Jeremiah 31:7-9        Psalm 126                 Hebrews 7:23-28      Mark 10:46-52

            The big event is about to begin.  Those who can are going, those who can’t line the streets encouraging those on the way and watching for celebrities.  This year’s festivities will be particularly exciting, for there is a man, growing in popularly, who has been challenging those in authority - even suggesting the ceremonies are meaningless.  More and more people are listening to him, and he is coming.  As it gets later in the day, greater numbers of people walk through Jericho on their way to attend the Passover celebration.  The great rabbis and teachers are surrounded by people as they walk.  You know, this is where much of the best learning occurs – listening to what someone has to say as we do other things. 

            I was struggling with a decision and stopped by a friend’s house only to find him framing a garage.  I spent a good part of that afternoon helping him, talking and listening as we worked.  That afternoon he shared how he lived out his faith.  He did not tell me to trust God; he simply told me how he approached such decisions through faith.  It was a pivotal moment in my life.  Without knowing it, he helped me take a step on my path to becoming a priest. 

            On the way out of Jericho, Jesus has a crowd of followers listening to what he has to say when a blind man hears Jesus is walking by.  Bartimaeus yells out to Jesus – but the others try to get him to be quiet.  They don’t like the interruption, they want to hear what Jesus is saying and this blind beggar is interrupting.  But true to form, Jesus turns his attention away from the flock to the lost sheep.  Jesus calls Bartimaeus to him and Bartimaeus throws off his cloak, jumps up and runs to Jesus.  In the midst of our pain, we are often reluctant to turn to God, but Bartimaeus rushes to Jesus.  Then, Jesus asks, “What do you want of me?”

            Self awareness of our needs is the first step to healing.  Bartimaeus, knew what he needed and did not hesitate to ask Christ to heal him of his blindness, but many of us are blind and don’t even know it.  We need the healing power of God’s love, but we strive to be completely independent.  We don’t accept others help in our times of need and we reject God. 

Bartimaeus knows he needs the help of Jesus to see.  He calls Jesus the “Son of David,” which means he knows Jesus is the Messiah – but for the people of that day, the “Son of David” is the savior who will free the people of Israel through military conquest.  He knows Jesus is the savior, but does not understand salvation.  Jesus says to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.”  He does not say, “Go; your theology has made you well.”  No, Jesus said it was Bartimaeus’ faith that made him well.  Theology is merely our attempt to explain what we experience in Christ.  It can be defined as “faith seeking understanding.”   As with Bartimaeus, our faith is more important than our understanding.  Through faith Christ helps Bartimaeus see.  Bartimaeus responds by becoming one of Jesus’ followers.  Jesus tells him, “Go; your faith has made you well.”  But Bartimaeus does not go, he follows Christ who is on his way to the Passover Feast. 

Faith is not believing in something we can’t prove – though that is an element of faith.  No, faith is our response to an experience with the divine – an experience which can restore our sight and help us understand the saving grace Christ has to offer.  Bartimaeus did not experience Christ and then go to his rabbi and debate the theological significance of his experience.  No, Bartimaeus follows Christ.  I read that there are three requirements of a disciple (need, gratitude, and loyalty); we see them in this story.   To be a disciple of Christ we must recognize our need, be grateful for the gifts we have received, and be faithful/loyal to the one who is the giver of those gifts.  Only when we do all three can we fully understand that salvation is not about power.

In Hebrews, the writer makes it clear that through Jesus everything changed.  The Jewish understanding of their covenant with God no longer applies.  The old covenant required obedience in order to receive God’s blessing.  Because of their failure to remain faithful, to follow the commands and statutes of Yahweh, their Kingdom fell to Babylon and the people were exiled from the Holy City of Jerusalem.  Hundreds of years later, the people were back in Jerusalem, but under Roman control. 

The writer of Hebrews was writing to a people who still believed God’s love was conditional.  The letter to the Hebrews addressed this by referring to Christ as the High Priest who has atones for their sins.  In the Jewish ritual on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest sacrifices an unblemished lamb (unblemished symbolizing perfection) to atone for the sins of the people of Israel.  The high priest makes sacrifices first for his own sins; then makes sacrifices for the sins of the people.  In Christ there was no need to make sacrifices for his sins, for he did not sin.  In the crucifixion, Christ served as both the high priest and the sacrificial lamb.  In his sacrifice, the author of Hebrew’s says, “he did it once for all.”  And, unlike all other priests who die, Christ is the high priest forever who “is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” 

All of this is to say that Christ died for us.  The theology of atonement, paying a price required by God for our sins, was an ancient belief.  Some people today have trouble with that theology.  The explanation given in Hebrews was for the people of that time, but the understanding that Christ is our mediator with God means as much for us today as it did when the letter to the Hebrews was written.  In Christ, God comes to us and lives among us as humans.  In Christ we come to know God.  In Christ our relationship with God is restored.

            My friend was a weekend carpenter.  I spent the afternoon using a nail gun, cutting 2 x 4’s, and holding newly framed walls while he bolted them to the garage floor and talked about his faith.  Christ comes to us in many forms, but many of us are too blind to see him.  To see him, we must have faith.  Amen.