A Word From Joel - October 30, 2024

“What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Mark 10:51-52 Jesus and his followers come to the ancient city of Jericho, the last stop before they head to Jerusalem—the center of political power. As they leave town, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus cries out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” When confronted by a blind beggar’s cry, Jesus stops, listens, and calls Bartimaeus near. God always hears the cries of those in need. Jesus asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” This question is deeper than it sounds. Knowing what you really want takes deep reflection; Do you want money, control, recognition, freedom, belonging, connection?

What do you really want? Bartimaeus says, “My teacher, let me see again.” Seeing in Mark isn’t merely about the function of one’s eyes. It’s about understanding who God really is. Like all of us, Bartimaeus once knew who God was, but life has worn him down and he no longer knows for sure, but he is betting everything he has that the God Jesus knows and embodies is merciful all the way down. In this, Bartimaeus is very wise. Bartimaeus envisions a merciful God, and nothing is more important than who we envision God to be. Who we envision God to be determines everything about our lives. If we imagine God to be harsh and punishing, we will always be afraid and exacting, and if we imagine God to be the tender one, our lives will look very different. Meister Eckhart was a mystic and theologian from the 1300’s who said, “It is a lie, any talk of God that doesn’t comfort you.” How different would our lives be if we discarded all our notions of God that judge, scold, and torment us and traded them in for the God revealed in Christ? How different would our world be, how different would our politics be if we discarded all talk of God that does not comfort? What if God isn’t the angry father coming home to punish us but is instead the one who comforts us, sustains us, and always has mercy on us?

 Jesus says, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Bartimaeus regains his sight and begins to follow Jesus. Trusting that God is merciful makes us well, whether our eyes work or not, because we can see what matters most, that God is more merciful than we ever dreamed of. Father Greg Boyle puts it this way, “Here is the Good News: The God we most deeply want IS the God we actually have, and the god we fear is, in fact, the partial God we’ve settled for.” Beloved, it’s time we stopped settling and trade in our old god of fear and punishment for the God who is tender mercy all the way down.