Text: Luke 18:31-43
In the name of + Jesus. Amen.
It is fitting that our Gospel for this Quinquagesima Sunday, the last Sunday before Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday, should be the account of a blind man begging near the road as a parade-like commotion is going on in the street.
For our Carnival parades are a parody of the old triumph parades of emperors
and kings. While the king would ride by,
the people would wave their hands and beg.
In days of old, the king and the nobles might toss out money or jewelry
or foodstuffs to the waiting and cheering people, evidence of riches taken in the
latest wars.
Of course, today our royals are not real kings, but they act and play the part. And as people beg from the roadside, they might even call out, “Throw me something, Mister!” to get the attention of the king and his court, hoping to catch something tossed from the float.
Of course, Jesus is the true King, and He offers us something infinitely better than beads and doubloons and other trinkets. For our Lord gives us beggars the gift of eternal life. We see this as the blind beggar hears the commotion, and learns that “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” And he shouts out, not, “Throw me something, Mister,” but rather, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And by calling Jesus the “Son of David,” the blind man is acknowledging that Jesus is the King. Not Herod and not Caesar. Jesus. King Jesus.
And others along the side of the road try to shut him up. “But he cried out all the more” demanding that the King throw him some mercy.
The parade stops and Jesus asks that the man “to be brought to Him.” He asks, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man asks Jesus, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” Jesus grants his wish: “Recover your sight.” But then, our Lord adds an explanation, the same thing He often says when he heals someone: “Your faith has made you well.” For what is it to cry out “Throw me something?” other than to believe that the rider hears your request and will answer it. If you didn’t have faith that the rider would toss you something, you wouldn’t bother shouting and holding your hands up. You have faith that the rider has something to throw, and you cry out whether other people like it or not.
This
blind man cried out to Jesus and refused to be silenced. For He believed that Jesus would hear his
prayer, and that indeed, the Son of David would have mercy on him.
And, dear brothers and sisters, the man was healed. Think about how glorious this is. What better news could this beggar receive than to recover his sight? And in gratitude, he followed Jesus. He became a disciple, a Christian, a believer. And he “glorified God.” And indeed, the entire assembly witnessed the Son of David throwing His mercy to those with outstretched hands who prayed to Him. And they saw Jesus answer prayers and perform signs. They too believed, and “gave praise to God.”
Jesus not only offered this man healing from his blindness, He threw him something even greater: mercy that extends beyond healing, beyond even death, mercy that forgives sins and grants everlasting life! And the great irony is that though this man was blind, he was able to “see” what others did not. He “saw” that Jesus was the Son of David, the Messiah-King prophesied in scripture. He “saw” the power of Jesus to overcome disease, disfigurement, demons, and even death by means of nothing more than His Word, by hearing that Word, and by believing that Word. This man’s persistent prayer was an act of faith, as was his shameless public confession that Jesus is the “Son of David” with the power to rescue him.
This is why Jesus said, “Your faith has made you well.” Faith receives the promise and believes it. And even faith is a gift of God. “Faith comes by hearing,” says St. Paul, and though this man was blind, he heard the Good News that “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” Somehow, he heard of the Lord’s works and recognized Jesus in the Scriptures. He knew who Jesus was, confessed Him, and prayed to Him as His King and Redeemer.
Dear friends, we are here for the same reason. We are not gathered to receive plastic beads or fake gold coins. We are gathered here because Jesus of Nazareth is here, according to His Word and promise. We too confess that He is the Son of David, the Messiah-King, both God and Man, the crucified one, the Lamb of God whose blood restores us to the Father’s favor. Jesus comes to open our eyes to see with the eyes of faith, and to believe His promise. And like the blind beggar, when we gather around our King, we pray in the liturgy: “Lord, have mercy upon us.” We repeat this refrain no matter who may want to silence us. “Christ, have mercy upon us,” we sing. And then we sing it again for good measure, “Lord, have mercy upon us.”
We ask Him and we do so publicly and without shame because we believe He will throw us His mercy. And that faith is what enables us to receive His mercy, catching it and rejoicing in our good fortune, “glorifying God.” And when others who gather here likewise see it, they too rejoice and “give praise to God.”
Jesus gives us the treasure of His mercy in the preaching of the Gospel, and in the giving of His body and blood in the sacrament. We come to Him where He is found. We beg Him on our very knees to give us His mercy. For Jesus commanded that we be brought to Him. He commanded this in our baptism. And what’s more, He hears our prayers for mercy, and He feeds us with His very body, and He gives us His blood to drink, “for the forgiveness of sins.”
This is a feast, dear friends. This is a celebration! Let us revel in the Lord’s mercy, celebrating His lavish grace, and let us not take His mercy for granted. Indeed, let us follow Him, glorifying God.
For our Lord Jesus Christ delights in throwing us His mercy, for He is our true King to whom we pray, “Lord have mercy upon us, Christ have mercy upon us, Lord have mercy upon us.”
Amen.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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