Kahu's Manao
Keawala‘i Congregational Church
United Church of Christ (USA)
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sunday, October 25, 2009
The Rev. Kealahou C. Alika
I saw him standing on the shoulder of Pi‘ilani Highway several weeks ago. By the time I realized he was holding a cardboard sign I had passed him by. I am not sure of the exact wording that appeared on the sign but I remember references to hunger and food.
Whether or not the sign said, “Out of work. Will work for food”, I cannot say. But I did pass him by convincing myself that the flow of traffic along the highway at pau hana time made it unsafe to pull over to the side of the road.
I drove on but I thought about him as I hurried along with so many others in the late afternoon traffic. What was his name? Where was he born and raised? How did he come to find himself standing along the roadside?
I looked for him in the days that followed on my way to and from work but never saw him again. I thought about him this week as I went over our reading this morning from The Gospel According to Mark. A man named Bartimaeus finds himself sitting by the roadside outside of Jericho one day. Many know him as a blind beggar.
Without home, without work, and without food he hears a commotion around as word spreads that Jesus of Nazareth and the disciples are about to pass by on their way to Jerusalem. We are not told how it is that he knows about Jesus but in calling out to him Bartimaeus addresses Jesus as “the Son of David.”
Ironically, Bartimaeus’ proclamation is a deviation from what the writer of The Gospel According to Mark says of Jesus – that he is the “Son of Man.” In proclaiming Jesus as “the Son of David”, Bartimaeus is relying on a common expectation that the Messiah was to come as a new king out of the line of King David to restore Israel to political prominence. (Feasting on the Word, Year B, Volume 1, Bartlett & Taylor, Westminster/John Knox Press, Louisville, Kentucky, 2009, page 214) But even Jesus himself will reject the messianic title once he arrives in Jerusalem.
When Jesus responds to him and asks as he did James and John, the sons of Zebedee, “What do you want me to do for you?ʻ, Bartimaeus answers, “My teacher, let me see again.” It may be that Bartimaeus had already heard of someone named Jesus from the village of Nazareth who was a teacher. It may be that he had heard stories not only of his preaching and teaching, but of his ability to heal.
Without being able to see Bartimaeus shouts to Jesus. We are told that many in the crowd sternly order him to keep silent. Bartimaeus refuses and he cries even more loudly a second time. Amid all the commotion, Jesus stood still. Unable to see Bartimaeus, he instructs those around him to call Bartimaeus forward.
Bartimaeus comes to Jesus and “does so by casting aside his cloak, perhaps his most treasured possession. It has kept him warm through the cold nights. It may also hold the meager spoils of his begging. In his act of throwing off his cloak, we see the image of one who leaves his former life behind.” (Ibid., page 215)
As they stand face to face Jesus asks him as he did James and John, the sons of Zebedee, “What do you want me to do for you?” James and John ask for a place beside him, wanting to have a place of prominence. Bartimaeus answers, “My teacher, let me see again.”
In that moment, in that instant he regains his sight. Jesus says to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” We may be inclined to view the story of Bartimaeus as a story of healing and while that is true in one aspect, it is also true that the story of Bartimaeus is a story of discipleship.
When Jesus tells Bartimaeus to “go” he does not go away or go on with his own life. The story does not end with his healing. Instead it begins with Bartimaeus following Jesus “on the way.” (Mark 10:52) It will be a journey which will take Jesus and the disciples and Bartimaeus to Jerusalem.
It will be in Jerusalem that Bartimaeus will know that the journey for Jesus will end in his death and suffering. It will be in Jerusalem that he will come to understand how it was that God stepped out of eternity and into time in Jesus Christ. It will be in Jerusalem that he will come to understand that Jesus came not to be a king but to be a servant.
Those of us who gathered here last night for the performance of Vinnie Linares in Aldyth Morris’ play, Damien, saw the human face of the one who is now venerated as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. To be sure Damien’s life among the people with Hansen’s disease in Kalawao is a powerful story.
But Damien is more than a saint; he was a servant. He was a man with a temperament and personality that annoyed many in positions of authority in the church and in government. He always knew that his work was among the people of Kalawao and in time he became one of them. He became in his own words, a leper (sic) and faced his own death in 1889.
At the close of the performance there was a time for audience members to raise questions. Vinnie said at one point that some who have seen play have been unhappy with his portrayal of Damien – unhappy with the way in which we see Damien with his flaws and foibles. Yet we know that it is in the human face of Damien that we come to understand his profound commitment to those who were exiled to Kalawao.
When Jesus spoke to the disciples about his own death and suffering, they drew back in fear. When he spoke to them of being servants to others, they recoiled and like James and John they all wanted to sit in places of power and privilege. They are unable upon seeing the human face of Jesus – “the Son of Man” – to understand.
But it was Bartimaeus who seemed to understand. It was Bartimaeus who called out to Jesus that he might be restored and made whole.
In response, Jesus called to Bartimaeus to join him in bringing restoration and wholeness to others. All of us are called to a life of discipleship; to a life of following in the way of Jesus Christ. We take heart as did Bartimaeus that the God who hears us will be with us on the way.
I thought about the man holding the cardboard sign. I realized in the rush of traffic when I saw him that day that there was only the noise of cars and trucks and motorcycles hurrying on their way. It would have been impossible for anyone to hear him if he attempted to shout or cry out to those passing by.
I did not stop and for that I pray God’s forgiveness. But also I pray that someone did stop because you see in the end we all heard him – not with our ears – but with our eyes and with our hearts.
He opened our eyes.
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