Broadway Christian Church · Columbia, Missouri

Morning Worship · October 29, 2006

Twenty-first Sunday After Pentecost

Prayer of the Day

Lord Jesus, although we all have our limitations and weaknesses that hinder our faithfulness, it seems to be your nature to heal us and give us what we need to be your disciples.  Be with us this hour, we pray, as we seek what we need to follow you.  Amen.

Scripture

Mark 10:46-52

As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving Jericho, they encountered a blind man, Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, sitting by the road begging.  When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, Bartimaeus began to shout, cry out, call out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy, have pity, upon me!”

Many of the people rebuked Bartimaeus, scolded him, charged him to keep quiet, to hold his tongue, to shut up, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!  Have pity on me!”

When Jesus heard him, Jesus stopped and said to his disciples, “Call him.”

So they called the blind man and said, “Take heart.  Get up; rise.  Cheer up!  You’re a lucky guy.  He’s calling you.”  At that, Bartimaeus threw off his coat, jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

And Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

The blind man said, “Rabbi, Teacher, Master, Lord, I want to see again.”

And Jesus said, “Go, for your faith has cured, saved, healed, made you well.”  Immediately he recovered, received, was enabled to see, and he followed Jesus along the road, on the way – no – in the way.

Message

On the Road Again

Rick Frost

Do you all know Brother Willy?  Willy Nelson, that is.  Willy wrote a song entitled “On the Road Again.”  Does anybody remember that?

On the road again,

Just can’t wait to get on the road again…

Goin’ places that I’ve never been,

Seein’ things that I may never see again,

And I can’t wait to get on the road again.

Now, for a couple of decades, every time Jan and I would get in the car and be ready to take a trip, we’d crank up the engine and hit the entrance ramp to I-70.  And one of us, or both of us, would break into song.  We’d sing “On the Road Again.”  It’s just a tradition.  We’ve been doing it for years.  We’re happy.  We’re on vacation.  We’re going somewhere.  We have people to see, places to go, things to do.

In today’s text, Jesus is on the road again, although this time he is not on vacation.  He has places to go, however.  He has people to see and things to do.  Not a vacation, but he is heading for his destination.  (For those of you who know Mark, you understand this language.) 

Jericho just happens to be a stop along the way.  The place where he is headed is a place called Jerusalem.  That’s where the action is.  That’s where the powers that be reside.  That’s where the big show is played.  That’s where all the major decisions are made.  And as you know, it’s also where the cross waits for him.

Along the way, according to Mark’s text today, there’s a person in great need.  His name is Bartimaeus.  He’s blind.  He’s poor.  He’s desperate.  But somehow he senses there is a possibility of help that is present.  According to Mark, Bartimaeus shouts out.  He cries out.  He implores.  He reaches out to Jesus.

Now, this may be a little difficult for most of us in this room to understand or to grasp, because most of us find ourselves in a class of people and in a culture where, when we find ourselves up against a wall…  What do we do?  We reach for our pocketbooks.  We get out our checks.  We know how to solve most of the problems that come our way.  What in the world could Jesus possibly do for anyone in this room?

I read an article this week written by a minister who preaches in one of the most interesting pulpits in America.  In the article he said he has a friend who is a pastor in Honduras.  As some of you in this room know, it’s the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.  Some of us in this room know that personally, because we have been there.

The Honduran pastor said to our friend, “I have great respect for those of you who lead the churches in North America.”

“Why?  Why respect?”

“Because,” he said, “you must lead the church among those who have so much of everything.  What in the world could Jesus possibly do for your people?  What do they need Jesus for?  Here in Honduras, our people have so many great needs.  We keep tied to rather basic things like food, like health, like water.”

Interesting.  We can sort of see his point.  Can’t we?

Bartimaeus: he’s blind; he’s poor; he’s desperate.  And in his desperation, he cries out to Jesus.

Now, according to Mark, the crowd tries to silence him.  That’s what we often do, is it not, with people in pain?  We don’t want to hear it.  We don’t want to see it, because it’s unpleasant.  It’s depressing.  Yes, but more importantly, it’s a reminder.  Isn’t it?  Their pain is a reminder to us of how vulnerable all of us are, because if it can happen to them, you see, it can happen to us.  So, in our culture and society, we tend to keep the sick, the disabled, the needy, and the suffering away from us.  Fortunately, advocates for the physically, mentally, emotionally, and by the way, spiritually disabled are urging these people to step up, to come out, to come forward, to speak up, and get into the mainstream wherever that might be. 

Our blind beggar, today, Bartimaeus speaks up.  He will not shut up.  He steps up.  He cries out unashamedly.  Jesus hears him and asks one of the most powerful questions in all of the New Testament: “What do you want me to do for you?”

Every single one of you drove into the parking lot this morning.  You didn’t have to.  You chose to.  Some of you have been here and driving into that parking lot for years.  Some of you drove into that parking lot for the very first time this morning.  It doesn’t really matter.  The question Jesus asks to all of us: “What do you want me to do for you?”  He asks that question to each of us and to all of us.

You see… We’re learning quite a bit about the people who drive into our parking lot on any given Sunday morning.  We know some things about us.  We know that every single one of us who drives into that parking lot on Sunday morning… 1) chooses to do so; and 2) has a need, maybe a whole bag of needs. 

In fact, you may not know this; the number one motivator that brings people into that parking lot on any given Sunday for the first time is personal crisis.  Did you know that?  It’s not on their nametags.  They’re not going to have it written on their faces.  They are probably not going to say that to you or to me.  But it’s true.  Some of us are up against it today – all kinds of reasons, all kinds of ways.  Our message, when we come through those doors on any given Sunday is, “Help me.”

A question today: If you are here, and that is where you are today, what do you want Jesus to do for you today?

Now, others of us drove into the parking lot today because we’re hungry.  I don’t think there’s anybody here who’s physically hungry.  I’m certainly not.  It’s because we are hard-wired to be in relationship with our Creator.  It’s the way we were made.  It’s part of our DNA.  We can’t get away from it.  People are trying to get away from it in all kinds of ways, but they can’t.

St. Augustine said, “Our hearts, our souls, are restless until they find their rest in Thee.”  It’s just the truth.  There’s a spiritual void, you see, in many people’s lives.  We have a hunger – a spiritual hunger – to explore that void, to fill that void.  Our message, when we come through that door on any given Sunday is not, “Help me.”  It’s, “Teach me.”  Interesting.

A question today: If you came in the door today seeking… If you came in looking for a better way to live…  If you came in looking for truth, new life, what do you want Jesus to do for you today?

Now, still others drove into that lot today because some of you are new in town.  Some of you are looking for a new group to connect with.  Some of you are alone.  Some perhaps are isolated.  Some of the people in this room have a very real need for a loving, meaningful, open community to be a part of.  They are looking for new relationships.  Sometimes we just need to be with dear friends that we’ve made over the years.  It’s just good to see these people.  They’re like our family.  We need to see them.  We need to spend time with them.  When we walk through that door the message we have is, “Know me.”

A question today: If you came today seeking connection… If you came needing to know others or be known by others, what do you want Jesus to do for you today?

There’s a fourth and final group we’re going to talk about today.  There are persons who drove into that parking lot this morning because you happen to live like we all do in a very crazy, wild, complex, mixed-up world.  We want and we need to be in a place that’s connected to a group of people who share our common faith in Jesus Christ, who share our common core values.  That makes all the difference in our lives.  We need to be and want to be in a place where we can do ministry.  I have learned that Christians want to do ministry.  It’s in our DNA.  It’s just part of us.  We want to be in a place where we can engage in ministry and mission and service.  When we walk through those doors our message is, “We don’t need help.  We’re not looking to be taught.  We don’t need to know anybody.  What we are here for is, ‘Use me.’”  There are people in this room who came here today just for that reason.

A question today: Whatever you need… Whatever it is that you want Jesus to do for you… Can you name it?  Are you aware of it?  Can you say it?

Bartimaeus heard the question, and he answered, “Teacher, let me see again.”

And according to Mark, he did.

And Jesus said, “Go.”

Then Mark says one of the most amazing things that sort of slips by us.  This is really cool.  Of all the people Jesus heals, helps, and saves, as mentioned in Mark’s gospel, as far as we know, Bartimaeus is the only one who becomes a disciple.  He is the only one who becomes a follower of Jesus, who gets up, gets healed, and goes “on the way,” which is a code word in Mark for “towards the cross.”  Did you know that?

Folks, I think the main thing this once-blind man has to teach us today is that Christianity is, bottom line, about following Jesus.  Jesus is not looking for people who agree with him.  Jesus is not interested in whether you admire him.  What he wants to know is, “Do you want to follow me?”  There is a huge difference.

C. S. Lewis points out that the devil knows that the main way to keep people from the Christian faith is… to prevent them from thinking?  No!  To prevent them from reading and learning?  No!  The main thing the devil must do to keep believers, seekers, and churchgoers from the faith is to keep them from doing anything.  Let him or her, you or me, do anything but act.

A man sort of dropped off our radar screen here at church.  He just disappeared on us a while back.  He couldn’t find him for a while.  He surfaced a little bit later.  “So, where you been?”

He said, “Well, doggone, it seems like every time I come to church all you folks want to do is to try to get me to do something.  You want me to change this or that.  You want me to vote for this or that.  You want me to stop doing this or start doing that.  You want me to give to this or give to that.”  He continued, “I just couldn’t take it anymore.  The way I saw it, either I had to become a different person, or I would look sort of ridiculous sitting there.  So I quit coming.”

Well, what do you say to that?  “Thank you for the honesty?”  What I say is, “Duh!  You’re getting it.  That’s what we are trying to do here.  We are trying to follow Jesus.”

You see… There’s a huge difference.  This is wild in our country today.  There is a huge difference between believing in Jesus and following Jesus.  So much of the emphasis in our country right now is about you “believing.”  There’s a huge difference in “believing” and “following.”  Folks, it’s the difference between dating someone and being married to someone.  Those are huge differences.  It’s the difference between being a tourist and being a resident in a country.  This is my town.  This is where I live.  It’s the difference between renting a home and owning a home.  It’s the difference between reading the newspaper and going to the polls and voting.  You’re going to get a chance to do that in just nine days.

Being a Christian, folks, is a journey.  None of us – I mean absolutely none of us – has arrived yet.  We’re not so smart; we’re not so sure of our walk that we no longer need to grow.

There’s a great part in our worship called “Invitation to Discipleship.”  It’s printed in our bulletin.  That’s the time, as most you know, right after the preacher has given the sermon (whoever the preacher happens to be) when those who want to make a public confession of faith are invited to do so.  Maybe they’ve never done that before.  Maybe they’ve never made a decision firmly to believe and to follow Jesus.  Or they’ve done that somewhere along the line, and now they want to make their church home here.  So they transfer their membership to our congregation.

In the old days it wasn’t just an invitation to discipleship.  Some of you will remember this.  It was also open to those who wished to dedicate or rededicate their lives to Christ.  What people did was they simply came down front and stood by the preacher of the day.  It was a sign to you, and to God, and to others that you were committed, that you wanted to make a new commitment.  Not all traditions do this, but in our tradition, we make that invitation every Sunday.  We do so for a reason.  That reason is because every single Sunday you and I need to be reminded that it’s not just about believing.  We need to be reminded that It’s about commitment.  We need to be reminded that it’s about doing.  It’s about following.

So, if you have a need, if you have a bag full of needs, welcome to the club.  We all do.  Like Bartimaeus, ask whatever you will of Jesus and then follow him wherever he goes on the way.  On the road again with Jesus.

And we all say together… “Amen.”

Benediction

God sends us into the world, to accept the cost and to discover the joy of discipleship.  Therefore, go, carrying with you the peace of Christ, the love of God, and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.