What are you looking for?

Mark 10:46-52

           When I was a young man, my father advised me about a great many things.  One of his standards was that I should always seize an opportunity to expand my horizons and that a new experience  always looked good on my resume. Consequently I looked for some jobs that others probably would have overlooked in my profession. I still recall his excitement that I had landed a part-time job as a 'consultant' for the county. All outside contractors for the county were called consultants, whether it was the chaplain or the barber. Still it looked good on my resume.

             We look for a great many things in life, many times it is what is good for us. The world seems very self centered. It's a 'me' world and everything is seen in that light. We look out for me, me, me, me, me!

              When we experience Jesus though, we see things in a much different light. Whether this passage was intended to be literal or figurative, people who experience Jesus see things differently. Life is no longer about me and what's good for me. Life becomes how can I serve and how can I say thank you for all that I have been graced with.  You gain new sight, you gain new insights. Many things that Jesus espoused were quite revolutionary and counter cultural. In yesterdays passage I spoke of breaking out of boxes. The new vision that you receive in faith will help you see a person and not a box. You won't see those boxes any more. You will be free.

             Just as a person can be constrained somewhat by blindness and is a much freer with sight, coming to faith and the love of Jesus sets us free from self centeredness, and boxes that we not only put others in, but also ourselves. 

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. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ 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.’ So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 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.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.