Living in the Spirit
October 16, 2021
Scripture Reading:
Mark 10:46-52
They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stood still and said, ‘Call him here.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; get up, he is calling you.’ So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man said to him, ‘My teacher, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.
Jesus’s healing stories are all mini-sermons delivering the message that life does not have to be the way of defeat and acceptance of inevitability. In situations that seem hopeless, God always plants a seed of hope. God calls all of us to see the possibilities in each of us. My childhood example of that was Helen Keller and her teacher, Anne Sullivan. Today we have the story of Temple Grandin* born autistic without speech, she was destined for an institution, but her mother would not accept that. Dr. Grandin now has a Ph.D. and is a leading authority on maximizing the skills and talents of children with autism. Miracles result from seeing higher truths about people, life, love, hope, and faith, all of which we are empowered to use with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer: God of Hope, plant the seeds in each of us to always have hope when all seems lost. Amen.
*See her book Navigating Autism: 9 Mindsets for Helping Kids on the Spectrum
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.