesus, yelling, begging, calling for mercy, Jesus says to him—“Go for your faith has healed you.” Jesus didn’t do a dramatic multi-step process of rubbing clay in his eyes, or anything else like other healing miracles. The man had sufficient faith for God to restore his sight. The vampiric crowd tried to steal that from him, but his faith held firm. He had faith beyond their yelling and cruelty. He had faith that if he only got to Jesus, all would be well. Jesus recognized his faith, and Jesus met his needs.
To his credit, Bartimaeus had a strong response to his encounter with Jesus. The rich man went away sad and couldn’t follow Jesus. Bartimaeus, we read, threw aside his coat, ran to Jesus, then followed him down the road. He was willing to follow Jesus not even knowing as much as the rich man did because Bartimaeus knew Jesus could give him all he needed. Sometimes we live like the rich man. We don’t recognize how much we need Jesus because we find comfort and fulfillment in worldly things. That’s why Jesus said it’s so hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom. There’s too much stuff to enjoy in the way from them to Jesus. Bartimaeus was a beggar. Jesus gave him everything he could ever want. It wasn’t riches, houses, gold, a happy life. Bartimaeus was still dirt poor and a beggar when the story is done. What Jesus gave him was hope.
Speaking of vampires, in case you didn’t know we have an election coming up soon. I hadn’t realized this as I missed the 20 texts a day, 200 emails, never ending ads on television, and the 5 million mailers that have junked up the mailbox. There’s a bit of a rock and hard place on this. I absolutely hate to mention anything about such events in a sermon, yet if I don’t address it, it would be like missing a moose in the middle of Cherry Street downtown. I was asked once, “How should I vote?” and my rather snide answer was, “With a voting machine.”
It’s not my business nor the church’s business to tell you who to vote for…both because that’s not the job of the church, and there is a law that forbids for churches being tax exempt. What I can tell you, though, is Jesus gave Bartimaeus his sight, and I believe God still speaks and gives us vision even now today. My role, and the role of the church, is to help you know more and more about God’s word and the context in which it was said as well as helping you to know Jesus more.
For Bartimaeus, when he tried to come to Jesus, the crowd held him back. The same happens today as well. The harder we seek Jesus, the more we get pushed back by illnesses, life struggles, negativity bombarding us all around, fighting and bickering, and all the like. If you want my best advice and encouragement, sit and read the Gospel of Luke, then conduct yourself accordingly. And most importantly, too many people are losing their minds over this. God is still God. God’s love for God’s people will not change. Whatever difficulties elections may bring, you are never separated from God’s love, for that is eternal and unchanging. Tens of thousands of kings, queens, presidents, and leaders have come and gone. But God’s love and God’s grace have never been lost.
One of my favorite scary movies is the old Bella Lugosi’s Count Dracula movie. In light of modern films, it’s a bit dated and hokey, but it still stands the test of time. Renfield, the one who listens to the vampire and allows himself to be controlled in the movie is driven to absolute insanity. His willingness to let the vampire ruin his life ends up being his ultimate demise. Van Helsing, who resists the vampire, ends up being the hero.
In our Gospel, if Bartimaeus had listened to the crowd of vampires, he would have sat back down, never met Jesus, continued being blind, and likely have died miserably. Physically, Jesus gave Bartimaeus his sight back. But the reality is Jesus gave him hope. Think on that verse of our closing hymn, “What have I to dread, what have I to fear leaning on the everlasting arms?” Jesus gave Bartimaeus his sight and his hope. And in return he followed Jesus.
If you are worried about what will happen November 5, that’s fine. I think sometimes it’s quite normal to have a healthy concern. But never forget how Jesus worked in this world for healing, for mercy, and for hope. Bartimaeus called out to Jesus—“Have mercy on me!” Not only was Jesus merciful in granting Bartimaeus’s request, Jesus also gave him healing and hope. None of that could be taken away from Bartimaeus. And when you are leaning on Jesus in the good times, the bad, and the times of worry, no one can take that mercy and hope from you either.
Jesus—mercy, healing, our role.
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