Exemplar of Discipleship
Elaine Poproski Download: Audio
Scripture: 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. Read more…
Looking to Sunday
by Elaine Poproski
Have you ever met someone and thought, “I’d really like to get to know that person better”?
Recently I met someone who was part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Canada. This person has also been actively involved in significant initiatives in the area of racial justice, particularly in terms of helping white Christians own their complicity in the racial inequities that continue to affect our cities and churches. During my first (and so far, only) conversation with this person, I found him to be thoughtful, humble, and honest. I walked away from that conversation knowing that I’ll be looking for more opportunities to engage with and learn from this person. I really want to get to know this person better.
You can probably tell from my brief description, what it was about this person that caught my attention and stirred my curiosity. I wonder, if I’d lived in Jesus’ time and region, if anything about Him would have caught my attention and stirred my curiosity. Would the stories I’d heard be enough? Would I have to actually meet him before deciding I wanted to get to know Him better?
What about you? If you’d lived in Jesus’ time and region, can you imagine what might have caught your attention about Him? What about Him might have stirred your curiosity?
On Sunday we’re going to read about a blind man name Bartimaeus who was sitting by the side of the road one day when Jesus passed by. In Mark 10:47 we read that “when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’” Clearly Bartimaeus knew Jesus was a healer. But was that all he knew of Jesus? Might there have been more? On Sunday we’ll delve into this story from Mark 10:46-52 and consider the clues that suggest, perhaps, that blind Bartimaeus actually saw Jesus more clearly than did Jesus’ closest friends and disciples.
As you prepare for Sunday, I invite you to imagine yourself living in Judea or Galilee at the time of Jesus. What about Him would have caught your attention? What about Him would have stirred your curiosity? Now fast forward to 2021. What is it about Jesus that catches your attention today? What is it about Jesus that stirs your curiosity today?