The following sermon was presented by the Reverend John W. Howe, Rector of Truro Episcopal Church in Fairfax, Virginia, on October 27, 1985. The title is, Open Our Eyes, Lord, and the scripture reference is Mark chapter 10, verses 46 through 52. 

I'm reading from the Gospel according to Mark. Reading from chapter 10, beginning of the 46th verse. And they came to Jericho, and as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and the great multitude, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.

And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he cried out all the more, Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stopped and said, Call him.

And they called the blind man, saying to him, Take heart, rise, he is calling you. And throwing off his mantle, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, what do you want me to do for you?

And the blind man said to him, Master, let me receive my sight. And Jesus said to him, go your way. Your faith has made you well.

And immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way. the Gospel of the Lord. It's a remarkably simple story. Virtually tells itself. Jesus is leaving Jericho and it says there's a huge crowd following him, not just his disciples, but all sorts of others, hangers-on, the curiosity seekers, the fence-sitters, perhaps some who hoped they'd see a miracle.

perhaps some who hope they'd see an argument between Jesus and the Pharisees or some other group but a huge entourage and as they're leaving the city as they're moving slowly out of town a blind beggar known only by his father's name isn't that interesting? not even his own name Bar Timaeus simply means son of Timaeus doesn't even have a name is sitting there. He hears the commotion of the crowd going by.

He says, what's happening? Somebody says, it's Jesus. And he immediately begins screaming, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.

Now you need to understand something at this point. The prevalent assumption was that if you're blind, it's because you're a sinner. That's punishment.

That's God's judgment upon you. You may remember another story about a blind man told in John's Gospel where the disciples themselves asked the question, Lord, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus did not share that assumption.

But virtually everybody else did. And that's why if you were a blind man, you were ipso facto a beggar. Because even if you had marketable skills, nobody would hire you.

There was no hire the handicapped program. If you're blind, God's judgment is on you. We don't want anything to do with you.

Which also explains why he encounters this guy on the outskirts of town. Get him out of here. Away from the crowd.

Away from the marketplace. Look, if he can't see us, we don't want to look at him. got it?

out of sight out of mind they don't want to see the problem you begin to wonder if this is a story about a blind man or a blind crowd I remember the first time that Tom Skinner mighty black preacher some of you know him, he's been here several times first time he visited St. Stephen's Church Swickley, Pennsylvania one of the nation's most lily white communities. And I remember one of our parishioners coming up to Tom after the service and saying, you know, we don't have any racial problems here. That's right, we didn't. We had two black people in the whole town.

One was the church janitor, the other was a retired chauffeur. We didn't have any racial problems. we didn't see the problem because we kept it out of town got it i need to tell you i have a great deal of respect for our present attorney general ed meese but one of the dumbest things that i've ever heard was his comment that we have no hunger in america walk four blocks from your office sir and you'll see it but we don't want to see it do we i mean we don't want to see that sort of thing.

Trouble with this person, this particular one that nobody wants to see, is that he starts shouting, Jesus have mercy on me! And the disciples ever at the ready try to shut him up. See?

Terrific. And Jesus stops and says, bring him here. call him to me.

Unlike the priest and the Levite in his little story, who were hurrying down that very same road to Jericho to get to some important meeting and couldn't stop to help the guy lying in the ditch, unlike the priest and the Levite, Jesus enacts his own parable. He becomes the good Samaritan. He practices what he preaches and he says to this blind man, I have time for you.

I have time for you. What do you want me to do? And he says, open my eyes, Lord.

And Jesus does it. I'm interested that Jesus said to him, your faith has made you well. Now that was not always the key.

Some people will tell you that and they're wrong. Some people will tell you that the key to getting your healing is if you have enough faith. That is not so.

There are lots of healings in which the faith of the recipient is not even mentioned. But it is a key and it is remarkably frequently a key and it is in this particular story. lots of others the woman with the issue of blood remember Jesus said daughter your faith has made you whole two other blind men up in Galilee according to your faith be it done unto you the Canaanite woman with the demoniac daughter oh woman great is your faith be it done for you as you desire the woman of the streets who anointed Jesus feet with ointment He said, your sins are forgiven.

Your faith has saved you. Go in peace. The four men who lowered their paralytic friend through the roof.

You remember they tore off the tiles and lowered their friend through the roof in front of Jesus while he was preaching. And it says when he saw their faith, somebody else's faith on behalf of the paralytic, it says he forgave him and healed him. So I want us to consider three things in this very simple little story and just ask that the Lord would apply them to our lives wherever and however He wants to.

The first thing, I want you to consider the availability of Jesus. The availability of Jesus. Time after time after time, He allows Himself to be interrupted.

I mean, He's about important things. Think about it, he had three years to save the world. How are you doing?

And here he is in the midst of important things with needs pressing in on him from every side and crowds that want to hear him and situations that need attending and he allows himself to be interrupted and to be turned aside from what he was doing or saying to pay attention to one person. And almost invariably, it's someone that everybody else thinks unworthy of attention. Have you noticed that?

A leper? A harlot? A tax collector?

A blind beggar? Nobody else wants anything to do with him. And Jesus says, I've got time for you.

I'm available. I've got love for you. I've got forgiveness for you.

And I've got healing for you. And you know He's got the same things for you. Some of you need to hear that.

Maybe all of you need to hear that this morning. Jesus has time for you. He has love for you.

He has care for you. He has forgiveness for you. And if you need it, He has healing for you.

He's available. God doesn't play favorites. Scripture says He's no respecter of persons.

Don't estimate your self-worth on the basis of how anybody else has treated you this week. Jesus cares for you. Aren't you glad?

Second thing I want to notice is the faith of this man Bartimaeus. This man whose real name we don't even know. He didn't care what the crowd or even the disciples of Jesus thought about it, he was going to get to Jesus one way or another.

Like the woman with the hemorrhage. Do you remember what she said? If I can just touch the hem of His garment, I'm going to be healed.

And she was. Once again, he had time for her. Stopped in the middle of this great crowd and said, who touched me?

Then his disciple says, what do you mean? People are jostling you from every side. Hundreds of people touched you.

No, no, one of them touched me differently. One of them laid hold of healing power. I felt it go out of me.

Do you notice that? He didn't give it to her. She took it.

And just like her, Bartimaeus says, I'm not letting this chance go by. Jesus! Shut up, shut up.

there's a mystery here there are lots of fine Christian folk lots of fine folk generally who don't get their healing and I do not have the formula friends I wish I did but what I do know is this that in the pages of the New Testament there is not one single instance of Jesus saying no to somebody who asked, not one. So if we're not getting our healing, I suggest to you that the problem is not with Jesus. There is a problem somewhere, and I don't know what it is, but I do suggest the problem is not with Jesus.

He said be importunate, like the guy who keeps knocking on his neighbor's door until he gets what he asks for. He says be like that. James says, you have not because you ask not.

The book of Hebrews says, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. That's why we read it. It's for us, not just for Bartimaeus.

If you look at circumstances, you're going to say, there's no way of knowing what God's will is. Some people do get healed, some don't, some suffer, some die. Who knows what God's will is?

if you look at Jesus you will see a consistent demonstration of unconditional love he has time he has care he extends mercy and grace and forgiveness and healing to all who ask you decide which place Circumstances or Jesus. Bartimaeus, blind Bartimaeus, saw something that the crowd missed and the disciples missed. Bartimaeus saw that this man loved him and cared for him and could heal him.

and he said I want it all you know I'm always surprised at the end of our services that so few people come for prayer always available we have folks who will pray with you if you like some of the clergy or some of the elders you don't need that come and pray by yourself I'm always surprised that so few people do and I just wonder is it because God has already met all your needs or is it because you don't really think he can Jesus have mercy on me says Bartimaeus and he says what would you like me to do I'll do it it's that simple what would you like me to do I'll do it the availability of Jesus and the faith of Bartimaeus. And then thirdly, I find it absolutely fascinating to notice where it is in the story that this particular healing takes place. And I challenge you, maybe this afternoon when you get home, read through the 10th chapter of Mark's Gospel.

Just read it straight through And notice how consistently everybody in the story is blind to what Jesus is really about. The chapter starts with the Pharisees trying to ensnare Jesus with a question about divorce. Only he won't be trapped.

He says, you're right. God permits divorce because we're sinners. and whoever divorces his wife to marry another is guilty of adultery.

Whoa, I don't want to look at that. They're bringing children to him. And those erstwhile disciples say, get those kids out of here.

And Jesus says, no, no, you don't see it. of such is the kingdom of heaven. Do you understand Jesus is for marriage?

And He's for families? Do you understand that? I was interested last Sunday evening we had a meeting about Young Life.

A ministry that would bring Christian witness into the public schools and reach out to those hundreds of thousands of unchurched kids. And we asked anybody who would like to come and learn about young life, and especially come and be a prayer partner for that ministry that would reach out to the next generation of Americans, would you come? You know how many came?

Nine out of 3,000. I was grateful for the nine, but do you see it? Jesus is in favor of kids.

A young man runs up and says, Lord, I want to inherit eternal life. And Jesus says, super. Sell what you have and give it away and come on and follow me.

I don't want to look at that. A blind spot? And then he begins to tell them yet again about his impending crucifixion.

And you know what they're arguing about? Which one is going to have the position of greatest honor in the kingdom? I mean, get the juxtaposition.

He's talking about going to the cross and having his body ripped apart. And they're arguing about which one of them is going to get the greatest glory. And he says, you haven't even begun to see what it's about.

And it's at that point that Bartimaeus starts shouting, Lord, open my eyes! How much everybody else needed exactly the same thing. And so I have a question for you this morning.

What is it that you've been blind to about Jesus? what is it that you have closed your eyes and turned your face away from looking at what is it that he's been trying to to get your attention about that you've refused to consider what has he been trying to say to you that you've refused to listen to is there something is there anything in your life that Jesus has been trying to show you and you have not wanted to see. The Lord was dealing with me for a very long time about a particular item.

I wouldn't look at it until finally I couldn't not. Does that apply to you anywhere? Open our eyes, Lord.

We want to see Jesus. To reach out and touch Him. And say that we love Him.

Open our ears, Lord, and help us to listen. Open our eyes, Lord. We want to see Jesus.