For Sunday, October 25, 2015 – Mark 10:46-52
Our next healing is closer than we think. Are we ready for a different kind of life? What are we willing to do to receive it?
We are quite remarkable when you think about it. We patiently sit by the roadside, angry or disappointed or afraid, for a mighty long time. We pick at the scab of past pain, all our undeserved suffering, for a mighty long time. We remain blind to the true source of our distress because we are invested in a story in which we are the victim. If only someone would help us, listen to us, love us, it could be different. We keep begging, and our empty pockets seem to bear proof that no one really cares.
Jesus isn’t having it. When Bartimaeus calls out to him, do you notice what Jesus does not do? He does not come running. In fact, he does not answer Bartimaeus at all. Instead, he says to the bigger community, “Call him here,” and they do.
“Take heart,” they tell him. “He is calling you.” Now is the pivotal moment. Will you have the heart to haul yourself up from your old positions and habits of mind? Will you admit defeat and step into an unknown story? Or will you say this is all the proof you need that no one cares, that even Jesus will not come to you?
Too often we hold fast to old stories. We are misunderstood, unwanted, with limited capacities and too little support. Why doesn’t Jesus heal us? Why won’t he come? “Take heart. He is calling you.” Get up! Throw yourself on the mercy of the whole community. Admit your blindness. You might find that healing has already taken hold.
Now all that matters is not to return to the same old life. This is the hardest part of the healing process, not just to have an insightful moment but to head out in a new direction. We can walk a different road with other wounded healers, spreading the news that we are more than the story we have been living. We are more than our long list of losses, our hurts, our failures or even our accomplishments. The past is past. It’s time to see and live the next part of our story.
