Last week the Sunday School Students of the Eastern Zone of our Diocese came together under the title ‘Young and Respected' at Ramapo College NJ for the Junior and Senior Conference. The young kids who came were restless in their quest to find out how to be respected in a society, that accepts only the Bold and the Beautiful. In a world where people try to define you by the feed backs they give you which may sometimes make you feel rejected we are to remember that we are image bearers of God, that gives our life worth and respect.

The theme reminds me of three young men who stood boldly before King Nebucadnezer and proclaimed their faith even at the most rejected moments of their life as found in Daniel 3: 16 - 18. What makes us respected? 

Your choice: For Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego the choice is between life and death. Their circumstances turned out to be hostile to them. But they were not scared of the circumstances because they believed in the Lord of the circumstances. The situations may catch us where circumstances may force us to do unethical things. The choice is ours. Develop self-respect and walk differently so that the patterns of the world may not catch us.

Your obedience:  Here we see a tension between the lesser and higher obedience. To obey the king and remain in a better position or to obey God and face the fiery furnace. They opted for the latter because they focused their eyes on the one who had called them and placed them in king's court. When you are pushed to the walls by the pressures around you, focus your eyes on the eternal/ultimate or else you will be hijacked by the immediate that will set agenda in your life. The example of obedience to the higher call is seen in the garden of Gethsemane where Christ says, "Not my will let your will be done."

Let us offer ourselves to be used by Christ.

“The sheep hears his voice .......” Jn 10:3

My ministry began as a missionary in hilly regions of Himalayas in India. The place was poor with  rocky soil, better suited for grazing than cultivation, so shepherding was a common occupation.  The collection of wool was important, so shepherds sometimes worked with the same sheep for a number of years, developing a strong relationship. The sacrificial life of the shepherds opened my eyes to the deeper understanding of the truths of the Gospel especially the love of Christ Jesus who called himself a Good Shepherd and later bestowed this great task on the church (John 21:15-19). Who is a good shepherd? The one who has a complete devotion to the sheep assigned to him and whose actions is considered to be the consummate manifestation of his love (Jn 15:13).

John 10: 1 – 18 speaks about the qualities of this Good Shepherd.

Here Christ portrays himself as the door (vs7). The shepherdic community with whom I worked was not rich enough to have a strong sheepfold with a well-made door but they had sheepfold with a small entrance. In that event, the shepherd makes his bed in the opening thus blocks it with his body and protects the sheep with his life.  The shepherds thus not only protects the sheep from the predators but also saves them from their own foolishness. Barclay says  "In the most literal sense the shepherd was the door; there was no access to the sheep-fold except through him." The Good Shepherd is not a stumbling block but a stepping-stone for the sheep to come in and go out (vs9).

Self-sacrificial love of the shepherd: In vs 17&18 we see the initiative from the shepherd in giving his life for the sheep. This giving of self is not only sacrifice but also a willingness to put all of who we are in our commitments. And the call to risk, sacrificing, is not only with one's life but also with the years and days that make up our lives. Jesus death was a free act of sacrifice, not one done by the Jews. This is the call for each of us as children of God.

Intimacy -  ‘I know my own and my own know me’(vs 14). This is not a superficial knowledge but the one that portrays intimate relationship. Christ compares his relation with us in terms of his relation with his father (vs 15). This relationship involves experience. ‘The shepherd (Jesus) knows the sheep (people) because he became flesh and lived among us’ (Jn 1:14). In my mission field I witnessed this intimate relationship of the shepherd with his sheep. Few shepherds shared the sheepfold at one night but in the morning they got up and at the sound of each shepherd’s whistle his sheep and goats came to him. Above all the shepherds went into the other and picked up few sheep who fail to listen to their voice. When enquired from one of them, how he identified his sheep he said “in the same way as your parents are able to identify you as their son even if the whole world gathers before them”. This does not occur in a moment but the relationship grows into intimacy as the days pass by. Jesus shows us this all- encompassing intimacy that begins with his relationship with his Father and extends to his followers. Only when we have that intimate relation with our Father can our relationship with others become meaningful.

This passage reaches its climax with the concern of the shepherd for the sheep outside his fold. Not only shepherd of Israel but also outside for the whole world. The cross event widens the horizon for the Gentile world. Leo Tolstoy said, "The only certain happiness in life is to live for others." It is when we see the world with a larger level than self. It is when we become concerned for others that we find the depth of God's love for our lives. ‘In Christ’ experience leads us to a universal mission.

Do we hear our Masters voice as he calls us by name?

Does our intimacy with our Master widen our horizon of influence in the places where we are placed?

Mark 10: 46 - 52 

We exclude people in different ways and for different reasons on the basis of faith, ideology,caste, rich and poor, etc. As a result of this many people are thrown to the peripheries of the society where no  activity takes place. The gospel generally shows Jesus giving value to those who had no value. He  transforms  the periphery into a center of his activity. In doing so he not only restores their honour but also helps people around him to see beyond themselves

The above passage speaks about Jesus restoring sight to the blind Bartimaeus and also inward sight to the followers. This is the last miracle recorded in the Gospel of Mark.

1)The blindness of the followers:

Bartimaeus is typically a sidelined person sitting at a place strategically located outside the city gate, meant for the nobody's of the society. Knowing that it was Jesus he raised his voice, the people around him are quick to remind him that he is nobdy of the society (10:48). He is urged not to believe that Jesus is for him by the voices in the group who tell him to cease his petition. The inward blindness of the followers of Christ forbade them in seeing the need of this man beyond themselves. Manya times we become so engrossed by our self desired ambition that we are blind to the needs of  the people around us and deaf to their cry. Are we a stumbling block?

2) Faith transcends barriers

Faith is an ability to see beyond the present situation. Though physically blind Bartimaeus recognized who Jesus is - the promised Messiah. Upto this point except for Peter none of the followers recognized the true identity of Jesus. Seeing 'who Jesus is'  is the goal of faith. He lacked eyesight  but he had inward sight.  Blindness was a crises in his life but  he understood that every crises  has an opportunity. He found a new way out. He realized that his eyes are blind but his voice is strong and he uses it to the best he could without getting discouraged. And it yields positive results. This is faith. In faith there is a divine fulfillment of what is expected or hoped for. We many a times mourn on what we do not have, but Bartimaeus challenges us to look into ourselves and discover the great potentials hidden within us and use it in a positive way.

3)Setting priorities in life

When Christ asked Bartimaeus what he needs his response is very challenging, "let me see again". His petition is very different from that of James and John (10:37). He asks not to be seen but to see the Lord and the beauty of Lords creation, not for honour but for vision, not to rule over others but to join them. True faith calls us to look with ordinary eyes upon the ordinary world, yet do so in such a way that our vision becomes extraordinary because it recognizes that we are surrounded by the extraordinary.At the beginning of the narrative we see Bartimaeus - son of honour,  begging beside  the road. But when he looks at Jesus with the eye of faith his honour is now fully restored and he joins the disciples in following Jesus on the way to dishonour and shame.

Recognizing the blind spots within us help us to set our priorities right 

Are we a stumbling block or a stepping stone?

Let the prayer of St. Richard of Chichester strengthen us in our walk of faith

Day by day, O dear Lord, three things I pray,

To see thee more clearly,

Love thee more dearly and

Follow thee more nearly,

Day by Day, Amen