The Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost-Proper 25B

The Very Rev Melanie Dickson Lemburg 23rd Sunday after Pentecost-Proper 25B October 27, 2024 This morning, we’re going to engage with the gospel story in way where I will invite you ponder aspects of your own life with some guided questions.i Feel free to close your eyes as you listen, if that is helpful. Bartimaeus is a beggar, blind and alone while surrounded by a sea of people. How are you like Bartimaeus today? What are the things that are keeping you from seeing Jesus? He hears of Jesus and for the first time in a long time, he begins to hope—hope that someone will truly see him, help him, show him a way out of begging toward wholeness and belonging. What tiny bud of hope blooms in you? Bartimaeus calls out to Jesus, “Mercify me!” And the crowd tells him to be quiet; don’t make a scene; know your place. What are the voices who tell you not to change, not to hope? And he almost listens to them, obeys them, not taking the chance. Because sometimes it’s just too painful to hope. What part does your own voice play in your silencing, in the silencing of your hope? But that tiny bud of hope has fully flowered in Bartimaeus and can no longer be ignored, so he calls out again, this time even louder: “Mercify me!” And Jesus stops. And he turns. But Bartimaeus can’t see any of this. And Jesus tells the crowd to call Bartimaeus. The very ones who had held him back, suddenly shift to help him saying: “Take heart! He is calling you!” And in that moment, Bartimaeus has a tremendous choice: to stay there in the safety of his cloak—his blanket, shelter, source of income, his place of home-or to leave it behind so he can answer the Lord’s call. What comforts do you cling to that you think sustain you, that you need to throw off so you can move forward as Jesus calls you to grow, to change, to deepen, to be healed? Where might Jesus be inviting you to step forward, to move toward him in trust, even when you cannot see the path before you? Bartimaeus makes his way to Jesus, and Jesus asks him: “What do you want me to do for you?” What do you want Jesus to do for you? How would you answer him? Bartimaeus doesn’t ask for Jesus to make him not be a beggar anymore; he goes deeper, asking Jesus to “open these eyes, Lord, long closed.”ii What do you need to see differently? What are your impediments to seeing, to trusting? (Or what blocks you from seeing, from trusting?) What lies below the surface of your longing? Dive deep for it, like a shiny penny in the deep end of the pool, your hand outstretched to claim it. Jesus tells Bartimaeus that he can go home now; his faith has made him well; his trust has saved him. Where is the healing, the hope bubbling up from within you? When Bartimaeus regains his sight, he doesn’t go home. Instead he follows Jesus on the way, along the path of discipleship toward Jerusalem and the cross. What new direction will your faithfulness to Jesus lead you into next? i. This is inspired by a reflection titled Choosing Life in the book Finding Jesus, Discovering Self by Caren Goldman and William Dols. ii. This is from a line in David Whyte’s poem “The Opening of Eyes.”

The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost-Proper 23B

The Very Rev Melanie Dickson Lemburg 21st Sunday after Pentecost-Proper 23B October 13, 2024 A letter to Ollie and Ian Hartley upon the occasion of their baptism. Dear Ollie and Ian, Today is a big day in your lives and in the life of this church; it is the day that you are being baptized. Your dad tells me that ever since you first attended St. Thomas, you have known that this is your church, and I think that just as you’ve known you belong here, we’ve known that, too. And today, that becomes official! The other day, we met and talked about baptism, and I told you some really important things that I’m going to say again here today so that you can remember them, and we can all help you remember. Before you boys were born (9 and 6 years ago), God created you and made you good. God has loved you since even before you were born, and God has said of each of you, “you are my beloved.” You are and always will be God’s beloved, and nothing can change that. Today, all of us together are saying along with you: Yes! Ollie and Ian are God’s beloved! (And y’all are saying it too: Yes! I am God’s beloved!) You are saying that you want to try to live your lives as God’s beloved. Your family is saying that they will help you live your lives as God’s beloved. And we your church are saying that we will help you live as God’s beloved. It’s wonderful being God’s beloved, but it’s not easy. That’s why we need each other so much. We help each other remember what it means to live as God’s beloved, and we encourage each other to do that. Living as God’s beloved means that we treat everyone with love, kindness, respect; we work to try to treat other people how we ourselves want to be treated. It means that when we make mistakes and hurt someone, we try to make things right with them. It means that we commit to gathering together regularly for worship and praying together and listening to bible stories and having communion. And it means that we try to share the good news of God’s belovedness with everyone we encounter out in the world beyond this place. You’ve seen some of that already in the lessons you learn in children’s chapel, in Vacation Bible School, and in your friendships with the other children here. We’ll help you and you’ll help us to remember that we are always God’s beloved and this is the heart of what it means to be the Church. You’ve already helped me remember this just this week. When you asked me if you could dunk your whole heads in the baptism font at your baptism, it helped me remember the call to belong to God isn’t always neat and tidy but sometimes is messy and demands our whole body, our whole selves. When you asked me if I thought the church would cheer for you after you are baptized, I thought, well, we certainly should, because how better could we show you how joyful we are about your belonging. Our job today and beyond is to help you remember that you belong to God—and there is absolutely nothing that can ever change that. From this day forward, you will be “marked as Christ’s own forever.” We see the truth of this in our readings for today—when Job has lost absolutely everything, Job still belongs to God; God is with Job even when Job can’t feel God. When the young man comes to Jesus, eager to prove himself, telling Jesus he already follows all of the commandments, Mark tells us Jesus looks at the man and loves him, and then tells him to go sell all that he owns and follow Jesus. Jesus is reminding the young man that no matter what he might give up or lose, nothing can change the fact that he is beloved of God. That is essence of what it means to follow Jesus. And so, Ian and Ollie, yes we will cheer today after you are baptized. And we’ll cheer for you and support you all along the way, just as you will do for us. Welcome to the family of God! Your Sister in Christ, Melanie+ The Big Question this Week: Imagine what it might be like if you gave away or lost your income, insurance, savings, home, and possessions. Who would you still be? What would you have left? How might this imagining invite you to see your life, your worth, and your relationship with God differently? Or think about a time in your life when you suffered a life-changing loss (relationship, job, person, possessions). And think about the questions above in light of that experience.