Psalm 126 (New Jerusalem Bible)
Mark 10: 46-52 (Common English Bible)
Mark chapter 10 records Jesus’ last stop before entering Jerusalem. Bartimaeus was a blind beggar who was persistent in his calling for Jesus, despite the crowd's efforts to silence him.
When Jesus heard the cries of Bartimaeus, Jesus told the blind man to come here. Bartimaeus left his old garments behind, which shows his trust and hope that Jesus will heal him.
During that era it was believed a person with a disability was being punished for their own sins or those of his parents. Bartimaeus is not only seen as a blind person, he is viewed as an outcast being punished by God. The people who condemned Bartimaeus were the ones who were wrong.
It is important to ask, are we like the crowd in this reading? What right do people have to judge what is important and other voices silenced?
One example is the brutal destruction going on in Gaza. The American media, whether it’s NBC, CBS, FOX or ABC have a one-sided approach to this crisis. Rarely will you ever see a Palestinian journalist on any of those network’s. Muslim journalist, Mehdi Hasan, was fired by MSNBC because he covered the carnage going on in Gaza. Voices are being silenced in Universities, schools and even churches.
Is it possible when Bartimaeus opened his eyes, he saw a new reality. Faith through Jesus brought this new reality. This faith has sustained Christians throughout the centuries. Faith gave them the strength to withstand the powers of those who would silence them. This was the type of faith which sustained Archbishop Oscar Romero in El Salvador, during his mission to the poor and oppressed. And it cost him his life. He was assassinated by a right-wing goon squad while performing Mass.
Although Bartimaeus was physically blind, his faith told him Jesus was near. “Seeing who Jesus is” is the goal of faith that leads to discipleship. Bartimaeus regained his sight and followed Jesus on the way to Jerusalem. God works through miracles, political will and social activism. God picks us up from where we have fallen and redirects us to the correct pathway.
Those who return to God are restored, no questions asked. But how do we come to the point of return? Sometimes we make it sound easy and quick. I’ve always been somewhat skeptical of the 180 turn called “born again Christians.” You’re only born again once, when you’re baptized. But some changes in people are fast and immediate. Restoration to God is a process which can be described in many ways.
We Presbyterians are proud of the reformation of the past. But we're long overdue for a new Reformation and restoration. In the 16th century Martin Luther was considered a heretic and troublemaker And so was Martin Luther King in the 20th century. Many white adults during the 1960s called King a troublemaker. But a few years later this “troublemaker” was considered a martyr and hero, whose birthday is now a federal holiday.
We can sometimes describe our blindness as the inability to see the forest because of the trees. More disturbing is the inherited blindness of each generation. Each generation assumes it will be the best generation. The Baby Boomer generation was supposed to change the world, but most were absorbed into the same Borg. The Borg was a creation in “Star Trek, the Next Generation.” In other words they were assimulated into the status-quo.
Psalm 126 is a poem set to music, as most psalms were. It speaks to all of us who long for something better in this broken world. We all know about “sowing with tears” and going out with sorrow,” to quote Psalm 126. We do not experience enough of the reaping of joy mentioned in this psalm.
The background of this psalm was written during the period of the Jewish people returning to Jerusalem after their 70 year exile in Babylon. But when they did return to Jerusalem, the Temple was still in ruins, destroyed by the Babylonian army. There was still no full restoration and no crops to harvest.
Songs like Psalm 126 were often used by pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem as part of the celebration of Passover. Throughout the psalm, the psalmist sounds a note of joy as they approach the House of God, the Temple.
This Psalm honors God’s faithfulness and anticipates God’s full restoration, renewing and strengthening the hope of the exiles a reign of justice and peace from God.
Eventually the Jewish exiles after many years did get a splendid new Temple, built over the ruins of Soloman’s Temple. At one point in the gospels, Jesus and his disciples visited the Temple and like most tourists, the disciples were completely overwhelmed by its beauty. Yet when they came to Jesus to brag about it, Jesus’ reaction was, so what? Jesus goes on to tell the disciples, “Look, this Temple is destined to be destroyed, just like the previous one and the destruction will happen in the near future.” That was a real debbie-downer to the disciples.
Jesus was ready to show the disciples, the Ultimate Temple. The Ultimate Temple Jesus mentioned, was himself as the Messiah. Jesus is the everlasting Temple. A Temple not made out of limestone and marble.
In that great and Coming Day of the Lord, is when the dwelling of God will be with you forever. Some say a Christ Consciousness will enter everyone of every nation and faith. That is my view of the Second Coming of Christ. Everyone has an opinion of this event, but I believe it will be very different from what most people expect.
John of Patmos, the supposed writer of Revelation, tells us the Lamb of God himself will be our Temple. And when that day comes, we can be assured our voices will be filled with joy and our entire being with everlasting happiness. There will be no tears of sadness. Psalm 126 points us to that great promise, and does so with lyrical power.
AMEN.
