THE BISHOP'S SERMON

One of the ways that we experience the presence of Christ is through preaching. This past week I experienced that as a listener to Bishop Eaton's sermon during the diocesan convention Eucharist. Bishop's Eaton text was the gospel story of Jesus' healing of the blind beggar Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52).

I had just preached on this text last Sunday morning so the story was vividly alive in me. In his sermon, our Bishop spoke about Bartimaeus' request to "let me see again." He related that plea to the struggles so many have experienced during COVID, struggles which have darkened our vision and blurred our path forward. I have certainly felt at times that I have been groping in the dark during the past two years as we kept developing new ways to be in church together. All this resilience and pivoting can be exciting; it also can be exhausting and demoralizing. Sometimes it still feels that way. The Bishop connected Bartimeaus' plea to our yearning to see clearly see our way forward with restored vision as the Body of Christ. In his preaching, he assured us of the faithfulness of God's call to us in Christ. Just as Jesus called and restored the sight of Bartimeaus so, too, Jesus is restoring our vision and lighting our path forward.

We may not yet see clearly all the twists and turns of this path forward but we are not stuck in a blind alleyway. I was grateful for this word from God. It spoke to my heart. It made a difference. Thanks be to God!

Blessings in Christ,

Andrew+