Job 42:1-6, 10-17
Psalm 34:1-8
Hebrews 7:23-28
Mark 10:46-52
Our sermon today will be short in order to allow time for our delegates to Diocesan Convention to share their observations.
The theme of Convention was “Go Tell It on the Mountains,” and we explored ways in which we can share the Good News.
This mornings readings are full of that good news. Job realizes, as all of us do, that he cannot possibly understand the mind of God. In turn, God showers Job with even more blessings than he had enjoyed before.
Psalm 34 calls us to “Taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who trust in him.”
In our gospel for today, Jesus and his disciples arrive in Jericho. As they leave Jericho with the usual large crowd following them, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, calls out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Some people sternly tell him to be quiet, but he shouts even more loudly.
Jesus stops and calls Bartimaeus to come over to him. Jesus asks him, “What do you want me to do for you?” Bartimaeus says, “My teacher, let me see again.” And Jesus answers, “Go, your faith has made you well.” Bartimaeus does not go anywhere. He follows Jesus.
When we feel our Lord’s love and healing flowing out to us, we want to follow him.
In our Collect for today, we ask God to “increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and love.” These are amazing and wondrous gifts which God gives us every day, and, even as we ask God to give us more of these gifts, we know that God is constantly filling us with faith, the faith to follow Jesus and to share his love with others. And with hope, the ability to look at the world around us and know that the Holy Spirit is at work bringing in the Shalom of God. And the gift of love, God’s love which nothing can stop, God’s love for all people, regardless of their race, class, education, social status, gender, or any of the other things which can be used to divide us. In God’s eyes, we are all precious. God stops for the blind Bartimaeus and makes him whole.
God loves everyone.
This week and every week, every day, every moment, let us absorb God’s gifts of faith, hope, and love. Let us be a people of faith, hope, and love. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: Bartimaeus, Diocesan Convention, Hebrews 7, Job 42, Mark 10, Psalm 34 |
Grace Episcopal Church (Sheldon, VT) 