"When We Can’t See Clearly" - Mark 10:46-52 - October 26, 2003

The lenses in my eye glasses have to be changed about every two years. My eyes continue to change as I get older and the lenses get scratched over time. That means I must make a trip to an optician and/or the optometrist to have my eyes examined and new lenses ordered. When I put those visits off I have to live with vision that is impaired. When you’ve worn glasses all your life there is nothing more annoying than trying to see through lenses that are out of date or damaged.

With glasses my vision is corrective to 20/20 as long as my lenses are free of scratches. But, when my lenses are scratched I get frustrated. I can’t always see clearly and I am sure that there are some things that are beautiful or important that I am missing. But, until I take the time to replace my lenses with new ones I will have difficulty seeing. You don’t have to convince me that a lens change will help me see again. However, until I get some help and do something about it, nothing will change.

In our story, Bartimaeus believed that Jesus could help him. He had faith in his ability to restore his sight. But believing wasn’t enough. Bartimaeus had to "do" something. He had to call out to Jesus and ask for his help. The first time he wasn’t heard, so he had to lift up his voice above the crowd and ask again. When he finally got Jesus’ attention he made a request that his eyesight would be restored. He didn’t beat around the bush. "Let me receive my sight," he said. He was clear about what he wanted and he didn’t mess with words.

After he receives his sight Bartimaeus followed Jesus with the rest of his disciples. He could have said, "Thank you" and returned to his life of begging for handouts. He could have spent the rest of his life telling the world of his miracle. Or, he could have disappeared into society and lived his life with his newly restored eyesight. Instead, Bartimaeus followed. His faith became an active faith as he joined the ranks of Jesus’ disciples.

The story of Bartimaeus is a story of a man who was physically blind. He could have easily been blind in other ways as well. Things like pride, stubbornness, prejudice, indifference, fear or selfishness could have also impaired his vision.

Sometimes its our faulty perceptions that impair our vision. As you know, Mother Teresa was recently sainted by the Pope. Eileen Egan worked closely with Mother Teresa and tells the story about a conversation they had one day. On a day filled with many problems, Mother Teresa said, "Everything is a problem. Isn’t there another word?" Eileen could not think of one. Then Mother Teresa said, "Why not use the word gift?" This was a shift in the way she approached life from that day on.

During a return trip from a conference in Vancouver to New York City, Mother Teresa was extremely anxious and wanted to spend some time with the sisters in New York. But the trip included a long delay. Eileen was about to tell Mother Teresa about the problem when she caught her self and said, "Mother, I have to tell you about a gift. We have to wait four hours here in the airport and you won’t arrive at the convent until very late." Mother Teresa agreed that it was a gift and settled down in a quiet place in the airport and read her favorite book of meditations. From that time on every problem was perceived as a gift. (from Chicken Soup for the Traveler’s Soul)

Along with the help of Mother Teresa, Eileen was able to change her attitude when problems occurred. First, she had to believe that problems did not have to overwhelm her. Then she acted upon that belief by approaching her problems by perceiving them as a gift instead of a nuisance.

When we see clearly, things like pride, prejudice, selfishness or indifference will no longer have a hold on us. But seeing is only the first step. Next, comes a change in our behavior. When Bartimaeus couldn’t get Jesus’ attention because of the indifference of the crowd, he raised his voice "and cried out all the more." He had to change his behavior by changing his personality.

Now that Bartimaeus had Jesus’ attention he could make his request. He then asked Jesus to restore his sight. "Master, let me receive my sight." Bartimaeus boldly asked Jesus to help him see. He didn’t beat around the bush. He was direct and asked for help. Fortunately, Jesus responded to his request and his sight was restored.

At this point you are probably thinking, "All I have to do is be specific and ask Jesus to fix my problems." From the story you could make that assumption. However, we need to remember that Bartimaeus was first persistent and asked Jesus to help him. Secondly, he had faith, and third, he substantiated his faith by following.

The key, however is in how he asked. "Have mercy on me," he said. In other words, Bartimaeus acknowledged his limitation and confessed his helplessness. It has been my experience that many folks want God to help them. True, they ask for God’s intervention but rarely do folks admit that they need to surrender to God in order for God to act.

This past week my younger brother had to undergo surgery on his neck. He had two ruptured vertebrae and found himself in terrible pain. I called him the evening prior to his surgery and he said, "All I can do is turn this over to God and hope for the best." His surgery was successful and he will recover in a few weeks. But it wasn’t a simple thing.

My brother had been suffering for about six weeks and his doctor said he had arthritis. But the pain kept getting worse and he began to experience numbness in his limbs. My brother, along with the help of his wife, persisted in telling his doctor that something else must have been causing his problems. Finally, an ER doctor examined him and determined that he had in fact ruptured two discs and they were putting pressure on his spinal cord. My brother had to get the attention of the medical community to solve his problem by being more assertive. If you knew my brother, you would know that this is not his normal personality.

Now that my brother has been healed, he is faced with a challenge. Will he follow like Bartimaeus did, grateful for his new found vision and respond by being a disciple? Or, will he return to life as usual, thankful that God intervened, but not really making any radical changes?

I believe that we humans want God to intervene on our behalf. We are even sincere about confessing our helplessness. Many are willing to act out of character to get attention. But, when it comes to following, we have a tendency to back peddle.

The restoration of Bartimaeus’ vision illustrates the need for us to confess our helplessness. It also illustrates that determination and persistence will get results. The story illustrates that we must have faith. But, we can’t ignore the fact that faith is followed by action. Why did Bartimaeus see again? Because he had faith? Or because he followed up faith with discipleship?

"Go your way, your faith has made you well," Jesus told him. His ability to see included the challenge to live his life as a disciple. Go, act, do, follow! "And he (Bartimaeus) followed him on the way."

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio