Kyrie Eleison

 Jesu Juva

St. Mark 10:46-52                                                            

October 24, 2021

Proper 25B                             

 Dear saints of our Savior~

          Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem to suffer and die for the sins of the world.  And that road to the cross took Jesus through the city of Jericho.  Jericho is perhaps the oldest city on the face of the earth.  Jericho was the city where Rahab lived.  Rahab had famously provided shelter for Israelite spies centuries before Jesus walked those city streets.  Rahab would go on to become an ancestor of Jesus.  

          Jericho was also famously reduced to rubble under the leadership of Joshua—as he encircled the city with the army of Israel, blew the trumpets, and the walls came a’ tumbling down.  The road between Jericho and Jerusalem was a busy one, filled with priests, pilgrims and pedestrians—not to mention robbers and beggars.

          We don’t know much about this blind beggar, Bartimaeus.  In those days begging was considered an honorable and acceptable way to make a living for those who couldn’t work.  Beggars weren’t regarded as a nuisance like panhandlers these days.  If you could work and had money, it was your civic and religious duty to give a beggar something when you passed him by.  In days before government welfare, begging was part of Israel’s social safety net.

          Today’s text reminds us that every beggar by the roadside is potentially a disciple.  Blind Bartimaeus was the very last disciple to begin following Jesus—just as Jesus was about to walk into Jerusalem in a parade of palm branches.  Jesus Christ came to seek and save all, including the least, the lowly, and the blind beggars of this world.  Think of Bartimaeus the next time someone sticks out their hand in your direction.  He may be looking for Jesus; and you—you know where to find Him.

          Bartimaeus had eyes that didn’t work; but his ears certainly did.  And one day his sharp ears heard the name “Jesus,” the healer and teacher from Nazareth.  Bartimaeus had heard about Jesus—how Jesus healed the sick, cast out demons, and raised the dead.  He’d heard about Jesus’ compassion, His love for the lost, His call to discipleship.  Bartimaeus believed that Jesus could help him.  He believed that he mattered to Jesus.  And so he began to cry out:  Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.

          His simple prayer was a prayer for mercy.  Lord, have mercy.  Kyrie, eleison.  Bartimaeus had never met Jesus, but he believed in Him.  He trusted that this Jesus of Nazareth would help him.  Prayer is the fruit of faith.  Faith is what led blind Bartimaeus to boldly call out to the Savior for mercy.  This is really the perfect illustration of faith in Jesus.  He cannot see, but he believes.  He believes the Word he has heard.  Eyes that see wouldn’t have helped him.  Faith comes by hearing, not seeing.  Seeing is not believing.  Faith is being a beggar before God.  It has nothing to offer but empty hands.  Faith can only receive everything as a gift.  When you look at blind Bartimaeus, you should see yourself.

          And when you hear Bartimaeus—when you hear the humble petition he prayed—well, that prayer should also be on your lips every day.  Lord, have mercy.  Kyrie, eleison.  It’s a prayer for those times when words fail—for those times when we just don’t know exactly what to pray, or how to express our petitions.  It’s a simple request for mercy to the God who delights in showing mercy to those who fear Him.

          Now you see why this little prayer pops up so frequently in the church’s liturgy.  We sang it earlier.  We will speak it together after each petition in the prayer of the church.  We will sing it again right before the Lord’s Supper is given and received:  Lamb of God . . . have mercy on us.  You can pray these words in the car while driving, or when you see an accident.  Lord, have mercy.  You can pray it at school, at work, at the grocery store.  I pray it while running and walking in the early morning hours:  On all the saints of our Savior whom You have given me to love and serve, Lord, have mercy.  On my parents and all who contend with the frailties of old age, Lord, have mercy.  Learn this prayer like the Our Father.  Learn it well and use it well, and you will be able to pray it long after you have forgotten every other prayer.

          Don’t expect other people to be impressed or amazed by this simple prayer.  This is the prayer of beggars and lepers.  Did you notice how the crowd tried to shut Bartimaeus up and silence his prayer?  They were annoyed by it.  But Bartimaeus prayed all the more fervently, because faith is stubborn and persistent.  Faith won’t let anything get in the way of prayer to Jesus.  Faith doesn’t care what people think or what they will say.  Faith is not ashamed to pray with such humility.  Faith will not be silenced.  Lord, have mercy.

          If you’re going to pray like Bartimaeus, then you need to put a stake through the heart of your religious pride.  We often think that God is best addressed with fancy words and phrases, or that our prayers will be heard because they are well-crafted, or because they flow from the heart.  But the fact remains that no other prayer in the Bible draws the attention of Jesus like this one.  It goes directly to His ears.  It stops Him dead in His tracks.  It causes Him to do a one-eighty.  At the sound of this prayer (Lord, have mercy), Jesus stopped on a dime and said concerning that blind beggar:  Call him. 

          The crowd that wouldn’t have given Baritmaeus the time of day minutes earlier, now calls out to him:  Cheer up!  Take heart!  He is calling you!  And as the blind man came to Jesus, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”  Can you imagine being on the receiving end of that question from Jesus?  Imagine Jesus asking you:  What do you want me to do for you?  How can I help you?  What would you say?  I hope you’ve already said it and prayed it.  But if not, why not?  The apostle Paul wrote:  Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.  Let your requests be made known to God.  Pray! 

          Bartimaeus wanted to see; he wanted Jesus to fix his eyes (so that he could fix his eyes on Jesus).  He believed that Jesus had the power to do that for him.  And then Jesus said a curious thing:  Go your way; your faith has saved you. It’s not your faith has made you well, as you heard from the English Standard Version.  It is:  your faith has saved you.  This does not mean that God heals those who have enough faith to be healed—or that if you aren’t healed it’s because you don’t have enough faith.  Faith can’t be quantified.  You either have it or you don’t.  Faith that clings to Jesus is faith that prays to Jesus.

          Sometimes God says “no” to what we ask—not because we don’t have faith, but because He wants to make room in our lives for greater gifts—because He wants something even better for us that we can’t quite see or imagine.  Faith understands this.  Faith keeps on praying.  Faith keeps on trusting that Jesus hears our prayers and will ultimately give us even more than we desire and more than we deserve.

          Like all of Jesus’ miracles, this healing was costly.  It cost Him His life on a cross.  There Jesus won ultimate healing, forgiveness of sins, and eternal salvation for all; and He shares that salvation with out who cry out to Him with a beggar’s faith:  Lord, have mercy. 

          Jesus told Bartimaeus, “Go your way.”  He was free—free to go and see the world—to see all the things he had never seen before.  But what did Bartimaeus do?  He fixed his eyes on Jesus.  With his eyes wide open, he followed Jesus up that winding road to Jerusalem and Calvary’s holy hill.  But we shouldn’t be surprised.  That’s what faith does.  Faith follows Jesus.  Faith isn’t content with answered prayers.  Faith sees Jesus as the one who died and rose again—as the one who ascended in glory to the Father’s right hand.  By faith you know for sure:  You are precious to Jesus.  Your life matters eternally to Jesus.

          Today we’re on the road with Bartimaeus and all those who follow Jesus in faith.  For us that road began with a splash in the waters of Holy Baptism.  On that road our ears have also heard Jesus’ call.  That road leads right here, to the holy supper of our Lord’s body and blood.  We’re on our way with Bartimaeus (and all the other beggars).  He was blind, but now he sees Jesus face to face.  Soon we will be where he has gone.  And our eyes will see our Savior face to face.  And until then, walking by faith, we cannot help but pray:  Lord, have mercy on us.

          In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.