Stop in the middle of the road

The Rev. Margaret Watson

Isaiah 59:(1-4)9-19 | Psalm 13 | Hebrews 5:12-6:1,9-12 | Mark 10:46-52

God bless Bartimaeus! Because, he knew what he wanted and was able to say it!

I know for the past few weeks there have been many of you who have been praying for my husband, Joel, and for me. I really appreciate it. We have been sick! And if you have not heard the rumors about how sick we were, then I will tell them. Yes, I threw a refrigerator on my husband. (laughter) It was not just a little one, but a 22 cubic foot side by side job. Six days later Joel is in the hospital with a ruptured colon. Now, I connected the dots- refrigerator…..hospital. The doctors assured me that was not the case. And after ten days of Joel being in the hospital supremely ill, I crashed and burned with viral meningitis. We were sick! You should have seen us. We were SO sick! All we could do was look at each other from across the room and say, "Aauugh." We were groaning like bears, moaning like doves. It felt like there was going to be no end to it. People called. People offered, "What can I do? How can we help?" It filled me with great hope. But you know what? I was so sick I did not even know what to ask for. I could not describe what we needed.

In the midst of all that, I was reading this Gospel story and praying for Megan who is going to be baptized today. Two thoughts occurred to me.

First thought. Here is Jesus on the road, out of Jericho, moving away from the revelation of who Jesus is and what is going to happen to him, moving towards Jerusalem, toward the cross. And on that journey all the way he asks, "What do you want of me?" Do we know what ails us? Do we know what we would ask of Jesus? Do we know what we lack? Can we put words to it? What keeps us from seeing?

Second thought. There is another side to this gospel story. The disciples and the people tried to hush Bartimaeus up. "Shh! Shh! Blind homeless man in the gutter." What if Bartimaeus had been down and out for so long and sick for so long that he had given up? What if he had lost the words and could not say what he needed? What if Bartimaeus had been like me, unable to say what I needed? It was a shame on me on the one hand not to know what I needed next. But there is another side. There are those, who, for one reason or another, are absolutely unable to speak the words. Either our culture has put them down or ill health has put them down until they are no longer able to speak the words, "Lord, have mercy on me!" Victims of torture suffer this as well. It is absolutely the cruelest thing we can do to somebody, to take the words away from them. There is pain so deep that we can loose our words, and we loose our humanity when we are unable to speak.

Remember the Passion stories. Jesus in Jerusalem. He stands in front of the court and they hurl accusations at him. What does he say? "That's what you say. That is who you say I am." Or in the other Gospels he says nothing at all. He stood with the voiceless. He remained silent in front of his accusers.

This Gospel story is the topsy turvy, the absolute reverse of what happened to Jesus in that court. Bartimaeus, tortured by years of being an outcast and being unclean, told to be quiet. Jesus stops in the middle of the road, in the middle of his journey to Jerusalem and makes a place for Bartimaeus to speak, to find the words.

We are called in baptism to The Way, to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. We are called, not only to give voice, but we are called to make and give the place to those who are hushed up, for those who have lost their voice, called to give them a place to speak. If you ever find yourself face to face with someone who is unable to speak and does not know what they need next, we are called in and through our baptisms to give voice to every creature under heaven.

Megan, in your life in Christ, which we are going to share with you, the eternal benefits are infinite! The joy is infinite! But there are responsiblilities too. Remember, on your road, to stop and listen. Remember those who are sidelined marginalized and they cannot speak for themselves, remember to join them in giving voice to every creature under heaven. Amen.