What Is In It For Me If I Have Trouble Hearing And Seeing?
Good Morning Friends,
Surely today’s scripture and Gospel readings have challenged our hearts. I am certain we all battle pride. Left unchecked, pride has devastating effects on our lives. Though we seek the Lord for the strength necessary to commit to humble service for Him, we realize that we are defective and perishable and often do not produce the fruit God intends. We have a tendency for pride, self-satisfaction and self-promotion. Thankfully Jesus reveals the remedy for pride. Still we ask in our blindness, What Is In It For Me If I Have Trouble Hearing And Seeing?
Scripture: You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God. Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. For “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” That word is the good news that was announced to you.
1 Peter 1:18-25 (NRSV)
They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.” James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:32-45 (NRSV)
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.
Mark 10:46-52 (NRSV)
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!” Then the disciples came and asked him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” He answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.’ With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says: ‘You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn— and I would heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it. “Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Matthew 13:1-23 (NRSV)
Message: There are people here who are gifted by God, but sometimes we miss the great potential and gifts in other people because we are blind. Sometimes we miss them in ourselves. Today’s last story in Chapter 10 in the book of Mark is about blind men receiving sight. It is about how Jesus carried out His mission, how He invested His time and focus… how He opens our eyes to His ways. And it also relates to Jesus’ parable of the sower and how the seeds of faith fall on different soil and why we must keep sowing seeds of love that never die. The thing is that faith believes even when we cannot see. The setting for the story in Mark is this… Jesus is in the final week of His ministry on the climb to Jerusalem. As you consider the story notice how Jesus, the crowd and the blind man react. Distinguish the pace of people’s responses and timing. Notice that Jesus slowed down when He heard the cry of humility. See with Jesus the big picture, an investment in something eternal. Perceive how He puts service before self. Witness that it was compassion that prompted His investment in others…to plant a seed. Focus on the fact that Jesus provides a response to the blind man’s requests that very instant. See that the rewards for the blind man are not bestowed by Jesus because the blind man was good, but because he wanted to be with the One who is. Get the message that the rewards are not found in how much honor is received but in how much honor is given. Discover that Jesus is not focused on meeting our agenda and building our kingdom but wants us to trust completely in Him. Jesus wants us to sow the seeds of the Gospel and never give up. The message is simple. God is bigger than the problem. And God wants to open our eyes to the truth of Jesus… God want us to gain spiritual sight so we can follow in kingdom service sowing seeds of faith and love. We cannot listen to the naysayers. We must do our part with faith. We must learn what is in it for us.
Pray the eyes of our hearts are opened by the Lord. Pray
we respond to God’s gracious offer of salvation in the affirmative. Pray we experience what it is to have faith. Pray in life we do not just survive but thrive. Pray we see like Bartimaeus that Jesus is the Christ. Pray we see like Bartimaeus that this is our only chance. Pray we see like Bartimaeus that the crowd is often wrong. Pray we see like Bartimaeus that our actions will make us look like fools in the eyes of the world. Pray we see like Bartimaeus that there is no turning back. Pray we see like Bartimaeus our obvious need for Christ. Pray we see like Bartimaeus that we were born to bless not beg. Pray we open the eyes of our hearts and see Jesus.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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