The Lord who works marvels

Gospel

Mk 10:46-52

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,
Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,
sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say,
"Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
But he kept calling out all the more,
"Son of David, have pity on me."
Jesus stopped and said, "Call him."
So they called the blind man, saying to him,
"Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you."
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?"
The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see."
Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you."
Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way.

Homily at St Saviour, Scarborough

“Master, let me see”

When I was a young theological student in London I used to speak regularly from a soap box pulpit at Speakers Corner, Hyde Park (the stand belonged to Donald Soper). It was excellent training for public witness, not 6 foot above contradiction as in a church pulpit, but where those who gathered to heckle as well as to listen could challenged anything you said with which they disagreed or believed worthy of debate. There were regulars well versed in the sport of deflating the over confident and dogmatic.

One bleak winter’s day a man was giving forth who was intent on pouring scorn on Christianity for which he could not hide his contempt. “People tell me” he said “that God exists but I can’t see him. People tell me that there is life after death but I can’t see it. People tell me there is a judgment to come but I can’t see it. People tell me there is a heaven and a hell but I can’t see them either”. His speech brought him cheap applause but then a nervous man unused to this kind of public debate made it clear he had something to say in reply. He said “People tell me there is green grass but I can’t see it. People tell me there is blue sky above but I can’t see it. People tell me there are trees nearby but I can’t see them. You see I am blind”.

You can be sighted physically but remain blind spiritually.

You can be blind physically but clear sighted spiritually.

There are none so blind as those who will not see.

This week a bought a 500 page paperback written by an ex nun, Karen Armstrong. It’s title ‘A History of God’. On the cover AN Wilson declaims “This is the most fascinating and learned survey of the biggest wild goose chase in history – the quest for God”. By contrast Anthony Burgess states “The idea of a single divine being – God – has existed for over 4000 years. In this fascinating, extensive, and highly original account of the evolution of belief, the author examines western society’s unerring fidelity to the idea of one God”. Sister Wendy Becket comments “ A splendid readable book – the stage is set for the question: has God a future?”

Who is blind and who sees clearly here?

Can blindness be changed into sight by grace? Of course, you know I think it can.

In today’s gospel blind Bartimaeus has the beginning of sight even out of his dark world. As Jesus comes near to him the light of faith makes him cry out for help “Son of David have pity on me” and when Jesus stops to ask him what he wants he says “Master, let me see”. Immediately his sight returns and he follows Jesus.

The cry of Bartimaeus to Jesus is the Biblical spring of what is universally known as the Jesus Prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, be merciful to me a sinner”. The little Russian spiritual classic ‘The Way of a Pilgrim’ teaches the use of the Jesus Prayer through the travel diary of an unknown Christian wandering from one holy place to another through Russia and Siberia. Metropolitan Anthony says an introduction to the English translation “No other book, to my knowledge, has inspired more people to set out to discover the inner springs that nurture the life of Orthodox Christians and to learn the practice of the Jesus Prayer”.

The cry of blind Bartimaeus, especially when upgraded into the Jesus Prayer, is the way to the heart of the Lord who works marvels:

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, be merciful to me a sinner”

“Master, let me see”