“A DIFFERENT KIND OF BLINDNESS”
MARK 10:46-52

46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.
47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.”
50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.
51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.”
52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

Have you noticed that they’re making the print newspapers a lot smaller these days? I don’t understand it. I used to be able to read the newspaper without any trouble at all. Now there are times when I have to squint a little because the words are a little fuzzy. Okay, I’ll admit it. It isn’t the newspaper. It’s me. My eyesight isn’t as good as it used to be. Maybe you know what that’s like. Or maybe you’re like the husband who kept telling insisting that there was nothing wrong with his eyesight. The husband said to his wife, “I don’t need to see an optometrist.” The wife knew that wasn’t true though. So, she went ahead and made an appointment for him. A couple of days later things took an unexpected turn when the husband came home from work and was feeling a little romantic. He gave his wife a kiss and a big hug. Then he told her how good she looked. “That does it,” the wife said as she picked up the telephone. “I’m cancelling your appointment.”

My eyesight is still pretty good but it isn’t as good as it used to be. Fortunately, I’m not as bad off as Bartimaeus was when Jesus passed through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem. Bartimaeus couldn’t see at all. Now we could celebrate the fact that Jesus healed Bartimaeus and leave it at that. There’s more to the story though than just that healing miracle. When you look at the story it makes you realize that there are different kinds of blindness. Bartimaeus was physically blind while the people in the crowd that day were spiritually blind. Do you know anyone who is spiritually blind? How about yourself? Do you have any spiritual blind spots? You can their spiritual blindness by looking at their attitude toward Bartimaeus. When Bartimaeus yelled, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me,” they didn’t show him a lot of sympathy. What they did in essence was tell Bartimaeus to keep his mouth shut.

Their attitude toward Bartimaeus shouldn’t come as a big surprise. As far as they were concerned Bartimaeus was blind because he was a sinner. That’s the way people thought back then. If you couldn’t see it was because you were a sinner and God was punishing you. If you couldn’t hear it was because you were a sinner and God was punishing you. If you couldn’t walk it was because you were a sinner and God was punishing you. If a camel ran you down it was because you were a sinner and God was punishing you.

That’s why everyone was so negative toward Bartimaeus.

“Who do you think you are Bartimaeus? Keep quiet. Why should Jesus waste any of his precious time on someone like you? Get to the back of the line Bartimaeus.” The people in the crowd that day were spiritually blind. When they looked at Bartimaeus they saw a man who was being punished because he was a sinner. When Jesus looked at Bartimaeus he saw a human being who was suffering through no fault of his own. Yes, the people in the crowd that day were spiritually blind and Jesus called them on it. So, let’s go back and look at what is really the pivotal moment in the story.

When Bartimaeus starts shouting Jesus heard him. Now Jesus, at that point, could have gone over to Bartimaeus and healed him. Jesus didn’t do that though. Do you remember what Jesus did? He turned to the people in the crowd and put them on the spot. Jesus said to them, “Call him.”

Talk about turning the tables. Jesus forced the people in the crowd to call Bartimaeus and in doing that Jesus forced them to face their own spiritual blindness. He forced them to face their own spiritual blindness and it worked. Suddenly the people in the crowd who had been dumping on Bartimaeus and telling him to keep quiet start encouraging him. “Take heart,” they said. “Get up; he is calling you.” “And throwing off his cloak,” Bartimaeus “sprang up and came to Jesus.”

The people in the crowd were spiritually blind. They were like the Methodist bishop who scolded a college president one day back in 1870. The bishop got angry when the college president suggested that man would soon “fly through the air like birds.” Upon hearing that the bishop said very pointedly, “This is heresy! The Bible says that flight is reserved for the angels. We will have no such talk here.” After the conference was over Bishop Wright then went home to his wife and two young sons. Their names by the way were Orville and Wilbur Wright.

Bishop Wright was spiritually blind. The people in the crowd were spiritually blind. So, what exactly is spiritual blindness? I’m going to suggest that spiritual blindness is when you live your life in a way that is hurtful to yourself and others and you don’t even realize it.

Spiritual blindness is real and what happened that day in Jericho makes you stop and think. Do I have any spiritual blind spots? Am I living my life in a way that is hurtful to me and others and I don’t even realize even realizing it? It’s possible.

Look at people who are addicted to drugs or alcohol or gambling or shopping. They’re spiritually blind. They make lots of excuses and offer all kinds of rationalizations. The end result, however, is they continue to live their life in a way that hurts themselves and others. Materialism is another kind of spiritual blindness. I sometimes wonder how many children in this country have been sacrificed on the altar of prosperity. The parents work long hours so they can live the good life. In doing that they provide their children everything they could possibly want but in doing that they don’t give the children what they really need. They don’t give the children their time and unconditional love. I also wonder how many marriages have been ruined by the lust for the good life?

You could also say that our entire country is suffering from a frightening case of spiritual blindness. We have stores that are open on Sunday morning. Why? Because the need for a few people to make an even bigger profit is now more important than the need for people to spend time with God. I also see this spiritual blindness every Monday night when the North Reading Chorale sits down to rehearse for this year’s Christmas concert. I cringe a little every time we sing the Christmas song “Feliz Navidad.” That’s because it’s hard to be a person of faith and sing the words, “I want to wish you a Merry Christmas with lots of presents to make you happy!” Anyone who needs lots of presents to be happy is suffering from a spiritual blindness.

So, what are you spiritual blind spots? Is it a prejudice? Is it an addiction? Is it a an unhealthy sense of pride or is it a feeling that you’re not quite good enough? Are you a little judgmental or impatient with someone? Or maybe you’re an enabler who makes it possible for someone to live their life in a way that isn’t healthy. Are you so competitive that others don’t enjoy being around you?

Spiritual blindness is very real. That’s why Jesus is calling to us from the streets of Jericho and pleading with us to do what Bartimaeus did that day. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. Lord help me to see. Help me to see the truth. Help me to see myself the way you see me. Help me to see others the way you see them. Help me to see the world around me the way you see it. Help me to see what’s really important and to follow you the way Bartimaeus did after you healed him.”

When the Lord heals you of those spiritual blind spots you end up approaching life the same way an elderly woman did when she had to decide if she was going to have a cornea transplant. The woman met with her doctor to discuss the pros and cons of the surgery. Finally, the woman agreed to go ahead with the surgery, but said she had one condition. When the doctor asked her what the condition was she replied, “Just make sure you give me a new eye that has a twinkle in it.”

That’s what the Lord wants to give you. He wants to give you eyes that are able to see the grace and the joy and goodness that’s all around you and in you. Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes
October 25, 2009