Greetings in the Name of Jesus! I am so very excited as I look ahead to Sunday and beginning our worship life together! Coming together to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth is at the core of our formation as the people of God.
This Sunday our readings include Isaiah 59:1-19, Psalm 13, Hebrews 5:12-6:1,9-12, and Mark 10:46-52. I plan to tackle the Mark passage, which is the familiar story of "Blind Bartimaeuss." (Sometimes when I plan, God laughs; but we will trust that for this Sunday I will be preaching what I plan.)
In Matthew's Gospel Jesus proclaims the coming of God's kingdom by teaching about kingdom living in the Sermon on the Mount. In Luke's gospel Jesus proclaims the coming of the kingdom by picking up the Isaiah scroll and applying its teaching to himself. Mark proclaims the coming of God's kingdom with actions. From the beginning Jesus is seen healing people in body, mind, and spirit. The story of the healing of blind Bartimaeuss is the second of two stories in Mark where Jesus heals the blind. These are the list two physical healings reported in Mark. I suspect mark saved these two healings until last as they directly point to the fact that Jesus was and is the Messiah. The recovery of sight to the blind is one of the most powerful claims about the Messiah, and we see this fulfilled in Jesus.
Bartimaeuss cries out to Jesus, asking for mercy. Jesus then asks Bartimaeuss a most important question: "What do you want me to do for you?"This is a question Jesus asks each of us at various times, and he is asking it now, as we begin ministry together. On Sunday we will explore this story and this question more fully. See you then!
Blessings, Becki+
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