A couple of years ago I went to the eye doctor to get some new glasses. Well they dilated my eyes and then did the eye exam. After my eyes were dilated, I was asked to pick out my pair of glasses. Well if you have ever had your eyes dilated you know that it is impossible to see anything up close. I remember after I got home I tried to watch some T.V. and then gave up because I could not focus on the screen. I remember feeling so grateful when my normal eye sight returned and praised God for the marvelous gift of sight. One of the most well known hymns, Amazing Grace in its first verse ends I once was lost, but now am found was blind, but now I see. i As a Christian, in our lifetime we experience spiritual blindness and spiritual regaining of our sight. You see, there are times in our lives where our spiritual eyes are dilated and we are unable to focus on Christ. Most often spiritual blindness occurs when we put ourselves first. We became fixated on doing the things we feel like we have to do and lose sight of the things God would have us do. When we experience spiritual blindness we may find ourselves more on edge, more anxious, and more depressed. I think the thing I love the most about our gospel lesson from Mark this morning is that a blind man was the one who was able to recognize Christ even though he could not see. You see this blind man, Bartimaeus, was waiting for Christ and when he heard that he was nearby he had to do everything in his power to be near him. People were trying to silence him, but he would not let that stop him from encountering the living Christ. What an amazing faith this man had! His faith is what Jesus said had healed him that day. What is interesting in the Bible is that there are stories of people who were able to see Christ and yet did not believe that he was the Son of God. For instance, in John 20, after Jesus had been resurrected from the dead he came back to see the disciples. Thomas remained unconvinced that Jesus had been raised from the dead, it was not until Thomas was able to put his hands inside Jesus wounds that he believed. So Christ said to Thomas: Because you have seen me you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed (John 20:29). The question before us today is how can we, like this blind man in the Gospel of Mark, continue to see Christ working in our midst, even when we are experiencing spiritual blindness? 1
Historically, we as Christians have experienced corporate times of spiritual blindness. Times when we were unaware of the access we had to Jesus Christ through our faith in Him. Today we celebrate Reformation Sunday. A time in the history of Christianity where the eyes of its people were opened. A time in 1517 when Dr. Martin Luther hung his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany, starting the Protestant Reformation. ii In this letter Luther addressed a number of objectionable teachings and doctrines, including salvation by works and the practice of selling indulgences. iii Luther also printed the Bible in German so people for the first time in their lives were able to read the Bible for themselves. In summary, Dr. Luther brought the Word of God to the people and because of that they experienced a spiritual awakening. You see at that time, people did not have their own Bibles, so they went to church and believed everything that was taught by the priests. Now usually priests are trustworthy, but at this time there had been an abuse of power. Pope Leo X called for the sale of indulgences in Germany to help raise money to complete the construction of Saint Peter s Cathedral in Rome. iv So priests sold indulgences to their parishioners saying in effect, if they paid enough they could buy their salvation. Luther thought this was wrong and he could no longer stand behind the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. So he took a stand. He hoped that as many people as possible would be able to see his written document so that they might see the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ. He posted it on the door of the church right before the Celebration of All Saints Day so the most people possible would be able to see it. And this tactic worked. Dr. Luther opened the eyes of so many Christians about what biblical Christianity looked like. This was the Protestant Reformation, when people took responsibility for their own faith and had access to read the Bible for themselves. What a gift it is that we live in a country where we can read the Bible anytime we want. What a gift it is to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus is as we hear in our reading from Hebrews 7, the great high priests. Throughout our Christian history we have always had a mediator in relation to our Father, God. In the Old Testament we see that Moses was the mediator of the Torah while Aaron and his sons were the mediators of the blood sacrifice. v This means that much like those who relied on the priests in the Roman Catholic church to tell them what to do to atone for their sins, those in the Old Testament looked to 2
priests to tell them what type of sacrifice to offer God to atone for their sins. There were so many different types of sacrifices for various types of sins. We especially see this practice of ritual sacrifice take on profound meaning on the ritual Day of Atonement, known of Yom Kippur, an annual event in the life of the Hebrew people which was considered the most holy day of worship. vi Two every important things happened on this day: 1) This was the only day of the year the high priests entered the tabernacle where he presented sacrificial blood as atoning sacrifice for the sins of Israel and the purification of the Tent of meeting. vii Then blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat where God was thought to reside The Ark of the Covenant (Leviticus 16) in order to attain forgiveness for the priest and the congregation. viii 2) A living animal was chosen as a scapegoat to atone for the sins of the Israelites. The priest was to pray a prayer of confession of all the sins of Israel as he laid his hand upon the animal s head and then sent the goat in the wilderness never to be seen again. So at this point, you may be wondering how did we go from the blind man to all this information about sacrifices? I tell you this background information because I think it is vital to understand Jesus role as high priest. After Jesus was baptized, he immediately went to the wilderness for 40 days, the wilderness the very same place the scapegoat was sent. Jesus Christ, the Son of God became the new scape goat for our sins and in doing so became our eternal high priest. Once Jesus died on the cross for our sins, there was no more separation between us and God. The sin that had separated us before was taken on by Jesus Christ. At that time there were many still doing ritual sacrifices to God who they believed lived in the tabernacle. In Matthew 27:50-51a we hear these words: And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. This is a significant event in Christian history. In this moment humans were no longer separated from God, the high priests was no longer the only person who could have direct access to God, and Jesus became our eternal high priests. In other words, my online commentary said it best: When Jesus died, the veil was torn, and God moved out of that place never again to dwell in a temple made with hands (Acts 17:24). ix 3
The good news of our Scripture for today is that in it we have evidence that we were given direct access to Jesus Christ, the one who sacrificed his life for our sins. Through our faith in Christ, we gain eternal life because he was the perfect atonement for our sins. Christ is Lord of our lives. He is our great high priest. So how are we recognizing that Christ is present in our lives. How can we truly believe that Christ is still interceding to God for us? In order to have this personal relationship with Jesus Christ we must be able to recognize Christ. We cannot turn a spiritually blind eye to this amazing reality in our life: that Jesus Christ wants to be in a relationship with us. We have to respond to this invitation. Revelations 3:20 tells us: Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. Christ is knocking on the doors to our lives, but are we responding? Are we staying spiritually blind, stuck in our sin thinking there is no way out? Or are we confessing our sins to God with repentant hearts, knowing we will be forgiven because of what Christ did for us? We recognize Christ when we open our eyes to the work that God is doing the world and follow Jesus Christ. What I love about our Gospel lesson for today is that after the man was healed, he did not run home to all of his friends and pick up life the way he had known before. No, the first thing he did was follow Christ. When our eyes are opened to the truth of God, life is not the same. When we recognize Christ as the Son of God we actively have to participate in our own discipleship and the discipleship of others and the Holy Spirit is there to help us on this journey. We recognize Christ when we are intentional about opening ourselves up to the people in need around us. In Matthew 25:37-40: 37 Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you? 40 And the king will answer them, Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me. Christ is calling us to serve. Are we listening? 4
I have been so blessed to recognize Christ at work in all five of the churches I have served. At my last appointment, I recognized Christ in the face of Marion Dodson, a woman of profound faith. She cooked our Wednesday night meal each week with love. She visited and called those who were homebound. She provided rides to those who could no longer drive. She volunteered to work in the church office and answer the phone. She always took time to encourage me. She embodied the love of Christ. I am constantly in awe by all the ways Christ is moving in our charge. Through the way that I recognize Christ in the faces of those that go and visit those who are sick or homebound, from the way I recognize Christ through the various ways we are in mission and outreach to our community, I am ever thankful that Christ is present with us. He is not just hanging out in heaven at the right hand of God, in Matthew 18:20 Jesus tells us For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. Our calling as Christians is to help others recognize that Christ is alive through the way that we embody the servant ministry of Jesus Christ. On this Reformation Sunday, may we be encouraged by the mighty work of Martin Luther, may we be inspired by Jesus Christ the perfecter and pioneer of our faith, as we strive to follow Him. May we strive to have faith like Bartimaeus. A faith that is not shaken even in the midst of hardship. May we lift one another up during times in our lives where spiritual blindness stops us from seeing or feeling the love and grace of God. Through our faith in Jesus Christ, God s love and grace is always accessible to us. May we reach out and accept it with joy. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 5
Endnotes i The United Methodist Hymnal. P. 378 ii https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/reformation-day-what-why-andresources-for-worship iii iv v https://jaymack.net/exodus-commentary/ft-the-levitical-priesthood.asp vi https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2014/april/atonement-andscapegoat-leviticus-16-by-dr-kenneth-mathews.html vii viii ix https://www.gotquestions.org/temple-veil-torn.html Additional Resources https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/leviticus-161-34-the-scapegoat-ritual/ 6