Pentecost 21 - Year B

Today I am starting with .......... stillness.
I am so struck with the words and image, there in the middle of the reading we have just heard in Mark's Gospel.. "Jesus stood still".

I am particularly struck not because I cannot imagine Jesus being still, or even doing so at this time. But it really caused me to wonder that Mark, the writer, noticed it. He noticed and included it in the story. When you think about it (and I don't wonder if you never have before, I have never noticed this before either), Mark could have either written "Jesus stopped" or just left the whole still-thing out and said "Call him here".

Mark is such a busy, reporter-style writer. His Gospel is the most succinct, full of action and movement and things happening. This short passage, the healing of Bartimaeus, is full of such action - Jesus, disciples and crowd are journeying, they are on their way to Jerusalem. Into this walking journey comes this strident interruption; Bartimaeus is calling, shouting for attention. People bustle around, telling him to be quiet, which would add even more noise; Bartimaeus keeps shouting... the whole thing would have been a scene of movement and noise.

And Jesus stood still. Which of course meant he had stopped. And presumably everyone else around him stopped too. Into his stillness came his voice .."Call him here". Then more action; people telling Bartimaeus, and him responding by jumping up and going to Jesus.

In the stillness came Christ's voice.... come here Bartimaeus. And then Jesus, who would obviously know that Bartimaeus was physically handicapped with blindness, asks him what he wants him to do for him. This is an extraordinary insight into relationship with Christ; we are to name our need before him. Jesus, in his generous and open spirit, does not presume the purpose of approach. Indeed, theoretically, he doesn't know what Bartimaeus wants him for. Bartimaeus was not calling out... "make me better" or "heal me" or "take away my blindness". No, he was calling the words that have become the heart of the Jesus prayer "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!".

Now, here's the thing. Bartimaeus took huge risk in calling out those words because he was acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah prophesised to come from the House of David. He was calling Jesus a King, the King of the Jews, and he was placing himself, blind Bartimaeus, in political danger.

Jesus stood still. And the words of Psalm 46 come to us.... "Be still and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth". Bartimaeus recognised God in Christ, and in complete faith asked for mercy. That is, God's will on his life, whatever that may be. Such faith indeed.

And for Jesus? His own God-recognition was fulfilled. The context of this incident is very important. This is the last event told by Mark before Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the week of his death. He had turned his face and journey to Jerusalem at that key turning point of asking his disciples.. "who do people say that I am?" and then "but who do you say that I am?" and Peter answered "You are the Messiah." From that recognition articulated, Christ accepts his path to Jerusalem and certain death.

And here he is on the cusp of that week of high drama, what we now call Holy Week, the last days of Jesus before his crucifixion. In the midst of crowd and noise, as he travels, he hears this piercing voice calling to him... "Son of David".... as he is about to enter Jerusalem, for Jesus, his identity is secured. Son of David, Messiah amongst us.

Jesus stood still. I think it was one of those moments from God which he gave his Son to reassure him that they were fully together in these events. I have this transfixing image in mind, a technique often used in films, with the whirling of life coming to a standstill and the single figure of someone being still in the myriad of fixed activity. It is a really effective tool of cinema; a transfixing moment, an epiphany of transformation. For Jesus, he had had other moments like this - his own baptism, as God's voice came from above.. "this is my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased". Eternal time stood still at that moment, the Trinitarian God meshed God-life into ours.
Another time would have to be the Transfiguration, when again God's voice was heard... "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!". Eternal time became part of all stories before and after as the transcendent identity of Christ was revealed.

Compared to those two mighty events you might think this is rather ordinary; Jesus stood still. But his stillness was a direct response to the recognition of him as Messiah, an epiphianic moment. And the voice that comes this time is his own; he is God, it is God's voice. Into the stillness, the eternal time-stopper, comes the eternal voice. The Word of God. "Call him here."

The revelation of this story is for each of us. In our recognition of Christ as Messiah is the faith needed for the continual recognition of the journey with Christ. Jesus is there for us - and he will ask us.. "what do you want me to do for you Jan, or ......." . He is standing at the door knocking, and whatever we truly need, he will provide.

I want to share with you my encounter with Frank this week, as I am sure he will be glad to be part of this story. In fact, I rang to ask him, and he was glad. I am sure he is already part of the stimulus for this homily in our sharing together of this word and sacrament this week.

He said to me, as he lay still on his bed, as I walked through the door of his hospital room.... "I nearly lost my faith last night". I was rather taken aback... and we then talked about why he felt that. And I found myself asking him.. "Is Jesus still Jesus the Christ for you Frank, is he still God in your life?" "Oh yes", said Frank. "Well," I said, "I don't think you have lost any faith at all; rather, you have grown stronger."

And we talked about the Christ the Light of the world painting, and the window of it in St Matthew's. Because there it is in this Gospel story; Jesus knocking at our door, asking to come into our lives and asking us what we really want. "What do you want me to do for you?" And for Jesus himself, the recognition of his identity with and as God did not mean he stopped being who he was for people in that way. He continued to embrace his life of healing, teaching and moving among the people with the revelation of God's kingdom right up to his dying breath. And then some more, continual more, in his resurrection.

And as I assured Frank of growing in faith through his encounter, so I too felt strengthened in faith, in that encounter, in that hospital room, talking of our journeys of uncertainty and doubt, of our fears and loneliness, of our pain and mortality. This is what we are to do with each other; make the Christ relationship real for each other. Christ does it for us, we are to do the same for others.

At the heart of the Gospel encounter today is the reality of the love of Jesus Christ for each one of us, and the continuing cycle of encounter of that love. We turn to Christ - we recognise him as God in our life.
We pray in the trueness of who we really are.... have mercy on me.
We approach Christ in that recognition, and find he is waiting.
He is waiting for us to articulate our needs - not our wants - but our needs. And he has promised whatever we ask in faith, we shall receive.

We each need to stand still. We need to make and find that stillness in our lives to hear Christ's words... "Come here". In that stillness, our encounter with Christ is open and real. It will strengthen and inspire us to follow in Christ's way, the way of truth and life and light.

Be still and know God is God; be still and know God is with you.

I leave you with the "approach to prayer" prayer from David Adam:

I weave a silence on to my lips
I weave a silence into my mind
I weave a silence within my heart
I close my ears to distractions
I close my eyes to attractions
I close my heart to temptations

Calm me, O Lord, as you calmed the storm
Still me, O Lord and keep me from harm
Let all the tumult within me cease
Enfold me Lord in your peace. Amen.