Sermon on Mark 10:46-52

Jennifer Garcia

Today’s story comes after a couple of stories about people not getting Jesus.

First, there’s the man who came to Jesus to ask what he could “do” to “gain” eternal life. And Jesus tells him to sell all his possessions, give the money to the poor, and follow him. And the man leaves, saddened, because he had a lot of stuff.

What he didn’t get was that it wasn’t about “doing” something to “gain” eternal life. It was about letting go of what was separating him from his neighbors. He was letting his possessions get in between him and being a part of the amazing, upside-down Reign of God that Jesus was inviting him into.

Then, some of Jesus’ disciples ask Jesus if they can sit next to him in places of honor in the fulfillment of the Reign of God.

What they don’t get is that following Jesus isn’t about glory or honor, but about the last being first and the first being last, which is what Jesus told them after their encounter with the rich man in the previous story.

Then, in this story, the disciples and the crowds following Jesus try to get Bartimaeus to be quiet, to stop asking Jesus for mercy. It’s like they’re embarrassed that someone would be so persistent in seeking Jesus’ attention. Especially when that person has a disability and is impoverished.

What they don’t get is that Bartimaeus is exactly the sort of person Jesus wants to pay attention to.

It’s people on the margins that Jesus pays the most attention to—people the world has forgotten, people the world tries to ignore and silence.

People like Bartimaeus.

Bartimaeus, who doesn’t rest until he’s gotten Jesus’ attention. He shouts and shouts, not caring if he makes a fool of himself, not caring what the people around him think. Jesus is the only one who matters to him.

Bartimaeus, who throws off his cloak to chase Jesus down. He casts aside one of his few and most important possessions because Jesus asks to talk with him. He doesn’t cling to his belongings like the rich man did.

Bartimaeus, who when Jesus asks him what he wants, does not ask for greatness or riches. He doesn’t seek honor when Jesus comes into his glory, like the disciples James and John did.

Bartimaeus, who after getting what he asked for, doesn’t politely thank Jesus and go on his way. No, he follows Jesus “on the way.” Yes, in a literal sense, it means he got up and followed Jesus on the road he was traveling on, but in a metaphorical sense, “The Way” was one of the terms the early church used to describe following Jesus. Bartimaeus understood that his conversation with Jesus was an invitation to discipleship.

Bartimaeus persisted in seeking Jesus’ attention, released his possessions, did not seek honor or glory, and got up and followed Jesus.

Bartimaeus is the ideal example of the behavior Jesus asked of the people in the previous stories.

Bartimaeus gets Jesus in a way the others didn’t.

We don’t always get Jesus today.

Sometimes we expect to find Jesus in the most beautiful sanctuaries.

Or the churches with the best worship music, or the flashiest youth programs, or the best-attended Bible studies.

Sometimes we expect to find Jesus in places where we’re comfortable, where we won’t be surprised or stretched.

And, of course, Jesus is there, because Jesus is everywhere. There is nowhere Jesus isn’t. After all, Jesus, the Word of God, “was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.” Jesus created everywhere and is everywhere.

But in today’s story we see that Jesus pays special attention to people at the margins. People who are ignored, silenced, and marginalized by society because of their disability or race or gender identity or sexual orientation or sexual history or class or age or whatever reason society is uncomfortable with them. People like Bartimaeus.

People, perhaps, like you.

People, perhaps, like your neighbor.

People, perhaps, on the streets of Fullerton, or in your workplaces, or here at church.

Jesus stops, invites, and listens. He asks, “What do you want me to do for you?”

He gives marginalized people a voice, gives them agency in inviting them to name their needs, desires, and hopes.

So, what is it that you want Jesus to do for you?

What is it that you need?

How can you make your voice heard?

What is it that your neighbor wants Jesus to do for them?

What is it that they need?

How can we listen well to our neighbors’ voices?

Jesus, our Savior, was born, and lived, and died, and rose again so that no one would ever be separated from God. Because of him, no one is alone; no one is unloved or unvalued.

You, you are worth everything to God. Jesus loves you exactly as you are, and not only has given up everything, but would give up everything again for your sake, because he loves you.

And yet, our world still labels people as unlovable and unworthy.

That’s why Jesus still stands in the margins, asking people what he can do for them.

And that’s where we belong, too, whether the world puts us there or not.

Because following Jesus means being where he is.

Following Jesus means loving the people he loves, which is everybody, including the people the world wants to ignore and the people the world “sternly order[s] to be quiet.”

Let’s not be quiet any longer. Whether we are advocating for our own needs or the needs of our neighbors, let us shout out, “Jesus, Son of David, has mercy on us! Let the world have mercy, too!”

Let’s keep shouting until there is mercy in this world for those the world ignores.

Let’s keep asking what we can do for our neighbors.

Let’s keep following Jesus on The Way.

Because Jesus loves you, loves your neighbor, and loves the world he created.

Take heart; get up, he is calling you.