Sermon for October 28, 2012
What does it mean to see again? What does it even mean to call upon the Lord? “Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me!” Let’s face it, most of us in this room would put ourselves in the same shoes as the crowd that hushed this man up and told him to be quiet. Most of us, with our good Minnesotan and Scandinavian influences wouldn’t like this man disrupting everything so loudly and inappropriately.
Have you ever put yourself in the shoes of this man though? Have you ever been in such a place of desperation that all you could do is cry out? All you could do is blindly hope that someone could hear you, and that even more risky, someone would hear you and have compassion? Bartimaeus’ persistence pays off, he doesn't listen to the people telling him to be quiet, he continues to cry out, “Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me.”
Which one, which statement hits you hardest, resonates strongest? Is it Jesus’ words, “What do you want me to do for you?” Or is it Bartimaeus’ words, “Let me see again.” It’s a chicken or the egg argument, I think, so it doesn't really matter which comes first, Bartimaeus has already gotten Jesus’ attention, he has already forced Jesus to stop and to hear him. Whether or not Jesus asked Bartimaeus what he wanted him to do for him, you get the feeling that Bartimaeus was going to ask to see again anyway.
I suppose it doesn’t matter, what matters is how Jesus transformed the paradigm that was before him. Bartimaeus was a blind beggar, by the end of the story he was a seeing disciple of Christ, following Jesus along the way. Jesus witnessed the definitions, the box that Bartimaeus was inside of and blew the paradigm out of the water. Bartimaeus went from being on the fringes of society, considered less than human, from being unable to see, to being able to see, to being at the core of God’s embrace, to being a disciple of Christ, filled with the spark of divinity, able to change the world and live into the love that he had experienced from God.
When I arrived in 2005 the cry of Gethsemane Church was one of entitlement, one of expectation, “We are the Mother Church, we are the people who matter!” It was a cry that had gone out for a number of years. I had conversations with previous members of this place, people who are no longer here, about how the Gethsemane Plan was something we deserved, we deserved it because we had started all those churches, we deserved it because we had done such good work for so many years.
But that cry changed soon after 2005, it changed dramatically from one of entitlement, to one of discipleship. It was people like Roger Greene, who came in and demanded us to see the world differently. It was people like Arthur Renander who planted a seed about a garden. It was people like Lindsay and David Becker who watered that seed and established the garden as a core part of who we are, as a visible and clear sign not just of activity in this little Church that could, but as a sign of God’s love to those who are in need. It was Jim Cunningham, Kathy Hoglund and Sandy Obarski who carry on the ministry of the Shelf of Hope so we can feed those who are hungry.
WIthout you all, without Tom Hara, Jim Cunningham, Christopher Telschow and so many others who have worked in the garden to help it grow, who knows what would have become of this place. Who knows what we would be doing at this time. And now, not only do we have a spark, but now we have fireworks because of the work that MCTC has done to transform our Garden into a community garden, into a place that can feed people on a grand scale.
The work that you all have done, Constance, Sarah, Andrea, Richard, Dave, the love that each of you have put into this place, is amazing, and we here at Gethsemane, cannot thank you enough for your vision and your passion for this work, for this commitment. You have helped us to see again in ways that we never imagined, you have made our world bigger, you have made our work grander and you have enriched this Church in a way that gives us life and hope for a future that is wonderful.
As I said, Roger Greene, who we sent off yesterday with joy and sadness in our hearts was like our Jesus, he was the one who helped us to see again not just the possibility of a food shelf, but the possibility of a Church that could have a lasting and dramatic impact on this part of downtown Minneapolis. Roger’s dream was not just about feeding those who were hungry, Roger’s dream was about making this Church into a legendary and important community of faith that would live and thrive for another 150 years. And because of his work, we have glimpsed that future, we have seen the possibility of what our life together will look like over the next several years together.
Jim Cunningham, Kathy Hoglund, Len Thomas, three core volunteers who make our Shelf of Hope run smoothly have also carried that vision, for it is not just about feeding those who are hungry, it is about finding a way to make this Church into something vitally important to the life of downtown East Minneapolis. Their work is nothing short of inspired and filled with the spirit. Their work is that of what I imagine Bartimaeus would be doing after being made to see again. It is filled with selfless joy, deep commitment and relationship.
You should see Jim hang out with the kids, calling many of our clients by name. Len Thomas fills the bags and the hearts of the people who come to the Shelf each Wednesday and has a spirit about him that reminds me of the persevering Bartimaeus crying out to Jesus, “Let me See Again!” And of course, without Kathy, that 13,000 dollars we raised in July for the Shelf of Hope would have never come to pass. Kathy’s tireless work as a disciple of Christ and member of Gethsemane is wonderful to watch.
We have been made to see again, and it isn’t always easy for us to see what it is God has in store for us. It is uncomfortable and sometimes inconvenient to know where it is God is moving this congregation. But with the help of all of you here today this little Church that had such a narrow view of itself has become a Church that can achieve the impossible, it has become a Church that will transform Minneapolis not because of what we do together, but because of how we respond to God’s love in our midst, how we seek out relationship with those who also desire to see the world transformed and made a better place. We are the blind beggar, Bartimaeus and we are being made to see again.
Have you ever put yourself in the shoes of this man though? Have you ever been in such a place of desperation that all you could do is cry out? All you could do is blindly hope that someone could hear you, and that even more risky, someone would hear you and have compassion? Bartimaeus’ persistence pays off, he doesn't listen to the people telling him to be quiet, he continues to cry out, “Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me.”
Which one, which statement hits you hardest, resonates strongest? Is it Jesus’ words, “What do you want me to do for you?” Or is it Bartimaeus’ words, “Let me see again.” It’s a chicken or the egg argument, I think, so it doesn't really matter which comes first, Bartimaeus has already gotten Jesus’ attention, he has already forced Jesus to stop and to hear him. Whether or not Jesus asked Bartimaeus what he wanted him to do for him, you get the feeling that Bartimaeus was going to ask to see again anyway.
I suppose it doesn’t matter, what matters is how Jesus transformed the paradigm that was before him. Bartimaeus was a blind beggar, by the end of the story he was a seeing disciple of Christ, following Jesus along the way. Jesus witnessed the definitions, the box that Bartimaeus was inside of and blew the paradigm out of the water. Bartimaeus went from being on the fringes of society, considered less than human, from being unable to see, to being able to see, to being at the core of God’s embrace, to being a disciple of Christ, filled with the spark of divinity, able to change the world and live into the love that he had experienced from God.
When I arrived in 2005 the cry of Gethsemane Church was one of entitlement, one of expectation, “We are the Mother Church, we are the people who matter!” It was a cry that had gone out for a number of years. I had conversations with previous members of this place, people who are no longer here, about how the Gethsemane Plan was something we deserved, we deserved it because we had started all those churches, we deserved it because we had done such good work for so many years.
But that cry changed soon after 2005, it changed dramatically from one of entitlement, to one of discipleship. It was people like Roger Greene, who came in and demanded us to see the world differently. It was people like Arthur Renander who planted a seed about a garden. It was people like Lindsay and David Becker who watered that seed and established the garden as a core part of who we are, as a visible and clear sign not just of activity in this little Church that could, but as a sign of God’s love to those who are in need. It was Jim Cunningham, Kathy Hoglund and Sandy Obarski who carry on the ministry of the Shelf of Hope so we can feed those who are hungry.
WIthout you all, without Tom Hara, Jim Cunningham, Christopher Telschow and so many others who have worked in the garden to help it grow, who knows what would have become of this place. Who knows what we would be doing at this time. And now, not only do we have a spark, but now we have fireworks because of the work that MCTC has done to transform our Garden into a community garden, into a place that can feed people on a grand scale.
The work that you all have done, Constance, Sarah, Andrea, Richard, Dave, the love that each of you have put into this place, is amazing, and we here at Gethsemane, cannot thank you enough for your vision and your passion for this work, for this commitment. You have helped us to see again in ways that we never imagined, you have made our world bigger, you have made our work grander and you have enriched this Church in a way that gives us life and hope for a future that is wonderful.
As I said, Roger Greene, who we sent off yesterday with joy and sadness in our hearts was like our Jesus, he was the one who helped us to see again not just the possibility of a food shelf, but the possibility of a Church that could have a lasting and dramatic impact on this part of downtown Minneapolis. Roger’s dream was not just about feeding those who were hungry, Roger’s dream was about making this Church into a legendary and important community of faith that would live and thrive for another 150 years. And because of his work, we have glimpsed that future, we have seen the possibility of what our life together will look like over the next several years together.
Jim Cunningham, Kathy Hoglund, Len Thomas, three core volunteers who make our Shelf of Hope run smoothly have also carried that vision, for it is not just about feeding those who are hungry, it is about finding a way to make this Church into something vitally important to the life of downtown East Minneapolis. Their work is nothing short of inspired and filled with the spirit. Their work is that of what I imagine Bartimaeus would be doing after being made to see again. It is filled with selfless joy, deep commitment and relationship.
You should see Jim hang out with the kids, calling many of our clients by name. Len Thomas fills the bags and the hearts of the people who come to the Shelf each Wednesday and has a spirit about him that reminds me of the persevering Bartimaeus crying out to Jesus, “Let me See Again!” And of course, without Kathy, that 13,000 dollars we raised in July for the Shelf of Hope would have never come to pass. Kathy’s tireless work as a disciple of Christ and member of Gethsemane is wonderful to watch.
We have been made to see again, and it isn’t always easy for us to see what it is God has in store for us. It is uncomfortable and sometimes inconvenient to know where it is God is moving this congregation. But with the help of all of you here today this little Church that had such a narrow view of itself has become a Church that can achieve the impossible, it has become a Church that will transform Minneapolis not because of what we do together, but because of how we respond to God’s love in our midst, how we seek out relationship with those who also desire to see the world transformed and made a better place. We are the blind beggar, Bartimaeus and we are being made to see again.
Comments