Ever wonder what motivates people - why we say what we say or do what we do?  What moves us to a certain decision or action?  Is it because we have a plan for the future or because of what our parents taught us?  Do Christians have better motives than non-Christians?  A question I often ask myself is, "Is what I'm doing making any difference in people's lives?"

          I was wondering that last Sunday after seeing our attendance drop by a third.  I wondered, was it the football games or that people wanted one last fall weekend get-away?  Maybe my sermons had gone stale or worship is dull.  Maybe the weather was just too good to come to church.  Or maybe we've become too sophisticated to worship a God we can't see or touch.

          A third grader was writing his first report which was to be something about his family.  At a loss for where to start, he laid down his pencil and asked, "Mother, how was I born?"  His mother, busy preparing supper and not wanting to get into a discussion of reproduction, smiled and said, "The stork brought you, honey."  The boy moved into the living room and asked his grandmother, "Grandma, how was my mother born?"  "Why, dear, the stork brought her," she said sweetly.  "And you, Grandma?"  "Well, the stork brought me, too."  The boy thanked her and returned to his work.  Picking up his pencil he wrote, "There hasn't been a normal birth in my family for three generations."

          We Americans are a sophisticated people who take miracles for granted.  We can talk to people on the other side of the world with a cell phone the size of a pack of cigarettes, or record the entire Encyclopedia Britannica on a thin plastic disk.  We can hold in our hand a global positioning device that tunes in to satellites 200 miles out in space, or use a laser beam to re-shape our eyeballs.  We know more, have more, and use more every decade than any other ten civilizations have done in a century.

          Yet we sophisticated people still look for miracles.  And we must, because no matter how far we advance, no matter how much we think we know, we haven't scratched the surface on the things that really matter.

          Despite our advanced communication, we still don't listen to each other any better.  With all our wealth and overabundance, we still can't eliminate poverty or hunger.  No amount of technology will make us happier, and no amount of logic will bring us true peace.  On the things that really matter in life, we're still quite primitive.  We educated, intelligent, privileged people just don't seem to get it.  There's something out there far bigger than we are, and we must pay homage to it now or we will surely pay for it later.  No matter what, you and I need to be connected to God.

          The more basic our needs, the better we understand this.  Bartimaeus, the man in our text, was blind.  When you can't see, life is reduced to its basics.  Someone has to lead you around or else you stumble and fall as you find your own way.  Some people are truly blind and see nothing.  Others are color blind and have no idea what green and red are like, seeing only grays and browns.  Others with perfect vision are blinded by selfishness, bad priorities or greed.  Sin makes us all blind in some way.

          Bartimaeus heard Jesus was coming and had to make some fast choices.  Would he stay silent and cynical, thinking there was nothing anyone could do for him, or would he seek a miracle?  Would he beg someone to lead him to Jesus or just make enough racket to be noticed?  Would he risk being the fool if he were not healed, or take his chances with this new healer-rabbi Jesus who was passing by?

          You have to admit Bartimaeus had guts.  He knew he had nothing to lose by trying, so he started to yell.  Maybe they wouldn't see him, but they would surely hear him!  Some proper people in the crowd tried to shush him, but he only shouted the louder.  When you're at the end of your rope and hope is nearly gone, appearances aren't important.  You have to forget the embarrassment and do something.

          I have known people whose circumstances left them little room for embarrassment.  Daryl, whom I met 30 years ago, had cerebral palsy but he loved bowling.  He told me his first attempts to throw the ball were comical, almost dangerous, but through determination and years of practice and ignoring the embarrassment, his average eventually rose to 190, far better than anyone else on his team.

          And then there's Debbie, burned at age three over 85% of her body, who endured painful surgeries and disfigurement, but still has a wonderfully bright and positive spirit, and is now considering a career in counseling children.  And there's Linda, in a wheel chair for years because of multiple sclerosis, who still writes and sings her own songs, who produced her own CD and recently appeared in concert at Branson.  These people were beyond embarrassment.  Even when you're blind, you just can't sit there and do nothing.

          Bartimaeus yelled, and loudly enough that Jesus heard him.  Timidity rarely helps when you're up against it.  Our world rewards the bold, as Bartimaeus found out.  The Bible says "Jesus stopped and said, 'Call him.'  So they called to the blind man, 'Cheer up!  On your feet!  He's calling you.'  Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus."  When the Lord calls, we'd better get up and go.  He may not always be there calling us, so we'd best answer Him when He does.

          Trouble is, we aren't always listening.  Most of us are too busy with life, or else we're listening for other things.  We may be looking for our ship to come in, but not for the Lord to call.  Our idea of a miracle is different from His.  We think it's a miracle if they find a cure for cancer or if we elect a president who cares more about morality than the opinion polls.  For me, it'd be a miracle if I started exercising regularly, or if all our members were at worship on the same Sunday morning.

          For Jesus, a miracle usually required faith.  Bartimaeus could've just sat there and waited for Jesus to come to him, but he didn't.  He believed Jesus could help, so he did something to help make it happen.  I communed old John for years, and every time I visited him, he said, "Pastor, when I win the lottery I'm giving it all to the church."  Though I don't think much of the lottery, I finally pressed him on the idea and found out he'd never bought a ticket!

          Miracles rarely happen to passive people.  Once there was a man who lay beside the Pool of Bethesda for thirty-eight years, waiting for someone to push him into the waters when the Angel of God stirred them.  Jesus came by and asked, "Do you want to be healed?"  Good question!  Sometimes you and I would rather just lie there.  Self-pity can become a way of life.  But if we want help, we need to get up on our feet and go to the Lord.

          Life may knock us down, but it doesn't have to keep us down.  Next Sunday we'll celebrate Reformation and remember the blessings God gave us through a man named Martin Luther.  At one point, Luther was rendered nearly helpless, paralyzed by his inability to please God.  He was at the point of despair trying to please God when he finally saw the light.  One day the Gospel message came through and he realized that being worthy before God didn't depend on his own efforts, but on Christ who paid the penalty for his sins.

          We can never be good enough, so God gave us His Son who was.  That, my friends, is the miracle that opens the gates of paradise.  Any one who has faith in Christ is saved, no matter how bad.  No matter how defeated or despairing or sinful, God has paid the price, and we are promised eternal life.  This truth is for everyone!

          "On Your Feet, Bartimaeus, He's Calling You!" they said.  I can almost hear Jesus telling us the same.  "On your feet, people of Castle Rock.  He's calling you.  Depend on Him, not your cleverness.  Trust Him, not your money.  Get up and quit feeling sorry for yourself!  There are people to be saved and work to be done, and it won't get done while you're sitting there."

          The Bible says of Bartimaeus, "Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus."  Well, let's do the same!  Stand with me now and confess our faith in the God who loves us enough to give us a new start.  Let's all jump on our feet and come to Jesus.  Amen!

Copyright © 2000 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.