Looking Ahead to October 24, 2021 -- 22nd Sunday After Pentecost, Proper 25B

The Scripture Reading this week is Mark 10:46-52

The Sermon title is The Squeaky Wheel

Early Thoughts: Does it always get the grease? Would Bartimaeus have been healed had he sat quietly by the road (as it appears some people wanted him to do)?

And what about the people who cry out for help but do not get healed?

The healing stories of Jesus bring out so many questions.

It is undeniable that the Gospels reflect that Jesus was a healer. All four Gospels attest to a lived experience of a man  who healed people of various infirmities, of one who revealed God's power to bring health and wholeness to life (and that in abundance). These stories are a challenge for our scientifically minded world. They seem to fly in the face of what we know about medicine. What do we do with them?

I am going to suggest that we simply accept them for what they are. I suggest we don't get into deep debates about 'what really happened'. I suggest that those debates deflect us from the witness to God present in their beloved world, present in the lives of God's beloved children, offered by the story

So what do we do with Bartimaeus? One of the pieces I take from this story is that Bartimaeus would NOT have been healed had he simply sat quietly by the side of the road. He had to make a scene, had to make his presence and need known for the miracle to happen. The fact that he is willing to do this makes people uncomfortable. The text tells us that some people told him to be quiet. Bartimaeus will not be silenced. He claims his place, speaks his need, and gets noticed. How can Jesus meet a need that Jesus does not know exists?

Sometimes the squeaky wheel does indeed get the grease.

I suggest that we still do not know how best to handle asking for help. Some of us are uncomfortable doing the asking (and then some within that group complain that nobody offers them help). Some of us are uncomfortable with people naming their broken-ness or their need, we sometimes would be like the people in our story who tell Bartimaeus to be quiet. But how can we help people when we don't know they want help?

We need to make room for squeaky wheels in our lives. Sometimes we also need to listen carefully to pick out the reason for the squeakiness. Sometimes we ourselves may need to be the ones doing the squeaking -- either on our own behalf or to magnify the squeakiness of one of our neighbours.

None of this hides the fact that sometimes the squeaky wheel does not get the grease, or gets  grease that is not helpful. Some people who sit by our roadsides and cry out for help are unheard, or ignored, or simply cast aside. Some people seek healing and do not find a cure for their ailment. 

But if we never ask, we may never find out what the results of asking would be. If we don't give people a chance to ask, to name their need, we never know what the possibilities are.

Where do you hear squeaks in your life? In your circles? In your world? How will you respond?
--Gord