25 October 2015 - that i might see

On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say,
"Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. 

The first lesson today is not to listen when the world tells us not to call out to Jesus. The world may not want us to call upon his name. The world may be embarrassed by us. We bear our weakness before the LORD. For those who have not come to terms with their own weakness this can be hard to watch. Those who don't really and truly believe that Jesus is the answer might try to keep us from bothering someone who doubtless has his own problems.

But Jesus is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring precisely because who understands what we go through. He is the Son of Man. He undergoes all of the same trials we do. The only difference is that he is able to do it all without sin because he is the Son of God.

We need to understand that Jesus is both one who is intensely sympathetic toward all we go through and yet in the unique position to help us. Recognizing this, we cry, "Son of David, have pity on me." Even if we're blind in every other way, this is the thing to recognize. Even if we can't see at all we just need to hear that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. We might not be able to see the road ahead. We might not even see the road beneath our feet. We may stumble and fall constantly on our own. But if we know Jesus is passing by we know he can open our eyes to that which is truly important. We know that he can save our feet from stumbling.

I will gather them from the ends of the world,
with the blind and the lame in their midst,
the mothers and those with child;
they shall return as an immense throng.

He himself is the light that can enlighten us. We have to realize that we are in profound need of him. Jesus asks us what we want from him. The second lesson today is to have our answers ready. We shouldn't ask first for superficial things, for luxuries and comforts. We need his light desperately. We need to see.

Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?" 
The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see." 

When we ask in faith as Bartimaeus does we can be sure that Jesus will answer.

Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you." 
Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way.

The LORD wants to do great things for us and fill us with joy. We stumble as captives in the darkness but the LORD wants to set free, to restore our fortunes, and to make us rejoice.

Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.