I want to see

Mark 10:46-52
The Healing of Blind Bartimaeus
46 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.

Our gospel reading is fairly short today.
And it doesn't contain Jesus speaking as he has been in the last few weeks gospel readings about his journey toward the cross.
Instead, we have a story of healing.
A brief story but one filled with amazing depth.
There are lots of details in this story that I love.
Lots of phrases that deserve to be savoured:
It's a story that invites us in - to be a part of it.
So let's take a break this morning from the rather harsh teaching that we've been following over the last few weeks and enjoy this brief interlude.
And lets focus on Jesus ministering in one of the many interruptions that assailed him on his way.
Lets imagine ourselves on this part of the journey with Jesus.
Would we find ourselves in the crowd with Jesus and his disciples, attempting to leave Jericho?
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.
Can you imagine yourself in that crowd - perhaps pleased to be on the move again, glad to continue the journey, happy to be part of Jesus entourage.
I'm sure you've seen something of the USA Electoral coverage.
Every step of the candidates' journey, they are accompanied by vast support networks - a huge circus of activity.
And, as the election looms nearer - some states have already started voting- the crowds get larger and larger and the circus becomes more and more bizarre.
As Jesus journeys through towns and villages, his following grows too and, as we've already witnessed it becomes impossible for him to do anything quietly.
It's impossible for him even to find time to pray.
In our story today, perhaps you'd find a place in that crowd, swept up in the euphoria that surrounded Jesus, hanging on to his every word, desperate to see what he would do next.
Perhaps you'd be right in the thick of it, squeezing your way out of Jericho, impatient to be on your way, desperate to see where the next stage of the journey will take you, loving the noise and the bustle and the excitement.
And then being annoyed as Jesus comes to a grinding halt, as the procession stops - and for what?
To heed a beggar, a blind beggar at that.
Perhaps you'd be a part of that crowd, feeling contempt that something so trivial should stop the great machine that was the Jesus entourage in its tracks.
Or perhaps you'd experience a frisson of excitement as Jesus stopped yet again - wondering what on earth he'd do now.
You're in that crowd.
And your progress is halted.
Are you frustrated and anxious to be on your way?
Or are you filled with anticipation, wondering what bizarre spectacle you're about to witness now?

But maybe the crowd that accompanied Jesus is not where you'd be found.
Maybe that whole circus theme is not your scene.
Maybe you'd find yourself alongside Bartimaeus, one of his fellow beggars?
Or perhaps you'd be one of those shushing him, telling him not to call out to Jesus?
One of those who knows that there is no way that Jesus would notice a blind beggar, or hear his desperate calling?
Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Would you be one of those pouring cold water on the hopes of Bartimaeus, ridiculing his audacity in thinking that Jesus would have anything to do with him, sternly ordering him to be quiet?

Or would you be with the folk who heard Jesus calling Bartimaeus?
One of those who was tuned in, sensitive, even over the babble of the crowd, one of those who encouraged Bartimaeus to approach Jesus?
One of those responsible for Bartimaeus throwing off his cloak, leaping to his feet and coming to Jesus.
They called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.”
Would you be one of those people, eyes open for opportunity, willing to see others made well?

Wherever you find yourself in the crowd- with Jesus or with Bartimaeus, frustrated at being held up or excited by possibility, what about the interaction between Jesus and Bartimaeus?
What effect does that have on you?
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.”
I want to see again.
The words of Blind Bartimaeus to Jesus.
I want to see again.
A simple request that contains a world of longing.
I want to see again.
Perhaps we'd like to take ourselves out of the crowd now, wherever in that crowd we might have imagined ourselves.
Perhaps we'd like to take ourselves out of the crowd and ask for that same healing for ourselves: I want to see again.
A longing that lives deep within us.
A longing to be able to see with eyes of faith, with eyes of hope, with eyes of compassion, with eyes of love.
A longing to lose the cataracts that have formed over our eyes as we have become cold and distant, unmoved by the pain of the world around us, hardened by life.
I want to see again - maybe our deepest longing today.
We're no longer a part of that crowd.
We're in the spotlight.
We are the ones in need of healing.
We are the ones who need to throw off our cloaks and approach Jesus with a spring in our step and hope in our heart, seeking healing from the blindness that afflicts us daily, the blindness that makes us turn away from life, that makes us live less than our potential, the blindness that holds us back, that imprisons our spirits.
I want to see again.
We cannot continue to hide in the crowd.
It is important that we place ourselves alongside Bartimaeus, facing our fear, acknowledging our need for healing, having the faith and the courage to ask Jesus to restore our sight.
And hearing those words of Jesus spoken for us:
Your faith has made you well.

Faith involves us leaving the safety of the crowd, throwing off our cloak of fear, recognising our blindness and asking for healing.
And then hearing Jesus say to us:
Your faith has made you well.

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