“On Being Blind” Sunday, October 25, 2009 Christian Year: 21st Pentecost Calendar Year: Reformation Sunday Sacrament: Infant Baptism, 8:30 only Series Title: “Life Lessons” Main Text: Mark 10:46-52 48Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” 50So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” 52Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way. Secondary Text: Hebrews 7:23-28 23Furthermore, the former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office; 24but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. 26For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27Unlike the other high priests, he has no need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for those of the people; this he did once for all when he offered himself. 28For the law appoints as high priests those who are subject to weakness, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever. Theme: Spiritual Insight Brief explanation of Scripture Passages: Jesus meets Blind Bartimaeus at his point of need, which is physical blindness that forces him to beg for a living. His insistence on getting Jesus’ attention is evidence of his faith, according to Jesus. The Hebrews passage speaks of the risen Savior, who has the power to save us in his perfection as high priest forever. Jesus is the Christ, who is the only mediator ever needed between God’s perfect justice and us. Summary of Message: When we say, “we see” then we are still blind to the things of God. But when we acknowledge our human limitations and admit to not seeing everything clearly, God can then touch us and restore our spiritual insight into God’s truths. This theme of humility and need is central throughout scripture and I plan to do a little “survey” of such scriptures as part of the sermon. Felt Need this theme addresses: More of God’s truth (just like in the reformation!) Desired Outcome of message and entire service:Self examination of our hearts’ attitude.

-Sermon Begins- Today is the end of my series titled, “Life Lessons from Mark chapter 10.” Today, perhaps the culmination of Jesus’ teachings is brought about by the shouting of Blind Bartimaus. Jesus uses his situation to talk about who is blind and who can really see, spiritually speaking. With this in mind, let us pray to the One who opens our eyes to see great things that will fill our hearts and last forever: Blessed Father, risen Son and Holy Spirit, the great Three-in-One, We pray for our time together today. May our worship honor you. May our songs and prayers capture something of your greatness and convey a portion of our gratitude. May the teaching of your word be full of truth, seasoned with grace and timely for all who hear. And let us respond, Lord, by loving and serving you with all our heart, our mind, our soul and our strength. For you alone are worthy of such things. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear all you have for us today. Amen. == For centuries, people believed that Aristotle was right when he said that the heavier an object, the faster it would fall to earth. Aristotle was regarded as the greatest thinker of all time, and surely he wouldn’t be wrong. Anyone, of course, could have taken two objects, one heavy and one light, and dropped them from a great height to see whether the heavier object landed first. But no one did until nearly 2,000 years after Aristotle’s death. In 1589, Galileo summoned learned professors to the base of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Then he went to the top and pushed off a 10-pound and a one-pound weight. Both landed at the same instant. The power of belief was so strong, however, that the professors denied their eyesight. They continued to say Aristotle was right. Jesus cured physical blindness. There are many instances of this. But he was more concerned by spiritual blindness among the people. Physical blindness is either acquired over time, or one is born with it. Spiritual