Lord I Want to See

Mk. 10:46-52
A group of blind men were wandering in the jungle. Now, don’t ask me what a bunch of blind men were doing in the jungle, just work with me here. ANYWAY, so they were wondering in the jungle and they all came upon a large object in their trail. They couldn’t move it, they couldn’t get past it, and they didn’t recognize it.
As one of the men started feeling what was in front of him he said it was about as big around as a tree trunk, was rough, and hard, yet at the same time it seemed to almost feel like a flesh.
Another man said, no, no… it is thin and soft and floppy, like a sheet of leather.
Yet another said no, it is thin like a snake only firmer and with fur on the tip.
And still another said no, it is like a root that has been broken off, on the one end it is damp and odd but then it seems to connect on the other end to a tree or a boulder.
Finally, a native came upon them and saw what they were doing and asked, “What are you guys doing to that poor elephant.”
Each of the men were describing the elephant from their own experience, from their own perspective. Pardon the pun; they were blinded by their own limited vision. How often are we that way? How often do we have trouble seeing beyond our limited experiences? How often is it that we need to back up and open our eyes to see the big picture?
Take for instance the Health Care debate going on in our nation right now. I have heard a number of arguments about what to do about the issue. On the one hand we hear the argument that the health care in the United States is about personal choice and responsibility. No one has a right to health care; our rights are to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, not entitlements. If you want health insurance then go get it.

On the other hand, I hear the argument that the cost of health care has skyrocketed recently. Doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies are charging more and more to add to their profits and offset the cost of litigation from all the malpractice lawsuits. With all the increases in health care costs people are loosing the opportunity to pursue a life of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. The only agency big enough to handle this debacle is the federal government.
If your experience is of having little or no insurance for yourself or a loved one you have one view of the issue. If you have good insurance or good health care regardless of insurance then you have another perspective of the situation. If you work in the healthcare field you have yet another perspective.
Our experiences limit our vision. To truly settle the issue, we need to look beyond our limited experience of the issue. We need to open our eyes and expand our vision. The question is how do we do that? How do we see differently?
This is what happened to Bartimaus. Ol’ Bart was their minding his own business begging for alms at the gate of Jericho. Now it wasn’t uncommon to find beggars there since most of the labor was physical in nature and you couldn’t get a job if you had a disability. However, in Bart’s case he was a step down from most of the beggars. You see, according to William Barclay, the blind were looked upon as having been punished by God. So, Bart’s sitting there, a nobody among nobodies, hoping for enough of a hand-out to get him through one more day when he hears a crowd coming. I can just see him asking, “Hey, who is that, it must be a teacher because I hear lots of people but only one voice over the crowd.” Then the reply, “Oh, that’s that Jesus from Nazareth”.
Having heard all the stories of Jesus, Bartimaus knew him. Bart knew who Jesus was and what he had done, and Ol’ Bart starts to cry out a prayer that we should all be praying, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.” “Jesus, the Chosen One of God, have mercy on me.” When Jesus hears him, Jesus doesn’t walk the other way because he’s a begger, because he’s blind, because he’s a sinner, because God has punished him… NO, Jesus calls Bartimaus to himself, and asks him what he wants. And Bart Said, “I want to see.”
This is the interesting point in the story. The conflict that Bartimaus brings us is our own contrast between vision and sight. Edward Sims writes, “Recognition has to do with vision; seeing has to do with sight. Bartimaus had vision to recognize Jesus. He asked for his sight to see. We have the sight to see and ask for the vision to recognize.” We can see but do we recognize Jesus?
This is even more striking if you back up and read it in context with the other blind man passage of chapter 8. When we do this we realize that the story is less about the miracle of Bartimaus and his sight and more about the vision of the disciples.
They, like we, could see. They had seen the miracles of Jesus. They had witnessed the miracles and heard the teachings. Bart had only heard the stories from others, yet he believed. He had no experience with Jesus and yet he believed.
Our experience can be a vital part of our faith but it can also limit us. I saw a perfect illustration about this once on the show Medical Miracles. There was a little boy who was born blind. The doctors had hopes of healing him and giving him his sight. After dozens of surgeries and the painful rehabilitation from each of them he still could not see. But now, because of a new surgical treatment with an Artificial Corneal Implant there was once again hope that he may be able to see. They prepped him and performed the surgery and all went well. BUT the next day, when the patch came off and it was time to open his eye, he couldn’t do it. He started to, but he was scared. His experiences of the past had been so painful that he just didn’t think he could open his eyes. I don’t know if he was afraid that he would open his eyes and see or if he was afraid that he would open his eyes and not see. In the end, he found the courage and opened his eyes and saw his family for the first time.

Fear can be a terrible hindrance. Bartimaus had nothing to fear. He was already at the bottom of the social ladder. If he believed in who Jesus was and it turned out to be right or wrong, either way, his life could only get better. For the disciples it wasn’t so. They had plenty to fear. Maybe it was fear that had kept them from looking beyond their limited sight. If they looked beyond their limited sight, then they would have to face the cost of what it meant to follow Christ. If they had the vision to recognize Christ, then they would have to change.
That is the same way with us. If we begin to align our vision with that of God, we have to change.
-We will have to see differently. We will have to see people as God sees people. We will have to see ourselves as God sees us.
-When we align our vision with God’s we will have to see our need for revival, individually and as a church. And I’m not just talking about having a few special worship events with a better preacher and some special music. I’m talking about a revival of our relationship with God and how we as a church relate to one another and God.
- When we align our vision with God’s we will have to see beyond our idea of SS and Christian Education – It’s not just for children and youth. Sunday School and Christian education is a life long process. It is one of the ways we strengthen our relationship with God. Not only that but we will have to see beyond our idea of discipleship as learning from someone else and begin to disciple and mentor others.

- When we align our vision with God’s we will have to see that we are all teachers. We are all always teaching. The question is “what are we teaching?” Seeing differently means that we will begin to recognize that we are always having an impact on others regardless of where we are and what we are doing. It is like the story I heard about a 5 year old boy at one of the churches in our Conference. This little boy, Davey, is severely autistic but he is constantly walking up to people and telling them, “Jesus loves me… and… Jesus loves you.” This boy is teaching others about Jesus love.
OR The story I heard about John, a 9 yoa boy with ADHD who had been disrupting his parents and the entire church during worship when a youth, Kris, came and asked if she could sit with him. Now John sits with Kris each week and gives his parents a break. She tries to help him focus, she gives him something to do, and she helps him learn what church is about. John is learning about Christ through the patience and kindness of Kris.
Kris has a vision and because of her vision, John is beginning to have vision, they are beginning to see beyond their own limited sight because of God’s grace.
I know this sermon seems to have bounced around a bit so I will bring it all together here. Up to this point we have been talking about seeing differently. We started out talking about how
we need to open our eyes and expand our vision, THEN we saw the contrast between vision and sight and I hope that I have made the point that we need vision more than we need sight. FINALLY while our experience can be helpful in increasing our vision, we need to be careful that we do not let it limit us.
Bartimaus had vision, and through his vision he regained his sight. Bartimaus called out to Jesus and Jesus met him where he was but Bartimaus knew what he wanted, he wanted to see and by the grace of God he received his sight.
I want to be like Bartimaus, “Lord, I want vision”, yet I am afraid I am more like the disciples than I care to admit.
Afraid to see fully,
-afraid to have vision because of the cost,
-seeking to see only a little of what God is calling me to do and be
BUT through the grace of God, even the disciples received vision as God was revealed in Christ.
Grace is afforded to each of us through Christ as well. As we seek God, we can begin to see more clearly. We can see differently. Maybe today we can see communion as an opportunity to see differently. May God open our eyes that we may see.