Pentecost 22 Sermon | Allison Pace

The Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost
24 October 2021
Our Call to Discipleship

Mark 10:46-52

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be acceptable to you, O’Lord our Strength and our Redeemer. Amen. 
Every single person in this room has a responsibility. Perhaps it’s a responsibility at work, or at school; at home or at a place in which you volunteer. 

BUT, there is one responsibility that connects every single person in this room together–the responsibility we are given at our Baptism–the responsibility of Discipleship.

A few weeks ago, I was driving home from church one Sunday afternoon…I was right around the corner from my house when I saw a little girl walking down the street by herself. I did not know her, nor had I ever seen her before, but my guess is that she was about 8 or 9 years old. She was at one end of the street, and I was driving from the opposite direction in which she was walking.

As I got closer, I noticed the bounce..the pep in her step…I noticed her blonde hair tucked back in a ponytail that was swinging back and forth. When I began to pass her, I slowed down, just slow enough for the two of us to make eye contact with one another…as we made eye contact, she smiled at me and so naturally, I smiled back at her. 

It’s difficult to completely describe it, but I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders…a responsibility…that little girl’s smile touched my heart…her smile was an outward and visible sign of both love and trust. And while some might think of this as just a small, simple act (and in many ways it is), in many other ways, I think it’s more than that. 

It’s a gentle nudge from God…God’s reminder of the Christian responsibility…the call to Discipleship.

Today, we hear about the last healing miracle in Mark’s Gospel. Jesus and his disciples make a quick stop in Jericho on their way to Jerusalem. This is where they encounter a blind beggar named Bartimaeus. We hear about an interaction between Jesus and Bartimaeus, the man who wishes to have his sight restored. Mark writes of this particular exchange;

“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.”” 

Bartimaeus throws off his cloak, gets up and goes to Jesus. Jesus then asks Bartimaeus the same question he asked James and John in last week’s Gospel…“what do you want me to do for you?” Bartimaeus answers simply, “my teacher, let me see again.” And Jesus responds the only way he knows how to–with love.

I think the most miraculous encounter of this Gospel is that while Bartimaeus cannot physically see, add to this the fact that the crowd dismisses Bartimaeus’ cry to Jesus…Bartimaeus still responds with a pure heart filled with love and deep faith, especially when he identifies Jesus as “Son of David and teacher”–spiritually, he sees clearly. This is echoed in our Gospel when Jesus says, “Go; your faith has made you well.”

And, actually, Bartimaeus is acting as a better disciple than the 12 whom Jesus originally called to follow him. Bartimaeus not only recognizes Jesus, but knows that Jesus can help him and so he leaves everything he knows behind, to follow him. Bartimaeus is an example to us of what a call to discipleship looks like–it’s a call to love…a call to faith…a call to action…a call to follow. 

Take heart; get up, because God is calling you.

A musical theater composer by the name of Stephen Schwartz wrote a song called “Day by Day” for a musical entitled “Godspell.” Here’s how the song goes: 

Day by day

Day by day

Oh, Dear Lord

Three things I pray

To see thee more clearly

Love thee more dearly

Follow thee more nearly

Day by day

As a people called into Discipleship, God invites us to participate fully in the divine life…a life that is led by our faith, a life that is SO deeply rooted in a relationship with Jesus, that it will open our eyes to see more clearly, more spiritually…through the loving and most sacrificial acts of a Crucified and Resurrected Christ that we meet, here (point to the table), at the table. 

Now, this isn’t to say that we see crystal clear…we will always have our blind tendencies but that’s why we need Jesus…it’s our faith…our responsibility, and that’s part of Discipleship…that is part of who we are as a Baptized people…as a people of the Resurrection. 

You might feel deeply rooted in God right now, in this space…you might feel God’s unconditional love when you come up to receive the Eucharist…you might see God out in nature, by the water or under a shady tree…or you might meet God in a stranger’s perfect smile {just like I did}.

However you experience God, and wherever you experience God, open your heart to know that Jesus is always calling you and God is always there…waiting…for you to answer.

My Redeemer Family, you are already disciples because you are a people of great and deep faith–and that is so clearly shown by your active participation in the life and ministry of this place…let your faith continue to guide you in all that you do and make you whole–continuing to say “yes” to and accept God’s invitation to live more fully into whom God has called you to be as a Baptized person–by participating in Discipleship—by becoming Bartimaeus.

Take heart; get up because God is calling you. 

In my story, I’d like to think the little girl was Jesus…I think she was reminding me to live into a deeper love and trust of God, in the same way she showed love and trust towards me, a simple stranger. A vital reminder to live a life that is both outwardly and visibly rooted in faith and love of God, as a disciple of Christ. 

And, our Gospel text today reminds us all to do just that…to follow the call of Discipleship that God has placed in and on our hearts through the waters of our Baptism…to trust that by living into whom we are called to be as disciples of Christ, we will also grow more deeply into understanding God’s unconditional love for every single person…for each of us. 

Be Bartimaeus in God’s call to Christian Discipleship–by giving your whole self…your whole heart to God–trusting that your faith in God will always take you to the place in which you are called to go–the path you are called to follow…in the same way Bartimaeus got up to follow Jesus. 

Be Bartimaeus.

And so, I will leave you to ponder this, 

“What does it mean to YOU to have your eyes truly opened–to live into the pure, true manifestations of God’s unending love and grace?” 

So, take heart; get up because God is calling you. Amen.  

Allison M. M. Pace
Director of Children & Youth Ministries, and REDS Chaplain