Blindness and unity (celebrating 10 years of a partnership between Poneke ki Whanganui-a-Tara Hahi Mihinare and St Michael and All Angels, Newlands-Papararangi)

Kia manakohia ngā kupu a tōku māngai; me ngā whakaaro o tōku ngākau i tōu aroaro, e Ihowā, e tōku kāmaka, e tōku kaihoko. Amine.

Months ago, when we were first planning this service, I looked at the lectionary readings and thought “wow, what a gift!” - particularly the Jeremiah reading that speaks so strongly to unity and gathering his people from the ends of the earth. It’s such a hopeful vision of restoration, of bringing people together. What could be better to preach on than unity as we celebrate ten years of this beautiful partnership.

So I dutifully sat down and started trying to get some words down. But they just wouldn’t come. So I started praying about it - and that’s when I felt the beautiful and uncomfortable nudge of the Spirit - Richard, I want you to preach on blindness. I was a bit surprised! But dutifully I kept praying and digging in to it. So here we go, a sermon about blindness!

Because the thing is, this story that we’ve just had read about the healing of the blind beggar Bartimaeus (try saying that 10 times in a row quickly!) is actually the end of a whole series of teachings from Jesus about blindness - physical blindness, spiritual blindness, and blindness of ambition. Bear with me - here’s a whirlwind summary:

It all starts back in Mark chapter 8 - Jesus has just performed the miracle of feeding the four thousand - then the pharisees demand a sign from him, which he flatly refuses. Then we get the lovely little moment of comedy. The disciples and Jesus get into a boat, but the disciples forgot to bring any bread with them (apart from one loaf) - and Jesus comments “Watch out - beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” Jesus’ mind is still with the pharisees - the disciples are thinking just about their empty bellies, so they say to each other - “he said that because we’ve got no bread.” Jesus brings them back to the present and says “Why are you talking about having no bread? … Do you have eyes, and fail to see?”

Then when they get to Bethsaida some people bring a blind man to Jesus - and when Jesus puts saliva on his eyes and prays for him he slowly starts to regain his sight. His sight comes back a bit blurry - he says “I can see people, but they look like trees walking!” Such a great mental picture. But then Jesus lays hands on him again and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

This healing story is immediately followed by that moment when Peter rebukes Jesus for telling them he was going to be killed and rise again - and Jesus replies: “Get behind me Satan!”. A moment of spiritual blindness - the disciples are just not seeing who Jesus is, and not understanding what Jesus was saying would happen.

Then as we track through we get to the transfiguration - another moment of blundering spiritual blindness which I won’t dig in to now.

Then a bit later we have another moment when Jesus tells his disciples that he would be betrayed, killed, and rise again - but they still didn’t understand what he was saying. Then we get the first moment of blindness of ambition - as the disciples argue about who the greatest is. Jesus plonks a child in the middle of them - “whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me”.

We’re nearly caught up - in chapter 10 we get another moment of spiritual blindness, when Jesus tells them yet again, in even more detail, that he would be tortured and mocked, killed, and rise again - followed by the most astonishing moment of blindness of ambition - when James and John ask a question of Jesus. Not just any question though:

“Teacher,” they say, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And Jesus said to them:

“What is it you want me to do for you?”

“Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”

Wow.

After a bit of a scrap among the rest of the disciples, Jesus sets them straight - “whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.”

Are we tracking? Can you see (so to speak) the links between that initial slow healing with people looking like trees, and the spiritual blindness of the disciples? Because as we follow this journey through Mark, we see that while the disciples are walking with Jesus, they don’t always get it. Their vision of who Jesus is and what he’s about is blurry.

Because here’s the kicker. The next story is the Gospel reading for today - the healing of our friend the blind beggar Bart.

This man is in the way. When he heard it was Jesus he began shouting out for him - but those around him tried to keep him quiet - but he just kept on crying out even louder. Jesus heard him - and we read three of the most hope filled words in Scripture: Jesus stood still. Amidst the chaos and noise of the crowds around him, Jesus stood still. For one man. He stopped and was completely present.

Then Jesus has Bart called over to him - Bart throws of his cloak and springs up. And Jesus asks THE question.

“What do you want me to do for you?”

Well, duh. Heal my blindness? Give me the food I need? Restore my position in society? So many things - why did Jesus even need to ask?

Let’s jump back a step - do you recognise that question? What do you want me to do for you?

Just 15 verses earlier Jesus asked almost the exact same question - but it was in response to James and John telling Jesus they wanted him to do whatever they asked of him. So when I read Jesus asking this question of Bartimaeus I imagine James and John looking rather sheepish in the corner - waiting for the ground to swallow them up. It’s a parallel that Mark doesn’t want you to miss.

Can you remember what Bart’s response to this question was?

“Teacher, let me see again.”

We’re not told whether Jesus laid hands on him, or prayed - but Bart is healed. “Go; your faith has made you well.” and Bart immediately regains his sight and follows Jesus on the way.

Bart’s faith has healed him. As Tom Wright says,

(For Bartimaeus) to ask for his sight would mean not only having the faith that Jesus could and would do it. It would mean having the faith that he could set off on a whole new life.

Because here’s the thing - Jesus is still in the business of healing the blind. Whether it’s gradual, like the man in Bethsaida, or instant, like Bartimaeus, he’s ready to open our eyes to the truth of who he is and what he’s calling us to do. And when our eyes are opened, when we truly see, we can join him on the road—following him, as Bartimaeus did, wherever he leads.

Throughout scripture we see that God’s heart - that God’s plan - is to draw all things back together. We see it in Ephesians -

Ephesians 1:10 NLT

And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.

And we see it in our Jeremiah reading, where Jeremiah speaks of a God who gathers his people from exile, a God who brings back the blind and the lame, who leads them by streams of water and makes their paths straight. This is a God who doesn’t forget the broken or the marginalised. It’s a promise of restoration, both physical and spiritual.

But in order for us to be part of this restoration we need our eyes opened. Like Bartimaeus, we need to cry out, “Lord, I want to see!” because it’s only when we see clearly that we can truly follow Jesus. Unity is God’s plan. But true unity comes when we’re all seeing Jesus clearly, when our vision is aligned with his.

And this is where our blind spots come into play. We all have them. Maybe it’s pride, like the disciples arguing about who’s the greatest. Maybe it’s ambition, or fear, or our own preconceived ideas about what Jesus should do for us or how things should be. But like Bartimaeus, we need to come to Jesus, acknowledging our blindness and asking him to open our eyes.

Jeremiah’s promise is still true today. God is gathering his people from the ends of the earth. He’s restoring the broken, the blind, the marginalised. And that includes us—because, in one way or another, we’re all in need of healing. We’re all in need of having our eyes opened.

So what is Jesus asking you to see today? Where are your blind spots? And how might Jesus be calling you to follow him in a deeper, clearer way?

Let’s ask him today to open our eyes—to see the world, each other, and our lives, through his eyes. And let’s trust that, as God restores our vision, he will lead us into the unity and restoration that Jeremiah promised—a unity not just of people, but of hearts aligned to God. Let’s lift our eyes upon Jesus, again, and again, and again.

Amen.