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Mark 10:46-52                                                                                                  

“It is Time to Ask for God’s Mercy!”

 I want to start with a funny story. There was a Christian who fell in the ocean, and he couldn’t swim. When a boat came by, the captain yelled, “Do you need help, sir?” The Christian calmly said, “No, God will save me.” A Little later, another boat came by, and a fisherman asked, “Hey, do you need help?” The Christian replied again, “No, God will save me.” Eventually, the Christian drowned and went to heaven. The Christian asked God, “Why didn’t you save me?” God replied, “Fool, I sent you two boats!”

We sometimes misunderstand God’s work even though we believe in God like the Christian in the story. God can work through people around us. God can work through our pets and our plants too. So, keep your minds and hearts open to sense God’s work and God’s presence. To believe in God is to hope God makes things happen that we can’t. The Letter of Hebrews says, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” If you hope for things to happen earnestly, they will come true. Even though it may take longer than you expect, if you don’t give it up, God doesn’t give it up. “Faith” is to hope God makes things happen. If it hasn’t happen yet, you might think that you have little faith. What does having little or a lot of faith mean? Jesus mentioned having little faith in the Gospel of Matthew.

One day, the disciples who failed to cast out a demon asked Jesus why they couldn’t cast out the demon. Jesus answered them, “because of your little faith. If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20) According to this word if we have “little faith” like the size of the mustard seed, there is nothing impossible for us. However, we know there are many things impossible “for us.” Is it because our faith is too little? If it is so, how could our faith be big enough?

In today’s scripture, we see a blind man Bartimaeus, who received his sight through his faith. Imagine the blind man Bartimaeus. He was a beggar who was sitting on the roadside every day begging for daily food. He could hear what people were talking about. One day, he felt something different from the other days. There were many more people who passed by him, talking about Jesus. Hearing about Jesus, he thought that if anyone would bring him to Jesus, he may be healed. However, nobody cared about him, and they just passed him by. But, a chance presented itself. When Jesus and his disciples were about to leave the city of Jericho, blind man Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was passing by him. As soon as Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” People scolded him telling him to be quiet. However, he didn’t want to lose the chance to heal his sight. It would be, perhaps, the only chance for him, which may never come again. If you were Bartimaeus, what would you do? Are you going to stop? Are you going to give it up? No, you can’t stop.  You can’t give up. It was the same for Bartimaeus. He cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Among many people, Jesus perhaps couldn’t see him, as he was sitting on the roadside. He stopped walking and stood still. Finally, Jesus heard him and said, “Call him here.” People said to him, “Take heart; get up; he is calling you.”

Can you imagine how Bartimaeus felt at that moment? He couldn’t see anything. A large crowd gathered around him. How can he go to Jesus? However, he didn’t think about “how.” Immediately, he sprung up and ran toward Jesus. He didn’t care about throwing off his cloth, which might be the only cloth he had. He sprang up and came to Jesus. Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” Bartimaeus said to him, “Let me see again!” Jesus said, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed Jesus on the way. What did you see through Bartimaeus?

We see Bartimaeus’ urgent shouting, because he couldn’t give up his only chance. We see he had a lot of obstacles and difficulties. He had physical problems; he couldn’t see, and he couldn’t go alone. He had material problems; he might worry about daily food, cloth, and shelter. Perhaps, he had emotional difficulties. He might have had times of hopelessness, depression, and desperation. We assume he lost his sight at a certain point in his life because he said, “I want to see again.” He might have had a time of complaint, “Why me?” He was the person who survived day by day, begging daily for food on the street. Among all these difficulties, his biggest obstacle was, perhaps, the people around him, who blocked him from going to Jesus and didn’t want him shouting at Jesus. In order to achieve his goal, he gave up the daily begging food; he gave up his only cloth; he didn’t care about the people who blocked and scolded him. His primary goal was to meet Jesus. For him, it was an urgent issue to receive Jesus’ mercy. What about you? What about your faith? In order to meet Jesus and receive God’s mercy, can you give up important things? What is most important to you? How urgent are your prayers? Why don’t you ask for God’s mercy? Perhaps, Jesus stands still to hear you. Who knows, it might be the only chance you have to receive God’s mercy.

Let’s focus on Jesus a little more in everyday life if we can’t hear Jesus. Jesus stands still, waiting for us, even if we are too busy to sense Jesus. Even though Jesus asks us, “What do you want me to do for you?” we do not say what we need because we are complaining too much or we still sit down in hopelessness and depression. Listen, “Take heart; get up; he is calling you.” It is time to ask for God’s mercy. Even though there are people who block you from listening to Jesus’ calling for you, are you still unable to hear Jesus because you overthink the “how and why?” Expect God, who will provide the way for you, and get up to receive God’s mercy! Are there others around you needing God’s mercy?  Are you blocking them from coming to Jesus physically, emotionally, or spiritually?  If so, it is time to say to them, “take heart; get up, God is calling you.” It is time to receive God’s mercy! Don’t lose the chance God gives you. Please open your hearts and minds to sense God’s presence! It is time to ask for God’s mercy! Thanks be to God. Amen!