First
Presbyterian Church of Inglewood
100 North Hillcrest Ave
Inglewood, California 90301
Telephone numbers: (310) 677-5133 Fax
(310) 330-8342
Electronic mail: PRESBYTS@SBCGLOBAL.NET
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Rev. Dr. Harold E. Kidd
Mark 10: 46 - 52
HOLLA ANYHOW
“Then many warned him
to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ ” Mark 10:48
Bartimaeus, the blind beggar of
Jericho healed by Jesus, is the first person mentioned in Mark’s Gospel to
recognize the identity of Jesus as the Messiah. Significant when we come to
understand that Bartimaeus is not part of the religious crowd. He’s not part of
the church-going group.
When worship is in progress, Bartimaeus
is somewhere else, perhaps outside Wells Fargo Bank, or McDonald’s or Von’s
begging for food, or a few coins. He has positioned himself to be visible to
the public eye. Positioned himself so that one cannot avoid him on their way to
their next destination and, either by genuine concern, or feelings of guilt,
respond to his request for some public assistance.
When the state at that time had no such
program as public assistance, public assistance was commonly known as begging.
The more our economic condition worsens, the more we will see the emergence of
public assistance through begging. More folk are begging for a few dollars at
the gas pump, to put gas in their tanks, than we’ve seen in some time. Begging
was the first-century solution to public assistance. And begging is on the rise
once again.
Blind though he be, a beggar though
he be, seen by others as a nuisance though he be, Bartimaeus upon closer
examination of this text is the only one in this crowd, who is able to
recognize that Jesus is the Savior. The text informs us that when He had come
to Jericho and as He went out of Jericho with His disciples, he was followed by
a great multitude, and blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road
begging.
Bartimaeus is introduced to us not as
Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus, “that’s Timaeus’ boy ... Bartimaeus”, but he is
introduced to us by his deficiencies. Blind Bartimaeus, who sat by the road
begging. Before we really get to know who he is as a person, before we get to
know him as the son of Timaeus, before we get to know him for ourselves, you
and I are forewarned that he is blind and a beggar.
I wonder what it does to our unbiased
reception and perceptions of a person upon meeting them for the first time, if
they are introduced to us by their deficiencies, but their past mistakes, by
their perceived have-nots. I wonder: do these labels give us a false or limited
presentation of who they really are. The widow woman of Zarephath. The Gadarene demoniac. Hagar, the single mother. Naaman, the leper. The thief on the cross. The unjust steward. I wonder: how do labels precondition our
perceptions?
I remember a precious Saint of God
being introduced to me by another woman, and being labeled as the woman who ran
the church. Hadn’t met her for myself,
didn’t ask of this woman who she was, but as I sat in her home for what I
thought was a getting-to-know-you pastoral visitation, she proceeded to tell me
all the negative in someone else’s life.
I learned a true lesson from that
experience as a young pastor; you’ve got to meet someone for yourself and in
time draw your own conclusions, rather than listening to a voice that may be a
biased voice. Turned out the woman mislabeled was a precious saint, and the woman
who offered up the unasked-for information had her own personal issues. If I ever had a friend and prayer
warrior in that church, the woman who had been falsely labeled was it. God bless her soul. Yes, we must be careful, the words we use to
introduce and describe other people.
Like Bartimaeus, we live in a society
that is quick to label and define people by their deficiencies. By their
have-nots. Public assistance. Drop-out. Ex-con.
As though the deficiency is all there is to them. As though the deficiency
can define total personhood.
Bartimaeus was more than blind. Bartimaeus was more than just a beggar. His blindness and begging were conditions of
existence but not qualities of personhood. Bartimaeus had an internal core of strength,
because he did what he had to do in order to survive -- he begged.
Bartimaeus possessed hope, because he
was moved to action at the coming of Jesus. Bartimaeus had a dream, because he wanted to
see. Bartimaeus was a man of faith,
because of this entire crowd, it was only he who called out to Jesus using the
title reserved for the expected Messiah, “Jesus, Son of David.” Bartimaeus had courage, because when the crowd
tried to shut him up, he cried out all the more, “Jesus, son of David, have
mercy upon me.” When many warned him (vs. 48) to be quiet, “He cried out all
the more.” One translation reads, “He shouted all the more.”
Notice that when he got his holla on,
the public tried to shut him up.
Disturbing for some, annoying to others, interpreted as emotional
hysterics by yet others. Bartimaeus yet
cried out all the more. The more they
tried to quiet him down, the louder he became. Have you ever asked yourself why do people cry
out? Why do people at times become overwhelmed with emotions that must be
expressed?
Jesus wept over the death of his
friend Lazarus in the shortest verse in the Bible, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). He was deeply moved, and the Greek word to
describe his weeping is a deep heaving of his bosom. Wailing would be a more descriptive word of
how Jesus wept. He wept uncontrollably. He wept unashamedly before his disciples and
this crowd who had gathered at the home of Mary and Martha. He cried with such deep emotion until his
chest cavity heaved. Jesus wept in order
to release the internalized sorrow of his soul. Lazarus his friend was dead.
Deep laughter releases inexpressible
joy, and deep heaving releases grief, sorrow, and pain. Whatever the outward manifestation, it is
designed to give release to that which is pent-up internally. Those who tried to quite Bartimaeus already had
their blessing. Those who tried to quiet
Bartimaeus had their sight. Those who tried to quiet Bartimaeus were not living
in a position of begging. Those who tried to quiet Bartimaeus were not
subjected to dependency on others for their survival. They could not fathom the
hollering of Bartimaeus because they were not living with or living through
what Bartimaeus was living with.
In other words there is legitimacy in
our cries, our tears, our shouts, when the grief belongs to you. When the sorrow and the heartbreak belongs to
you. When the suffering belongs to you. No
one can tell you how you ought to feel and express that feeling, Bartimaeus,
but you! (I’m preaching to Bartimaeus
this morning.)
Yes, there is legitimacy in your
shouts when the joy belongs to you. When
the blessing has been in answer to your need. When the healing has touched your body, or the
body of one whom you love. Bartimaeus
did what he needed to do in order to get the attention of the Lord. You can’t get the attention of the Lord using
someone else’s means because every relationship with Jesus is uniquely
personal. I wish I knew how to make it
plain.
The woman with the issue of blood gets
the attention of the Lord by tugging on the hem of His garment. Zacchaeus gets the attention of the Lord by climbing
up into a tree. A widow woman in worship
gets the attention of Jesus by placing all her living into the offering plate. A young lad gets the attention of Jesus by
offering him two sardines and five crackers. Jairus, who has a sick daughter, gets the
attention of Jesus by getting in his way and falling at his feet. And Bartimaeus
gets the attention of Jesus by hollering for all he’s worth. “Son of David,
have mercy upon me.”
It doesn’t matter how you get His
attention, but get His attention. You
cannot get the attention of the Lord based upon what other persons think you
ought to do. You’ve got to do what your
soul moves you to do. You can’t pray to
God in ways that work for someone else. You
can’t worship God in ways others think worship ought to be done. You’ve got to worship God in ways that bring
blessing to your soul. You can’t serve
the Lord based upon how others serve the Lord.
“Then many warned him to be quiet, but
he cried out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me.’” Notice, if you will, in verses 47-48 that he
does not initially ask for healing. He
does not ask for sight. He does not ask
that those around him would treat him with more dignity and respect. He simply asks for mercy. “Son of David, have mercy upon me.” Sometimes the best prayer is not to ask Him
for what you need.
Sometimes the more effectual prayer
is not “Lord, heal me” but “Lord, have mercy.” Sometimes the prayer that accomplishes the
greater good is not “Lord, save me” but “Let thy will be done, O God.” Sometimes the prayer of faith is not “Lord, I
believe” but “Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way. Thou art the potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me after Thy will, ‘til all
shall see in me Christ living still.”
Bartimaeus was more than just blind
and a beggar. Bartimaeus had some
courage and determination. Bartimaeus
got the attention of Jesus in the best way he knew how. Bartimaeus did have the faith to recognize
Jesus as the Messiah even while he could not see. When a holla is ratified by a blessing.
“Talk about my hollering. Talk about my shouting, if you want. But I can see! I can see! I can see!” And in the end he was healed. In the end his faith did make him well.
“And he followed Jesus along the road.”