Proper 25

Eugene was an unattractive prince; stunted in growth, ugly, sickly, pale and with a hunched back. Everyone at Louis XIV’s court had written him off and ignored him. The young prince wandered around Versailles going unnoticed among the nobles and royalty who attended the balls, ballets, and parties.

Eugene’s friends were the servants. No one else would have anything to do with him. Eugene wanted to be a soldier, so he went to Louis XIV and asked for a commission in his army. Louis wouldn’t even look at him. That was one of the biggest mistakes the French king would ever make.

Eugene sneaked out of the palace dressed as a woman and stole away to Vienna where the Turks were invading Europe. There he joined Austria’s army. Now the homely prince was more than a shadow in a castle, he was a soldier and a good one, too. By the age of 20 he was a commander; by 25 a Field Marshall; by 40 Austria’s Commander and Chief. He became a pain in the side of Louis XIV for years to come and was eventually recognized by Napoleon as one of the great generals of all time.

What has this homely prince got to do with blind Bartimaeus? Just this: you have to admire any person who, through faith and determination, refuses to accept unfavorable circumstances. Like Eugene, Bartimaeus was disadvantaged. He was blind. He was a beggar.

These were primitive times. There were no Medicaid or Social Security Disability payments. There were no recordings for the blind, no seeing eye dog program, no hope of a cornea transplant. Blind Bartimaeus was destined to spend his life in rags begging by the side of the road. He was truly among the disadvantaged.

It is amazing to anyone who studies history how many great people start out with the odds against them. Leopold Auer, the great Russian teacher of the violin, found out through his experiences of training musical geniuses that if you want to be a great musician it is almost necessary that you should be born in poverty.

Auer contended that there was something buried in the soul by poverty, something mystic, something beautiful, something that helps nurture feeling, force, and tenderness.

Mozart, for example, was so poor that he was unable to buy wood to heat the shabby room in which he lived. He sat with his hands wrapped in woolen socks to keep them warm while he composed the music that was to make him great.

Bartimaeus probably was not only disadvantaged but was also made to feel rejected. Even his name, Bartimaeus simply means “Son of Timaeus.” We don’t even know Bartimaeus’ given name. He was not even important enough for them to have called him by any name except “Son of Timaeus.”

Religious people were probably small comfort to his feelings of rejection. As you know from reading the New Testament, there were many people, in that time, who felt that a physical handicap was a punishment by God. In their ignorance and superstition, they felt that someone surely sinned if a child was born with a handicap.

It is amazing how many dumb things people can say, in the face of problems, in the name of religion. Even Charlie Brown, in the Peanuts cartoons, encountered this. One day Charlie Brown says to Linus, “I feel good. I just got back from the grocery store. Guess what? The owner and his wife both complimented me. They said I was a very nice boy.”

Linus replied, “In the sixth chapter of Luke, it says, `Woe to you when all men speak well of you.'”

Charlie Brown leans his head on his hand and sighs, “So much for feeling good.”

It is amazing how, in the name of religion, people can spread such ill feelings. Probably Bartimaeus had to put up with some of this. He was blind, and he was a beggar, and he was probably rejected.

His situation was like that of the cat who was found in London. Its finders advertised for its owners in these words: Found kitten with white paws and bib. Very affectionate. Answers to the name “Go Away.”

There must have been times when Bartimaeus felt his name was Go Away, Son of Timaeus. Bartimaeus was disadvantaged. All of us are, to a certain extent. We all have our handicaps. They may not be physical; they may be emotional. They may be handicaps of attitude. Perhaps one of the most dangerous handicaps is that of living a privileged life, because we never develop the mental, emotional, and spiritual toughness that is required for dealing with life situations.

Bartimaeus was disadvantaged, but he was also determined. Bartimaeus was sitting beside the road going away from Jericho. Word came to him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. Bartimaeus started crying out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”

The people around him sternly told him to be quiet.  But he was persistent. And Jesus called him. He asked Jesus to restore his sight. Jesus said, “Go; your faith has made you well.”

Bartimaeus was not going to let people tell him to be quiet. When he saw the opportunity for healing, he came. He wasn’t like the rich young ruler who came to Jesus asking, “What must I do to be saved?” He went away sadly when he learned that he would have to choose between his wealth and Jesus. Bartimaeus wasn’t like the man beside the pool of Bethesda, who, when Jesus asked him if he really wanted to be healed, made excuses for his situation.

Bartimaeus wanted to see with his eyes, and he was willing to pay any price to achieve this goal. What a difference determination makes in life.

The story is told of Tamerlane, the 14^th century Mongol emperor, whose army was defeated and scattered in every direction. Tarmerlane himself had to go into hiding in an old barn. While he was hiding there, he observed an ant trying to carry off a kernel of corn. The kernel of corn was larger than the ant and the ant needed to push it over a wall in order to get it out of the barn.

Tamerlane watched the ant struggle with pushing the kernel of corn up the wall. As the ant nearly reached the top, it fell, as did the kernel of corn. But the ant did not quit. It pushed that kernel of corn back up that wall. Sixty-nine times this sequence of events was repeated. Finally, on the 70th try the ant successfully pushed the kernel over the wall. Tamerlane, watching that ant, made a commitment. He said, “If an ant can do it, so can I,” and he went out and reorganized his army and came back to defeat the enemy. He did not give up.

Bartimaeus was disadvantaged. But he was determined. And he was discipled. Discipled is a verb we have made out of a noun. We talk about making disciples in the church. The shorthand version is to say that we “disciple” people. Bartimaeus was discipled. Listen to the last few words: “Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ and immediately [Bartimaeus] received his sight and followed Him on the way.”

Bartimaeus became a follower of Jesus Christ. He didn’t go back to panhandling. His life was never the same again. All because he spoke up and asked for healing.

Most of us don’t speak up about who we are and what we need to change in our lives because we fear change. No matter how bad our circumstances, there’s a comfort level we cherish in keeping things the same. There’s a comfort we find in the status quo.

Our lives may be pretty bad. But our days are familiar. We know where we belong in our current scenario, and we understand what’s expected of us –usually not a whole lot.

But if you let Jesus heal you and restore you? Now you need to be an active member of your society and community. You’ll need to become part of an active workplace or church. You’ll need to forge relationships with the people who have pushed you down. Not only that, you’ll need to forgive and find a way to live with those who have rejected you in the past.

And you’ll need to follow Jesus in a new and dynamic kind of way, taking on responsibilities and activities that you may not want to commit to. And all of that is hard.

So, here’s the question.

How badly do you want to see change in your life, in your situation, in your church, in your world? Badly enough to put your faith in Jesus? That’s what Jesus is asking of you today.

Do you want change badly enough to allow Jesus to heal you? Think about your answer.

For when God takes over, God shakes things up. God is a guaranteed status quo disturber of the peace! When God speaks, the world shakes. Things change. You change.

Will you speak up and ask to be healed?