Mark 10:46-52
Hurricane Sandy is gong to make
landfall this evening. We can and should pray for those who will be
affected. Will our prayers avert the storm? No they wont. There
will be people out of power, there will be damage to property and
there may even be loss of life. Does that mean that we give up on
prayer? Do we give up on asking God for protection? Do we quit
praying for healing? Do we stop praying for restoration?
No! You keep on askin'!
There is one who is in chronic pain.
Pain that just wont go away. Pain that is nagging, torturing all
consuming in one moment then annoying background noise the next.
Always there. Doctors cannot make it go away. There is no therapy
that has been able to cure it. So prayers are lifted. Requests are
made to God in Jesus name...the pain persists. More prayer. Daily
prayer. Dedication to Jesus way of self-sacrifice and service. Study
of Holy scripture. Obedience to medical advise. Exploration of
alternative healing. Prayer and more prayer. Still the pain lingers.
“What do I do Pastor?” was the
question.
Keep on askin'!
You can question your own faith when it
is put to the test. You start to ask questions. “Why aren't my
prayers being answered?” “Am I being punished?” “Is this a
test?”
...Keep on askin'!
Then there are those blessed moments
when you fell the presence of God. Through the pain, through the
doubt, you know that you are being held in the palm of God's loving
hand. I cannot describe to you the feeling I have when I sense the
presence of God. I can tell you that its a safe, warm, inviting,
peaceful feeling. But that is like describing Lake Michigan as a
very large pool of water to someone who has never seen a lake. It
just doesn't cover it.
Jesus hears the faithful. Remember the
story of the persistent widow and the just Judge? She wanted justice
and the judge wouldn't hear her. Kept on askin! She wore that judge
out until he gave her justice. Jesus said if even that judge will
give justice wont the God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry
out to him day and night?” but then he adds “never the less,
when the son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Justice, God's justice, whatever that
looks like will be granted. Our task is to have faith. When we rely
on our own strength and power there can never be true justice or true
healing. Its when we boast in our weakness and lean on God's
strength, the presence of God is made known in the world.
How do we do that?
We keep on askin'!
We keep on askin' for God's healing and
guidance. We ask for God's wisdom and strength. We praise God for
being God and we thank God for all things at all times. In our
weakness and in our reliance on God, God transforms us. God begins
to mold us into God's image. God begins to use us. God begins to
put us in positions where we can be responsive to his will.
When we are responsive to God's will we
become part of an interconnected part of God's community where we all
find healing, justice and restoration.
When we keep on askin', I find that we
start asking on behalf of others more than for ourselves. When that
happens the right people come into our lives. The right resources
become available. Life on earth gets better.
Bartimaeus, the blind beggar. Was on
the side of the road in Jericho. Jesus was heading to Jerusalem. The
crowds were gathered. Bartimaeus the social outcast forced to make a
living by asking people for money or food.
Can you just hear the people around
him? “Oh, that's Timeaus' son” I gave him some food once but he
just keeps on asking for it. Some people even give him money but you
never can tell what he will spend it on.” That's how we talk isn't
it? We are reluctant to give ongoing assistance to people. We don't
want people to be dependent on the government, yet we don't want to
provide for them either. Bartimaeus kept on asking and yet he
remained a beggar until one day he had the opportunity to ask the
right person.
Jesus was in town. Bartimaeus said
“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Now we know that Jesus
was not the son of David but the Son of God. Even if we are talking
about Jesus earthly fatherly figure it was Joseph not Mary. The term
Son of David was a term used to describe the Messiah, the anointed
one of God who would save God's people. God had promised that one of
the descendants of David would be on the throne forever. Jesus was
indeed a descendant of David through Mary's lineage and by adoption
through Josephs lineage. So Bartimaeus recognized Jesus as the
Messiah, the conquering king of Israel. And he cried out to him.
This social outcast. This blind beggar. Dared to cry out to the one
he believe do be his king. A very bold move. Others in the crowd
thought so too. They told him to be quiet. But shouted all the
more. He wasn't getting justice from his neighbors so he had no
choice to appeal to a higher power.
He kept on askin'!
Jesus, on his way to Jerusalem, on his
way to his own death, stopped and said, “call him.”
so they called him. “Oh, man this
your lucky day. He is calling you.”
I heard an interview recently of a
reporter that had the opportunity to travel with the president for 6
months to observe and to interview and to get a first hand view of
the life of the president of the united states. The reporter said
that they were traveling abroad and when they got to their
destination, the president went to play basketball at a nearby gym.
The reporter said that it didn't even occur to the president that
these people had built this gym in anticipation of his arrival. When
we have power, and get accustomed to wielding that power, in our
human weakness we can lose perspective.
Jesus on the other hand heard the plea
of the least of these in the crowd and paid him special attention.
Jesus asked the man, “What do you
want me do do for you?” Remember this is the same question he
asked James and John from last Sunday's scripture when they
approached him about being appointed to Jesus right and left had when
he came into his glory. The blind man said, “Rabbi, let me see
again.”
Jesus said, “Go, your faith has
healed you.” immediately he regained his sight and followed him on
the road.
Jesus granted this request but denied
the request of his two most trusted Apostles his inner circle.
Bartimaeus gained more than his sight. He followed Jesus and became
his disciple. James and John did not get what they asked for but
they were changed. They were set right. They were corrected.
That's what a relationship with Jesus does.
When we pray. When we keep on askin'
we will be blessed. We will receive exactly what we need.
So, how is it with you today? We can
approach the King with confidence even though we are blind beggars.
We can speak our needs and we can have utter confidence that if we
keep on askin' we will be blessed. Take heart! This is your lucky
day! Jesus is calling you to follow him; to trust in his strength;
to follow him in his way.
Life on Kinney Down
This a new feature that will be a regular part of this blog. This is where I will add family pics and updates. I call it Kinney Down because we live on Kinney Road and the word "down" is just a nicer way of saying we live on a hill.
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| Eli has attached to every member of the family. We can scarcely remember what life was like before he came |
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| The lil' guy and me downtown trick-or-treating |
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| That's a slice of pizza (Julian), Sponge Bob (Jay), Diane (as herself) and a scary cat (Juliana). |
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