“Seeing”
Mark 10:46-52
Psalm 34:1-8
Professor Duncan started the optics
class, as always, with an example of optics outside of the classroom.
He had been at the zoo with his son and noticed that the irises, that
colored portion of the eye that provides shape to the pupil, were shaped
differently in different species. He drew some shapes on the board:
circular, two different sized semi-circles joined together, a rounded
off rectangle. Each opening provides vision advantages.
The two semi-circles provide excellent near vision for grazing animals
trying to find food with just enough distant vision to warn of approaching
predators. Predators' irises are optimized to focus on prey.
Human circular openings are good for all around vision. Survival,
for species or individuals, often depends on how well one sees.
Mark, in his gospel, wants to ensure
that we see things, clearly see things, that he believes are critical
for our survival.
Better first or second? What about
this pair: better first or second? Now, 1 or 2? Looking
around, most of us have spent some time in the optometrist's office
trying to improve our vision. I have a drawer full of glasses.
Out of date. Computer. Sunglasses. Reading.
Each to sharpen my vision. An eye chart is very stark: clear sharp
black letters on a white background: no distractions. Mark also
wants to sharpen our vision. Mark is equally stark in his gospel:
clear sharp stories of God's kingdom set against the background of the
kingdom of mankind.
Yet, Mark often uses words to convey
multiple images. The Greek verb to heal is the same as the verb
to be saved; physical healing and salvation are linked. Likewise
for seeing. We often use an idiom when we are trying to follow
complex instructions: we 'see' the process or 'see' the solution; Mark
also links seeing with understanding. Mark challenges our vision;
challenges us to look very closely at this gospel to ensure that we
see everything that is there.
We need more than just a good pair of
glasses. Occasionally, we need to back up and see the big picture,
the overall structure of Mark. When it's big, we often back up;
then we lose the details. So, I have a telescope to help us see.
I see movement; away from Jerusalem and into gentile country, then the
start of a return trip, the final entry into Jerusalem. I see
crowds; the crowds that Jesus feeds, teaches, heals. But they
leave and I see only the disciples; then the crowds and disciples are
present together in Jerusalem. I see changing expectations; attempts
to understand who this Jesus is; the recurring question that Jesus asks:
“Who do you say that I am?” Three distinct acts within Mark,
each act defined by location, crowds, expectations.
While looking at these large themes,
I notice that there are only two healings of blindness in Mark.
These healings act like bookends, with felt on the inside. The
first healing, or bookend, back in the 8th chapter introduces
the second act. It is the story of the blind man healed in two
steps. The felt on the bookend is Jesus asking Peter “Who do
you say that I am?” Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah;
then tries to tell Jesus how to be the Messiah. Peter's spiritual
blindness is only half healed.
In today's passage, the order is reversed.
Blind Bartimaeus proclaims “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”
Even though the crowds try to silence him, he continues to call out
to the Son of David. Jesus ignores the crowd and asks the man
what he wants: his vision. In contrast to Peter, this blind man
fully sees, fully understands, who Jesus is. And then Jesus cures
his physical blindness.
But there are also details that are hard to see. Little things that are so easy to overlook as we ask the question of “Who is Jesus?” It is hard to tell whether we need a magnifying glass to look closely at these details, or a mirror. For these are the details the confront us personally, that ask us how we are different because we have seen this big picture.
Perhaps the best device is that of a
microscope, an old fashioned type. It has a mirror that reflects
the light of Christ; illuminates us with this clear and pure light;
pierces our hearts with the truth of Christ. It has many lenses
that magnify what we see in this reflected light. The rich man
could not, or would not, look closely at himself in the light of the
kingdom of God. The Pharisees could look closely at all the details
of life, but would not see them in terms of Christ's light. Those
who asked the questions about divorce could see many details; but they
could not see the motivation of their own hard hearts. So we need
both this new light and strong lenses to see into our hearts, to see
if we can say, like the blind man, that Jesus is the Messiah.
And then, when offered the opportunity
to be healed, or saved, we also jump to our feet, leaving our coats
behind, so that we might see, see and understand.
Even within the few short verses of
this story, we have the great sweep of expectations, of the answer to
the “Who am I?” question. But, just like the stark eye chart,
there is great contrast. The blind beggar jumps up; this isn't
slowly getting to his feet or being helped up by the discouraging crowd.
Jumps to his feet! I don't jump to my feet too well; in the dark
of night jumping is dangerous for me. Yet in the darkness of blindness,
Bartimaeus jumps to his feet. He is a beggar, yet he leaves his
coat behind. This is perhaps the only thing that he owns, all
that is between him and the harsh world around him. Yet he leaves
it behind. The rich man went away sad; he saw Jesus but did not
understand, was not willing to change regardless of what he saw.
The blind beggar saw Jesus, saw Jesus as the Messiah, then was healed
by Jesus. We end with him joining Jesus on the way. The
early Christians in Acts described themselves as followers of the way;
the physical way into Jerusalem and the cross. Followers of the
way, the life, of Jesus. Followers who have been transformed by
Jesus and have started a journey, entered into a new life, on the way.
Glasses to see clearly. Telescopes
to see the big picture. Microscopes to look at the details; to
look at ourselves in the reflected light of Christ; the light which
can transform us.
Mark wants us to see, to understand,
the most critical of all questions, the one that opens and closes Act
II of the gospel of Mark, as Jesus asks us: “Who do you say I am?”
October 29, 2006
Rev. Al Hammond
First Presbyterian Church
Logan, Utah