Episode Transcript
CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
THE WORD OF THE LORD
Mark 10:46–52 NIV
Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
CONSIDER THIS
This story begins with a man who cannot see but somehow sees more clearly than everyone else around him.
Bartimaeus is blind, poor, and pushed to the margins. He sits by the roadside while life passes him by. When he hears that Jesus is near, something wakes up inside him. He cries out. Others try to silence him. They tell him to be quiet, to know his place, to not make a scene. But Bartimaeus refuses to go back to sleep. He shouts all the more.
Jesus stops.
Do not miss this. Jesus stops for the cry of desire.
Then Jesus asks a question that seems almost unnecessary.
“What do you want me to do for you?”
Isn’t it obvious? Bartimaeus is blind. Of course, he wants to see. But Jesus is doing something more than naming a need. He is awakening desire. He is inviting Bartimaeus to speak his longing out loud.
Desire is not weakness. Desire is often the birthplace of faith.
Too often, we mute our desires in the presence of God. We pray cautiously. We ask vaguely. We say things like, “Whatever you want, Lord,” while quietly protecting ourselves from disappointment. Bartimaeus shows us another way. He names his desire plainly. “Rabbi, I want to see.”
Notice what happens next. Bartimaeus throws aside his cloak. That cloak was likely his only possession, the thing that identified him as a beggar. He leaves it behind without hesitation. Desire loosens his grip on the old life. Awakening always costs something.
And when Bartimaeus receives his sight, he does not return to the roadside. He follows Jesus on the way.
This is how awakening begins. Jesus comes near. Desire wakes up. Faith speaks. Old coverings fall away. And a new way of life opens before us.
As we begin this series, let me ask you the same question Jesus asked Bartimaeus: What do you want him to do for you?
PRAYER
Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us.
Wake up our hearts where desire has grown quiet or cautious.
Give us courage to name our longings honestly before you.
Teach us to trust you enough to throw aside whatever keeps us stuck on the roadside.
We want to see.
We want to follow.
We pray in Jesus’s name, amen.
