Really Seeing Prop 25 B

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Melissa Campbell-Langdell+
All Saints’, Oxnard
October 28, 2012
Prop 25B (Job 42:1-6, 10-17; Ps. 34:1-8; Hebrews 7:23-28; Mark 10:46-52)

“I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
But now my eye sees you (Job 42:5).”
I had heard about you, but now I see you.  Have you ever felt that way about God?  Seen, really seen God?
I have had some moments like that.  Moments when I really “get” what God is all about.  They are fleeting, and often something is lost in the telling, but they are real moments of insight for me.  One such experience occurred when I was in Chile.  I was away from home for several months, and came to love my home away from home.  But it got lonely at times, being far from my familiar world.  Towards the end of my time in Santiago, I attended a “Youth Encounter in Christ,” with “youth” being interpreted very widely—there were several young adults like me on the retreat.  This was an intense weekend, much like Cursillo, and we discussed important areas of our faith lives.
 I was hearing about Jesus.  I was praying.  I was praising God and singing.  But towards the end of the weekend, they gave us each a special package.  And mine contained a letter written in my mother’s and father’s hands and a beautiful little lapis lazuli cross that they had asked someone to get for me.  I was astounded!  My host parents were not members of the church I was attending.  Nor was it connected to the program I was studying with.  To this day, I am still mystified as to how they found out who my parents were and contacted them.  But this little card and cross brought home the reality of God’s love to me in that moment.  Love that knows no boundaries.  Love that crosses borders with abandon, finds a way to skip over time zones.  Just like that, I got it.  I got about God’s love.  I saw what it was about, at least in my own small way.  I was no longer just a hearer, but I could see.
Other times, our experiences of “getting it” are not as comforting.  I talked to someone who attended the first part of the City Council meeting this Tuesday and came home raw with the emotion that was shared.  I asked for permission to share about this experience.
She told me of the young people who have grown up with no trust in law enforcement officials and of the police officers and those around them who are really trying to protect and serve the people of Oxnard, but who also seem to be unaware of how their actions affect not only those they interact with, but the many children and youth in the Colonia.  She was no longer just hearing about the realities of life in Oxnard for many.  She was seeing it.  And hearing about that grieved my heart.  Now, this wasn’t a direct revelation about God but I do think God is present when we better understand our brothers and sisters in Christ.  I pray for the healing of Oxnard.
The holy scriptures today have much to tell us about not just hearing, but seeing, really seeing.  And they have much to tell us about healing. 
Take Job, to begin with.  He had heard about God, and he even had pretty good theology.  He knew that when bad things happened to him, it didn’t necessarily mean he was doing something wrong.  In fact, the part skipped over in the reading from Job today has God telling Job’s friends off for telling Job that he had obviously done something wrong.  God took offense at the notion that Job was being punished by God!  That’s interesting food for thought.  But, to move on. 
Job had heard all about God and was a pretty good follower of God.  But Job was still a bit blind to the reality of God’s greatness.  He had to really see it.   Literally see the grandeur of God.  And in seeing God’s response to him, he “gets” it.  He is healed not only of his infirmity, but his spirit is healed too, because he understands God’s true nature.  And just how big and how small humans really are in the scheme of things.  We are important in sharing love but we are miniscule compared to the scale of God’s grandeur.
The disciples we saw with Jesus last week thought they were pretty hot stuff, as Bill pointed out to us.  They didn’t see the humble grandeur in Christ, but they wanted to be served greatness on a platter.  Many will point out, that next to Bartimeus, the blind beggar of today’s readings, they are the really blind ones.  Sure, Bartimeus is physically blind, but he can see who Jesus is.  “Son of David,” he says.  He treats Jesus with respect.  Saying, “Have mercy on me,” “Jesus, eleesonme”[1]—does that sound at all familiar?  It is much the same as one of the refrains we say in the service sometimes—Kyrie Eleison, Christe Eleison, Kyrie Eleison—or Lord, have mercy, Christ, have mercy, Lord have mercy.  Bartimeus sees Jesus as someone who can dispense not just worldly power, but mercy. 
Mercy, that drink that quenches when nothing can.  Oh, sweet mercy.  Jesus, have mercy.  This is the prayer of many a sinner today.  Bartimeus gets it, a disciple for us all to follow.  But the disciples, James and John, the ones who have been hanging out with Jesus, they don’t see it. They just go up to Jesus, demanding.  Note that Bartimeus asks for mercy, and only then does Jesus ask him what he can do for him.  The disciples, by contrast, far from pleading mercy, demand that Jesus will do whatever they ask of him. 
How many of us approach God that way in prayer, demanding?  I know I do. Perhaps more of our prayers should begin, “Lord, have mercy.”   Because mercy brings healing.  Healing that restores our sight, allows us to see what really matters.  As it says in the profound hymn of healing, “Amazing Grace,” “I was blind, but now I see.”  When we truly see what God is about, we may find that what matters is not greatness in the world, not perfect physical health, or even a healthy paycheck, although at times all these can be tools for living.  But what truly matters is the peace of mind that comes with putting God first in our lives and trusting God to guide us.  This is hard, and you guys are teaching me about this, but I am learning.  I think this trust is implicit in our discussion of faithful giving too, which we will talk about a bit today.
Perhaps when we see, we, like Bar-timeus, will not be able to help ourselves.  We will not just be hearers, but we will see.  And we will follow Jesus, running alongside him kicking up our sandals, with our fresh eyes and all the joyful abandon of the gospel.  We will follow Jesus and spread his healing love all around the place, here in Oxnard, and all around the world, from Burma to Chile, from London to Guadalajara.  Amen.

[1] A.K.M. Adam, “Exegetical Perspective: Mark 10:46-52,” FOTW Year B, Vol 4. 

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