Jesus and the Crowds

Have you ever noticed how many times there's a crowd hanging around Jesus? There are some pretty interesting characters in these crowds and one of my favorites is Bartimaeus. Let's call him Bart for short and try to figure out what was happening when he begged Jesus to restore his sight.

First, Bart was already in one crowd -- the one calling for help. Jesus was moving down the road with another crowd in tow -- the one feeling very confident in their faith and position within Jesus' circle. Second, when the two crowds met conflict erupted. "Help me!" "Don't bother Jesus right now." "Heal me!" "Go away because he doesn't have time right now." The bantering continued until Jesus himself stopped and said "Call him here." After Bart made his way out of one crowd and over to the next one Jesus asked him the most incredible question, "What do you want me to do for you?" Now, there's a question that should stop us in our tracks. But, Bart had an immediate and clear answer "Let me see again." Jesus told him, "Go, your faith has made you well." Right away Bart could see and he joined up with the crowd following Jesus -- straight into Jerusalem. Was Bart in this crowd that cheered Jesus on Palm Sunday and condemned him to death a few days later? We don't know. The text doesn't tell us how long Bart hung with this crowd.

A couple of weeks ago we discussed this passage in the Sunday morning adult class that I lead. Each week we read the Sunday text out loud from three different versions and discuss what strikes us and how God is speaking to us. Inevitably, when we have about ten minutes left I ask (and write down on the big paper), "What does this mean for us today living in this little town where the predominant culture and religion are not Christian?" On this particular Sunday I asked the group, "What's our answer to Jesus' question, "What do you want me to do for you?" They replied "Help us feel better about moving into the new building for worship" "Help us be less anxious." "Help us deal better with changes in the church." While all of these things are quite legitimate for our congregation right now and some folks need more support than others to make the necessary changes, I hope that all of us had much bolder answers held close to our hearts. I hope we were shouting inside "Let me see again! Heal me! Unloose my chains and make me step out into your big, beautiful world, Lord." Yes, I'm sure this was the request of our hearts, but being Presbyterian we had to keep it all decently in order. However, it seems to me that the crowds with Jesus were rarely decently in order. Hum........