With services cancelled at both St. Peter and Bethel this weekend due to dangerous wind chills and road conditions, the video will include an invocation, the Introit, the Collect of the Day, the readings, the sermon, and a benediction.
CLICK HERE for the sermon audio.
CLICK HERE for the sermon video.
Luke 18:31-43
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bartimaeus was blind. With his physical eyes he could see nothing. It was necessary for him to beg because he could not see to work. He depended on the compassion of others for his daily bread. You can imagine the way he might have looked to the casual passerby; dirty, run down, and unkempt. But then again, maybe he was not so blind after all. Perhaps he “saw” more that day than anyone else. He perceived that a crowd was passing by and asked what the excitement was all about. He got his answer: “Jesus of Nazareth!” And with a flash of spiritual insight, he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” His remarkable spiritual vision was further emphasized by his undaunted persistence. Told by the crowds to be quiet, he cried out all the more: “Son of David, have mercy on me.” Nor does he anticipate merely another handout. But he speaks to Jesus of the greatest desire he knows: “Lord, that I may receive my sight.” Here was a blind man who could see with a God-given vision—a vision the crowd did not have. He could see Jesus in all His merciful love.
Blind Bartimaeus may not have understood everything of the work and purpose of Jesus Christ, but he certainly had greater vision than many others who were following Jesus that day. Oh, they could see Jesus, too. They loved to see His miracles. His oratory held them spellbound. And yet, many of them were completely blind to His real purpose: the salvation of lost sinners. To them He was little more than cheap entertainment. And most of the rest, when they saw how things were really going to be in Jerusalem, also disappeared. Perhaps, some reappeared only to join the blind crowd a few days later shouting: “Crucify Him!”
But even the disciples were quite blind. They should have been able to see much better than Bartimaeus or the crowd, because they had the advantage of hearing Jesus directly. But they could not see how the love of God included Jesus going to Jerusalem to die. They were so close to Him that they could not see what lay behind His going to the cross. And they even felt duty-bound to hinder His move toward Jerusalem, little realizing how dreadfully blind, even demonic, their good intentions were.
How blind are we? Perhaps our vision is limited in ways similar to the types of blindness already mentioned. Maybe it’s a blindness concerned with the love of God only when a major crisis arises; you can really only see Him when there is trouble. And, to be sure, His love will be there, as He has promised. But to see God only then is a kind of spiritual blindness. Still others of us may react in the opposite way. We see the love of God only when things are going well. We worship Him when it is the safe thing to do. And, all the while, we only dimly see our desperate need for the Savior from sin. But as we begin our journey to Jerusalem, do we find it necessary to stifle a bored yawn, overcome with the sameness of it all? Every year, the same truths are related to us in much the same way. Are we blind to that ever fresh and really unique event through which our Lord lived for us in our place? Is it just something that happened years ago with very little significance for us today? Is the cross just so much wood or metal mounted above church altars or at the top of church steeples? There is a blindness there that certainly needs a remedy. If blindness is going to be cured, Jesus is the One to do it.
What kind of sight will Jesus give His people who follow Him today? Will those who are physically blind receive their sight? Perhaps; that is certainly not beyond His power. But—and of this we are certain—He will give real sight and understanding to those who faithfully desire to view once again the full meaning of His journey to Jerusalem, who seek His company as He faithfully bears His cross to Calvary.
In the weeks that lie ahead, the truth of the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ will again confront us. If, in faith, we are willing to see it, He will give us the sight to view with Him the ridicule and injustice He endured, the mockery and brutality of the soldiers, to experience with Him the pain and agony of piercing nails. He will show us the bitter terrors and agony of hell, and all of those things that were done; that we might share in the glory of God’s eternal kingdom; so that, as we shall suffer with Him, we shall also be glorified with Him. May our dear Lord grant us this sight: to see in Him the fulfillment of the love of God. Lord, have mercy upon us, that we, too, may receive our sight. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment