3^rd Sunday of Stewardship Campaign October 25, 2009 “Looking For Miracles” Reverend Michael D. Powell Mark 10:46-52

“With God All Things Are Possible.” Two weeks ago I talked about the founding of our church and the hopes, dreams, prayers and hard work of those original 60 charter members. I concluded by asking, “How Are We Doing?” Last week we heard the story of James and John, who wanted places of honor beside Jesus. Jesus asked them “Are Ye Able?” and I talked about how this Morningside church family is a New Jerusalem of the Holy Spirit, a place that nourishes, comforts and challenges us spiritually. There’s a lot to be thankful for. Are we able to carry on that tradition?

I love Morningside and I believe in the mission and the ministry of our church, but we have developed one unhealthy tradition that is stalling growth. First the good news: we pay our pledges. When we pledge a certain amount, about 98% of that is paid in full. Now the bad news: for many, many years our pledges have fallen some twenty five to thirty five thousand dollars short of our budget. The difference has lovingly been referred to as a “faith gap” that has to be made up, either by borrowing from the Foundation’s endowment fund, through a May Challenge, fund raisers, or what we call Thirteenth month giving. Ultimately, we have ended up borrowing from January of the coming year to pay the previous year’s apportionments and December’s operating expenses. Obviously, this catches up with us at some point, and the point is now. Some say it will take a miracle for us to raise our annual budget for next year and pay our apportionments for this year. I’m not ready to give up yet. The poet, Wendell Berry, has suggested that "To treat life as less than a miracle is to give up on it." So this morning I want to talk about working hard, digging deep, looking for miracles and seeing with the eyes of faith.

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Helen Keller was blind, but some things have to be believed to be seen, and she had a vision. She saw with the eyes of faith. “I believe that life is given us so we may grow in love,” she once wrote. “And I believe that God is in me as the sun is in the color and fragrance of a flower – the Light in my darkness, the Voice in my silence. I believe that only in broken gleams has the Sun of Truth yet shone upon humanity. I believe that love will finally establish the Kingdom of God on earth.”

God’s ultimate vision for us, I believe, is that we continue to grow in love. Last week I described Morningside as just one example of the New Jerusalem, a spiritual temple of the Holy Spirit. I believe that we, and all Christian churches, are intended to be living manifestations of the Kingdom of God on earth. That’s what I want us to see this morning. That’s the vision I’m doing my best to inspire.

Our scripture is about a blind person who saw with the eyes of faith. His name is Bartimaeus. Think of the Gospel of Mark as a sermon. Mark is writing for the early Christian community, and this is what scholars call a “sign story,” because it points us toward a truth that we have to see for ourselves. Bartimaeus is the only recipient of a miraculous healing in Mark who is named, because he is Mark’s quintessential example of discipleship, the ideal of the transformed disciple who trusts God’s promise and follows Christ’s lead. Mark was writing in a troubled time, for people who were struggling with their faith. Don’t you think he’s also writing for us today? When Mark tells the story of Bartimaeus’ healing and faithful response, he’s challenging his own community to be transformed, to see and to respond in faith. He’s also challenging us to catch the vision, to see with the eyes of faith, to look for miracles and work to meet the challenges of our day.

The reason the story is such a powerful challenge is that Bartimaeus is everything we are not! He’s everything the disciples of old were not! We are a blessed church! Does anyone doubt that? We are blessed, but Bartimaeus was cursed!

The very name Bartimaeus is a sign. Bar is “son.” Timaeus was his father’s name, but it also means “unclean.” Bartimaeus was a poor, blind beggar and such persons were believed to be cursed because the sins of the fathers passed to their children. The exact opposite type, those who were healthy and wealthy were thought to be blessed by God. That’s why the disciples were so shocked when Jesus said it would be easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for those who had riches to get into heaven. “Who then can enter heaven?” they ask. The story of Bartimaeus unfolds as a part of the answer to that question. It has to do with a transformed vision. It has to do with looking for miracles.

The story of Bartimaeus contrasts with last week’s request of James and John. James and John were the beloved, but oh-so-blind disciples who just didn’t get it. Bartimaeus, on the other hand, saw something in Jesus that they did not. When James and John made a request of Jesus he asked them, “What do you want from me?” This morning Jesus uses exactly the same words when he addresses Bartimaeus: “What do you want from me?” James and John, in their blindness, asked for earthly rewards. Bartimaeus, simply replied, “Lord, I want to see.” He regains his sight and becomes a follower of Jesus.

But there’s more than one way to be healed! Bartimaeus could have remained physically blind, like Helen Keller, and still have been healed! Faith is a way of responding to a situation that involves risk (stepping out in faith, taking a leap of faith), and trusting that when God asks us to do something, God will make a way. It just may not be the way we want it to happen! God’s vision for the future of Morningside may not be what we want or expect, but I can guarantee you that God will be with us every step of the way and when we take that next step, God is going to bless our vision. Christ is going to walk with us into a new tomorrow.

Bartimaeus took the risk of calling out in faith, trusting that Jesus had the power to transform his vision and make him see miracles. My prayer this morning is that we’re looking for miracles, looking for ways to continue walking with Christ and offering his healing love to a world that is so desperately crying out for it.

Jesus sees Bartimaeus – sees you and me - as a child of God, as a worthy son or daughter who is precious in the eyes of God. All of us are precious in the eyes of the Lord, regardless of our status, health, wealth, gender identity or emotional well-being. So the story is a challenge to see both others and ourselves as Jesus sees us. I believe that’s at the heart of our ministry as a Reconciling Congregation, to help spread the good news that we are all God’s children and that Christ calls us to a ministry of reconciliation to our church, community and world.

On this 3^rd Sunday of our stewardship campaign, as we survey the wonderful trifolds that display the many and diverse visions we have for ministry here at Morningside, and as we watch the thermometer for how the pledges are coming in, I believe we’re being challenged to catch the vision, to see God’s healing love as Bartimaeus saw it, and to follow as he did, with a new vision for ministry in companionship with Christ.

It is a high and holy calling to see with the eyes of Jesus, to accept the vision of Christ, to be healed, and to likewise be a healer. Imagine the joy that Bartimaeus felt upon receiving his sight. It’s the same miraculous joy that is offered to you and to me when we recognize that, as Wendell Berry says, "To treat life as less than a miracle is to give up on it." Life is truly a miracle, when we see both others and ourselves through the eyes of Christ. That, to me, is what the mission and ministry of Morningside United Methodist Church is about. That’s what I believe God is calling us to do and be. We are a blessed church, and we are called to be a blessing. With God all things are possible!

Thanks be to God for the miraculous vision of seeing with the compassionate, healing eyes of Christ, in whose name we gather and pray. Amen.