Title: Jericho/Mark 11:46-52
Contents The Great Pilgrimage of Life (17) Jericho/Mark 11:46-52
Recently, an article like this was published in a Christian internet media. It is said that a group was running a discussion program called <Who will survive?> as part of character education. It is said that a virtual nuclear war broke out on Earth, and the whole world became a sea of fire, but only 10 people in Korea survived. A scientist who predicted this day would come and made a capsule, but the problem was that the cocoon was for 7 people, so 3 out of 10 people had to be subtracted, and the issue was whether to exclude someone. The ten are 1. A soldier who faithfully defended the country 2. His pregnant wife 3. A beautiful college student in the liberal arts department 4. World Cup MVP soccer player 5. A well-educated middle-aged female actress 6. A novelist with historical skills 7. Capsule The scientist who made the book 8. A medical student from Southeast Asia 9. A pious and respected priest 10. Who was the disabled person doing simple work in a manufacturing plant?
However, most of the healthy young people who participated in the discussion that day were claiming that only the disabled should be removed first. The reason was the logic that disabled people are useless to rebuild humanity. Today, because of this so-called pragmatic logic, many people with disabilities in this country are hurt by prejudice and unfair treatment. However, the author said that he insisted that the disabled should live first in any case. The basis of his logic was respect for life, that is, humanism. But in fact, the Bible provides us with an even more important argument beyond this humanism. The reason that disabled people should be respected just like non-disabled people is that they are all made in God's image. And the Lord is the one who taught that love and service to the weak is the same as treating Himself. “As you did it to one of the least of you, you did it to me.”
1. Jesus stops his path and pays attention to the disabled neighbors.
In verse 46, the beginning of the text, Bartimaeus, the son of Dimaeus, who was blind sitting by the roadside of Jericho (‘ba’ means son, and ‘ba/dimaeus’s son’) heard the news that Jesus was passing by, Strike. Verse 47. “When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he cried out, saying, Son of David, have mercy on me.” In the next verse, it is recorded that many people put him aside and ordered him to be quiet. But verse 49 testifies that “Jesus remained standing.” What made him stay and pay attention to him? I think it must have been Bartimaeus' cry, "Have mercy on me." Today's text records that he vomited this cry twice in verses 47 and 48. It must have been a kind of self-styled earnest prayer. How could he, who taught, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and find; knock, and it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7) could have turned away from this prayer?
If so, will He hear the cry of the handicapped who seek the Lord's help on this earth today, and will he not stop and pay attention to them? And if that's true, shouldn't we, his disciples, also need to stop and listen to the voices of our disabled neighbors who seek help along the way in our lives? Wouldn't it be wise to pay serious attention to their pitiful plight? The reason that Bartimaeus, the main character of today's text, had no choice but to be the object of the Lord's mercy was that he was not only blind but also a beggar. (Verse 46 Bartimaeus, a beggar who was blind) The reality was that they could not get the job they needed and would eventually end up unemployed. In our current reality in Korea, most people with disabilities are living in the massage business, but they are in a crisis of being driven under the pretext of job equality. How could the merciful Lord not notice them? This is why the Lord stayed on the road to Jericho.
2. Jesus Himself calls the disabled neighbors to Him.
We usually think that feeling of harm is the best thing to do when we meet neighbors with disabilities like this. But Jesus' attitude was quite different. Let's read verse 49 again. “Jesus said, ‘Stand and call on him.’ So they called the blind man and said, ‘Get up in peace, and he is calling you.’” Here is a word repeated three times in one verse. Yes, it means 'calling'. He called this blind man. People who realize that there is no prejudice in his calling tell him, “Take care, he is calling you.” Look at the blind man's answer in verse 50. “The blind man threw away his cloak, and jumped up and came to Jesus.” The cloak may have been the blind man's entire property. But Jesus' unbiased call disarmed him in an instant. He came to Jesus with joy.
I believe that what is most necessary for our society to become an advanced society is to overcome prejudice against neighbors with disabilities. Our society is still struggling with the fearful prejudice that opposes the establishment of welfare facilities to serve neighbors with disabilities, and that even meeting people with disabilities on the street is unlucky. But in fact, how aware are we that we are all pre-disabled people? According to the 2008 Ministry of Health and Welfare Ministry of Health and Welfare's Survey on the Disabled, there are 2.1 million people with disabilities registered in Korea (there are more unregistered people, about 10 of the population), of which 90 are acquired disabilities? The causes of disability are 1) diseases caused by aging and 2) various accidents. Then, shouldn't we all need serious concern for our neighbors with disabilities, especially our disciples who follow Jesus? Because this concern cannot be separated from our concern for ourselves. That's why Jesus taught us to love our neighbors as ourselves, and that's why he's still calling people with disabilities to come before him.
3. Jesus meets the desperate needs of our neighbors with disabilities.
In verse 51, Jesus asks the blind man. “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind answers. “Teacher, I would like to see you.” What could be more desperately needed than seeing him? What is the result? See verse 52. “Jesus said to him, “Your faith has saved you.” Immediately he saw and followed Jesus on the way.” His eyes were opened. However, he appears to have been saved not only physically, but also spiritually. Because he became a follower of Jesus. One important lesson we have to learn here is that our ministry of serving people with disabilities should not end with helping them with their life needs. We need to get them to have faith in Jesus and stand up and follow Him. Today, the ratio of evangelization to the population in Korea is 20, but it is a fact that evangelization of the disabled is only 3. We need to bring our disabled neighbors out of the dark so that they can hear the gospel under the bright light.
I would go one step further and think that the results of the text did not end there. Another truth hidden in the text is the fact that the perception of the disabled probably of many people and disciples who were there that day has changed. How could they cherish this one disabled person and forget Jesus' love for the disabled who bestowed the grace of salvation on him? On that day, in Jericho, another miracle occurred in which the long-standing prejudice against the disabled in the city was broken.
I started today's sermon topic by introducing a discussion program called <Who Will Survive?>. If we Christians are the subjects of this discussion, how should we conclude the biblical conclusion of this discussion? The person who raised this proposition for discussion was citing a similar situation presented in <Once in My Life>, a collection of essays by Professor Jang Young-hee, who passed away recently, and was drawing a conclusion on the justification of his inclusion of the disabled. The protagonist of the situation presented by Jang Young-hee was <The Blind Boy>. The discussion situation presented by Professor Younghee Jang is as follows. “Soon there will be a nuclear war and everyone in Asia will die. However, there is one cave where you can safely avoid a nuclear explosion, and only six people can enter it. But the next ten people know the cave. Ten people are 1. nun 2. doctor 3. blind boy (disabled) 4. Japanese teacher. 5. A reincarnated prostitute 6. A singer-songwriter 7. A politician 8. A female physicist 9. A farmer 10. A white beast with no skills whatsoever. Choose six of these ten people to build a new future Korea and explain why in English.”
However, as the students' discussion continued, a moving discussion of a student named Jin-gi, who was a stutterer in group B, is presented as a conclusion. Would you like to hear it?
Let's just quote it. “I think this (blind) boy can make a very big contribution to building a new country. In a sense, it will be the greatest contribution. In a new country, everyone will be very busy doing their own thing. There will be no rush to make a good country and a prosperous country. Then, there will surely be competition in that society, and you will be caught up in jealousy and hatred and fight for power. But if someone needs help like this blind boy, everyone will have to take their time to help him. Then I think that I can help others and learn to be considerate and sacrifice my little things for others.” For a moment, the classroom was quiet. It took a lot of patience to listen to what a student named Jinki had to say, but his stuttering symptoms made his words sound more serious and sincere. After resting for a while, Jingi opened his mouth again and came to a conclusion. “In a country that doesn’t know how to help and share like that, it might be better to die than to live there.”
Isn't that a great biblical conclusion? When we start to serve a neighbor with disabilities with the heart of the Lord, not just our society, but the whole world can change. This is the vision of world change that we should look at through serving our neighbors with disabilities.