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October 26, 2003; Proper 24, Year B
    The Rev. Harold "Skip" Comer, Rector

As I read the Gospel reading for this morning I was reminded of the “Jesus Prayer” that The Rev. Richard Singleton made reference to during the Order of St. Luke healing conference at the beginning of October.  The words of the prayer he citied were, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner."   The prayer is to be said repeatedly, like a mantra, with the intent of drawing the individual into the presence of God. 

The “Jesus Prayer” originated in the Eastern Orthodox Church and is believed to have been in use as early as the sixth century at the monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai.  The more ancient form of the “Jesus Prayer” is, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me.”  These words bear an even more striking resemblance to the plea of Bartimaeus that we have just heard in our Gospel reading from Mark this morning.

The more I thought about the “Jesus Prayer” and the Gospel reading for this morning the more I wondered about its connection to our own prayers of today. 

Seated by the roadside near Jericho was a man named Bartimaeus,[i] who because of blindness had been ostracized by the community and forced to beg for each meal he would eat.  As Jesus, his disciples, and others passed through Jericho, they did not even notice Bartimaeus.  Jesus was somewhere in the midst of the crowd and probably preoccupied with what awaited him in Jerusalem, some eighteen miles away.   The disciples and the rest of the crowd must have been preoccupied with Jesus and their journey to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.  They all had eyes, but no one saw the blind beggar sitting beside the road.

How often is it that we feel all alone, unnoticed, wondering if God really cares about what is happening to us?  What about friends and others, who seem to preoccupied with other things and don’t  notice?  What are we to do in our times of need?

Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus for mercy, and several people in the crowd told him to shut up.  What an unchristian attitude!  I hope that none of us have ever had that experience.  But alas, I am afraid that some have experienced times when their cries for help have gone unnoticed or have even been ignored.   What are we to do?

Bartimaeus refused to be silent.  I remember Jesus telling his disciples to be persistent in prayer.  He even told the parable of the persistent widow[ii] to emphasize the perseverance we need in praying.  You remember the story.  A widow went before a judge, who neither feared God or really cared about people, and she pleaded for justice against an individual who had done something wrong to her.   Repeatedly the judge refused to hear her case, but finally because of her persistence, the judge granted her request so that she would not bother him anymore.   Jesus told this story in order to help us understand that in those times when it seems that no one, even God, is paying attention, we need to keep on praying and our prayers will be heard.

I believe that there is a flip side to praying persistently.  By this I mean, we, the pray-er are taken from where we are at into the presence of God to pay attention to God.  

Somehow Bartimaeus knew that Jesus of Nazareth was in the crowd of people passing by.  His cry tells us just how much he knew about our Jesus.   “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  They were the cries of a faith calling for divine compassion.  Bartimaeus addressed Jesus as "Son of David," that is, Messiah.[iii]  He recognized Jesus not only as a teacher or as a healer, but as the Christ, the Son of God.

How do we know Jesus?  Is he someone that we have read and heard about, or is he someone that we have invited into our life?

Jesus stopped in his tracks and told those around him to bring the man to him.  “What do you want me to do for you?"  Jesus asked.  I believe that it is interesting to note that Jesus asked this same question in our Gospel reading last week of James and John, two of his disciples.  The irony between these two passages that follow one another is enormous.  James and John have been with Jesus since he began his public ministry.  They have listened to his teachings and witnessed the mighty works that he has done.  Of all people, you would think that they would have a firm grasp on what Jesus was all about.  Yet, when Jesus asked them what they want from him, they said that they want positions of power and influence similar to those found in many parts of society.  I believe that Jesus just shook his head at their request and wondered if he had wasted his time in trying to teach James and John the ways of God.

What do we ask for?  This is really a hard situation.   The Gospels report that Jesus physically healed people.  Is it wrong to ask for physical healing today?  I don’t believe so, yet I cannot answer why physical healing does not occur in those who suffer. 

Bartimaeus, the blind man, was considered to be "out of touch" with the world, yet it turns out that he was one of the few people who were closely in touch with the reality of God in Jesus.  Although he lacked physical sight, Bartimaeus possessed spiritual sight.  Even before Jesus restored his sight, Bartimaeus saw that Jesus was the promised savior.  He sensed Jesus' identity with the eyes of faith.

In the Bible, seeing is used many times in a symbolic way to indicate believing.  In this sense, it is natural that Bartimaeus' recognition of Jesus as the Christ coincided with his gift of physical sight.  In the case of Bartimaeus, "believing is seeing."  His faith had literally opened his eyes to God's kingdom unfolding around him.  Jesus' mission throughout the gospels was to reveal God's kingdom to all who would receive the good news.  Thus, in terms of vision, Bartimaeus had a clearer vision of who Jesus was than many of his other followers.

“What do you want me to do for you?”  “My teacher, let me see again.”  “Go; your faith has made you well.”   Bartimaeus was set free.  He could now see and go anywhere he wanted to.   Yet he decided to follow Jesus.

I believe that Mark included this healing miracle in his Gospel for more than the miracle of restoring Bartimaeus’ sight.  First he included it because of Bartimaeus' faith.  A faith that allowed him to see what others did not see or understand.  Bartimaeus saw more than a wise teacher or healer.   He saw the incarnation of God in the man called Jesus.  Second, he included this story, because of all of those who were healed by Jesus, Bartimaeus is the only one who followed him.  Now you might say, certainly some of the others who were healed by Jesus followed him.  But there is no indication in any of the Gospels that anyone else who was healed by Jesus then followed him.  And finally, with his sight restored, and with freedom to go wherever he wanted to, he decided to follow the Master.

The “Jesus Prayer” has been described as the Prayer of the Heart, because it captures in just a few words the movement of the Christian heart toward God.  It acknowledges God's sovereignty,   addresses Jesus as our Lord and Savior and as the Son of God.  In humble awareness of our suffering and sin, we seek God's mercy, his loving kindness.  We pray simply for mercy, that God might look upon us to heal and forgive us.

What a beautiful summary of the Christian's attitude toward God.  Longing for communion with our Lord, we call out.  In humbleness we dare to address the divine God.  Believing the promise that God is merciful, we ask for God's mercy to touch and restore us.  To pray this kind of prayer is itself an act of faith.

"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me."

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