Haydenville Congregational Church The Rev. Dr. Andrea Ayvazian October 28, 2012 Mark 10:46-52 Sight and Vision May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord our Strength and our Redeemer. Amen. Helen Adams Keller was born on June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Helen Keller was not born blind and deaf; it was not until she was 19 months old that she contracted an illness described at the time by doctors as an acute congestion of the stomach and brain, which might have been scarlet fever or meningitis. The illness left Helen both deaf and blind. In 1887, when Helen was seven years old, the Keller family met Alexander Graham Bell, who was working with deaf children at that time. Through Bell s connections, the Keller family found Anne Sullivan herself visually impaired and only 20 years old who became Helen s instructor. Anne Sullivan began her relationship with Helen as her teacher, but their companionship which spanned 49 years became that of inseparable friends. Anne Sullivan taught little Helen to communicate by spelling words into her hand beginning with d-o-l-l for the doll that she brought to Helen as a gift. Young Helen was frustrated at first. She did not understand that every object had a word uniquely identifying it. In fact, when Anne tried to teach Keller the word for mug, Helen became so frustrated she broke the doll. After one month of working every day with Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller had a huge breakthrough. While Anne was running cool water over Helen s hand, Helen realized suddenly that the motions her teacher was making on the palm of her hand symbolized the idea of water. Helen then exhausted Anne running through the house demanding the names of all the familiar objects in her world. Helen Keller lived a long and remarkably productive life. She died at age 87 in Connecticut. She was the first person in this country who was both deaf and blind to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. Helen s admirer, Mark Twain, paid for her education and she attended and excelled at Radcliffe College. 1
Helen Keller wrote 12 books and numerous articles. She learned to speak and traveled to some 40 countries giving speeches and lectures. She was a strong advocate for people with disabilities and was active in the Women s Suffrage Movement. She was also a pacifist, a radical socialist, and a birth control supporter. In 1920, she helped found the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Helen Keller met every president from Grover Cleveland to Lyndon Johnson. When Helen was young, she was introduced to Christianity. At that time she said, I always knew He was there, but I didn t know his name. Helen Keller is remembered for her remarkable life, her wisdom and courage, her long and faithful friendship with Anne Sullivan, her influence on the United States and world, and her insightful reflections on life, politics, work and culture. One of Helen Keller s many thought-provoking comments has relevance for us today as we consider Jesus and Bartimaeus, the blind beggar in Jericho. Helen Keller once said, The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision. Let us consider the story in Mark 10 and reflect on who in this passage has sight and who has vision. They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! 48 Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, Son of David, have mercy on me! 49 Jesus stood still and said, Call him here. And they called the blind man, saying to him, Take heart; get up, he is calling you. 50 So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 Then Jesus said to him, What do you want me to do for you? The blind man said to him, My teacher, * let me see again. 52 Jesus said to him, Go; your faith has made you well. Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way. Jesus and his disciples are approaching the end of their travels. They have been heading for Jerusalem where Jesus will be tortured and killed. They are now in Jericho, at the edge of Jerusalem, at the edge of suffering and death for Jesus. As they have traveled along, Jesus has told the disciples numerous times what awaits him in Jerusalem. But the disciples have been busy discussing where they want to sit in heaven on Jesus right hand and left hand in his glory. 2
Somehow, much of what Jesus has said and has done, much of who Jesus is has gone right past the disciples. They are young, probably in their late teens, they are frightened and overwhelmed. They have tried but have missed understanding who Jesus really is. Jesus has been patient but time is running out. And then something remarkable happens. The disciples, who are sighted but do not recognize who Jesus is, witness a blind beggar seeing Jesus and addressing him with a title that means Messiah! They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Because it was predicted and foretold that the Messiah who would come to the Hebrew people would be in the lineage of King David, the blind man s salutation Jesus, Son of David is a way of saying Jesus MESSIAH. Bartimaeus cannot see, but he recognizes who Jesus and he names it. In response, the disciples SEE only a blind beggar when they look at Bartimaeus, the disciples SEE a poor person, they SEE a worthless person with a disability, they SEE a person of no value who should not be demanding the rabbi s time and attention. The disciples SEE the outer Bartimaeus their prejudices and biases cloud their sight. The disciples SEE the man, but they do not SEE the man s worth. The same is true for the whole crowd They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! 48 Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, Son of David, have mercy on me! Clearly we are told Jesus is traveling with a big crowd a big crowd that also reveals their prejudices.a big crowd that also SEES Bartimaeus as simply a blind beggar with no value Many sternly ordered Bartimaeus to be quiet 3
But Bartimaeus, bless his brave heart, cries out more loudly. He recognizes who Jesus is, he knows Jesus can help him, he is willing to defy norms, customs, and violate the rules of social propriety. 48 Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, Son of David, have mercy on me! And then Jesus does what Jesus always does. He sees beyond the stereotypes, beyond the outer self, beyond the prejudices and biases that surround a person. Jesus sees people and recognizes their inherent value and worth. Jesus stops and responds to the blind beggar. 49 Jesus stood still and said, Call him here. And they called the blind man, saying to him, Then the disciples feign graciousness and hospitality Take heart; get up, he is calling you. And what does Bartimaeus do? He throws off probably the only thing he owns his cloak. He springs up, the Bible says he springs up and he approaches Jesus. The blind man SEES Jesus for who he is and Jesus SEES the blind man for all his worth and value. 50 So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 Then Jesus said to him, What do you want me to do for you? The blind man said to him, My teacher, * let me see again. 52 Jesus said to him, Go; your faith has made you well. Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way. This is a tender exchange. Usually Jesus tells those he has healed: go on your way and tell no one about what has occurred. Usually Jesus is trying to hide his identity probably to save himself further from the crush of the crowd. Usually Jesus heals people and sends them off in secret. And usually they follow his instructions. Usually but not this time. Bartimaeus, who sprang up to go to Jesus, will not leave Jesus. Bartimaeus who was blind, now has sight and will follow Jesus on his way. So who is this story is blind, who can see, and who has vision? The disciples are blind to who Jesus really is. The blind man can see who Jesus really is. The disciples look at Bartimaeus and see their prejudices. 4
The crowd also looks at Bartimaeus and they see their prejudices. Jesus sees the man s worth and value. The blind man sees that he must follow Jesus. And finally, Jesus is intentionally blind to the prevailing prejudices and stereotypes of his time. Born 15 years after the end of the Civil War, Helen Keller, it seemed, was doomed to live a life of darkness, loneliness, isolation, frustration and obscurity. But Anne Sullivan brought words into her life and Helen Keller s life began to soar. Helen Keller changed the world with her writing, speaking, politics, and was a powerfully inspirational speaker and presence. Mark Twain, Helen s friend and admirer, said The two most interesting characters in the 19 th century are Helen Keller and Napoleon Bonaparte. A newscaster once said after interviewing Helen Keller, Her darkness is much brighter than my light. Helen Keller did not have sight but she had vision. As contemporary disciples of Jesus, it does not matter if we have sight. But it does matter if we have vision. It matters if we see the worth and value of all individuals. It matters if we are blind to prevailing prejudices and stereotypes. It matters if we envision the kingdom of God and work to create it on earth. The prophet Isaiah said, Without vision, the people perish. He did not say, Without sight, the people perish. Helen Keller said, The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision. May we have the vision to see the world as God sees the world full of hope and beauty, peace and possibility, justice and compassion, wisdom and love. May we have the vision to glimpse the kingdom of God even as we see a beautiful but broken world. May we be blind to prejudice and see the value and worth of every one of God s beloved sons and daughters. And may we have the vision to see Jesus in our midst so that we spring up and follow him. Amen. 5
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