What is faith? This question came up last week at our meeting of the Faith Force. (formerly known as the Faith Exploration Team). Seeking to keep up with the justice league, they came up with this cool new name.Anyway . . . what is faith? This question wasn’t actually on the agenda the other night and yet pausing to probe this foundational definition before we dove into the details of Advent planning felt very right. Amid diverse thoughts, we identified some currents that seemed to resonate with folks. We do not view faith as merely an intellectual exercise. Faith is a way of life, a matter of the heart and the body as well as the head. Faith is a journey; there isn’t an end to the process. Mary Jean offered this inspired gem, which she gave me permission to share: “Faith is a practice, a commitment to take action . . .without knowing the outcome.”
I’m drawn in today by what Jesus said to Bartimaeus, which he actually said to many people in the Gospels, “Your faith has made you well.” It’s intriguing that Jesus didn’t claim that he healed the man, or even that God did. “Your faith has made you well.” In Mark, the word translated faith, “pistis,” generally is about trust and relationship. Today’s portrait of Bartimaeus’ powerful faith is a breath of fresh air after so many weeks of hearing about how Jesus’ disciples misunderstood and resisted his teachings. Over and over again, Jesus sought to explain to his followers that he was not the Messiah everyone had been expecting. He would not meet the violence and repression of empire with more of the same. His way was to suffer and die in order to birth a new reality, a community of love and liberation. The greatest would serve, the first would be last, the littlest and least would be at the center of everyone’s concern.
In Mark, Jesus’ followers reject this message—over and over again. Except Bartimaeus. Because of his disability, he was unable to work or have a family. As a blind person of his time, he was dependent on begging to survive. The fact that he was sitting on the side of the road symbolizes this alienation and powerlessness, this lack of belonging. And his movement into the road symbolizes the power of the faith that healed him, that restored his agency and his place in community. He shouted out over those seeking to silence him, sprung up and threw off his cloak, sought Jesus’ assistance, and followed Jesus “on the way.” Bartimaeus’ faith was indeed “a practice, a commitment to take action . . . without knowing the outcome.”
A couple of other interesting details in this story underscore the faith of Bartimaeus. A cloak was probably the most valuable item a beggar owned. He would have slept in it at night and sought protection from it in bad weather. Bartimaeus left behind this one precious possession in order to reach Jesus. Conversely the rich man who came to Jesus seeking healing went away sad because he could not free himself from the burden of all his possessions. And the question Jesus asked Bartimaeus—“What is it you want me to do for you?”—is the same question he had asked James and John. Whereas they requested status and glory, Bartimaeus wanted only to see again. And though Jesus released him, told him to “go,” the healed Bartimaeus instead chose to follow Jesus on the way of service and love.
“The way” is a metaphor for discipleship throughout the Gospels. And in Mark’s Gospel in particular, Jesus is always on the move. The Gospel writer’s brief, compact writing style, his perennial use of the word “immediately,” conveys this sense of urgency. Now, as Jesus was nearing Jerusalem, his focus grew even more intense. So it’s significant that when Jesus heard Bartimaeus crying out, he stopped and stood still. This sacred pause conveys a crucial turning point in the story. In this moment, Jesus recognized Bartimaeus’ great faith, and welcomed him as a partner in ministry. Jesus corralled the power of the crowd for healing. He turned those who had been seeking to suppress and silence Bartimaeus in a different direction. He conscripted them into faithful action, “call him here.” And then Jesus joined his own energy to that of Bartimaeus, affirming the man’s persistent self-advocacy and his hopeful risk-taking: “your faith has made you well.” The result of Bartimaeus’ healing was wellness—not only the restoration of the blind man’s sight but his return to membership in the community. And the community, in turn, became more whole as they learned to honor this man’s humanity and agency.
This fall, we’ve been seeking to better understand the politics of Jesus. Our story from Mark reinforces the notion that the values Jesus would have us bring into the public square go much deeper than our partisan campaigns. Jesus’ politics are rooted in faith as a collaborative power of healing that can bring wholeness to our community. As the election approaches and our anxiety levels rise, it can be tempting to try to dissociate ourselves from the realities we are facing. I meet regularly with a group of colleagues who identify as white, guided by facilitators who are skilled in embodied anti-racism work. At our last meeting we engaged in an exercise designed to help us turn toward, and honestly engage with, what’s going on in our common life. I want to share this exercise with you. I am going to make some statements that are true for us, and our country. I invite you to notice without judgement how your body responds: words, images, impulses, emotions, sensations. You might want to close your eyes. You might want to get up and walk around. Either way, take a few deep breaths. Trump may win the election. Harris may win the election. No matter who wins the election, Palestinians will still be waiting for our country to stop funding bombs. No matter who wins the election, we are still living with climate change. No matter who wins the election, white supremacy is still thriving and we are not off the hook. No matter who wins the election, our country will still be deeply divided; almost half of our citizens will believe that the candidate and party who won is going to destroy our country. No matter who wins the election, we have power to disrupt harm and to build the future we want. No matter who wins the election, we will still need each other to crank up the heat on our work together. Take a moment now to reflect on what you experienced in your body during this exercise. What did you notice? What emotions came up? How alone or connected did you feel? Were there moments when you felt immobilized or powerless? Were there moments you felt connected or more powerful?
What this exercise brought home to me is that regardless of the outcome of this election our work remains the same. The work of engaging in the deep and difficult healing our country needs is both extremely urgent and extremely slow. This path of discipleship will require persistence and patience. And the journey we take on the Jesus road is collaborative: healing is possible when we join with our divine partner, raising our voices and moving our bodies toward wholeness. “Faith is a practice, a commitment to take action . . . without knowing the outcome.” Friends, our faith will make us well. Amen.